7 Happiness Habits That Have Made My Life Better

My New Year’s resolution was to be the best me that I can be. But I wasn’t sure how to go about doing it. Let’s be real, this isn’t exactly something you can measure.

So I started making a list. What are some of the things I did on the happiest days I’ve had recently? What are some things that just flat out make me happy? And what are some things I can do to put myself in a good place? Here’s what I came up with…

My 7 Happiness Habits

1. Be in bed by 10pm – I really, really wanted to call this one “get at least eight hours of sleep”, but that just didn’t seem practical. I can’t force myself to sleep, but I can force myself to be in bed for eight hours.
2. Drink one glass of water first thing in the morning – I need water. And lots of it. They say you should drink at least two litres of water a day, and I’m typically pretty close to that, but I do find I need to have the bulk of it in the morning to avoid a dehydration headache in the afternoon. So once I’m out of bed and downstairs I don’t let myself do anything until I’ve had a glass of water. Half the time I literally just stand there, half asleep in the kitchen, and chug a big glass of water before I even let myself sit down. It only takes 30 seconds and it can make a world of difference later in the day.
3. Meditate – I aim for fifteen minutes a day, but to tick this off my list I really only need to do two. And I don’t have to do it perfectly, I just need to sit quietly with the intention of meditating and that’s enough. It helps me to be in the moment, calm myself down, and just enjoy the present.
4. Read for FUN – I love reading. I’ve always loved reading. I go through spurts when I think I don’t have time for it so I don’t read anything for pleasure for months. But when I come back to it I always realize the error of my ways. So I make a point of reading for at least 5 minutes a day, but I’m much happier when it’s fifteen or more.
5. Read for BUSINESS – I love learning too. I think I might be addicted. This gives me an excuse to feed that addiction and check something off my happiness list for the day. And call the whole thing work.
6. Make something – Anything. Often it’s a photograph, but it could be writing a blog post or making a piece of origami from an old origami-a-day calendar. I’m a maker. And a maker’s gonna make.
7. Intentional movement – I need to move my body with intention every single day. And I’ve come to realize I need to set aside the time and plan it in advance every day or it ain’t gonna happen. Usually it’s yoga, once in a while it’s jogging, and sometimes it’s going for a walk.

I put together a spreadsheet for myself (hello, type A?!) to make sure I do all of them every day. And I have an iCal alarm set for every evening after dinner to review my list (type A+?!) to make sure I finish them all up.

What do you do to keep yourself happy every day? Do you have a list of specific habits? Or have you found a less rigid solution?

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