People with these 7 habits are way more likely to become highly functioning.
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Setting clear goals and working towards them consistently
Setting goals and working towards them is a basic cornerstone of self-improvement. It’s the difference between taking control of your life or letting life happen to you.
Here are some simple steps that you can follow to set goals:
- Pick a goal that is attainable but still meaningful to you.
- Identify three things that must happen in order for your goal to be reached.
- Make a plan with action steps and deadlines.
- Execute the plan with discipline and consistency (and a dash of spontaneity).
Prioritizing self-care, including getting enough sleep, exercise, and healthy food
When you’re working towards a goal, it’s natural to get caught up in the daily demands of your life and lose sight of the big picture: why you’re striving for this accomplishment, what it will mean for you, and how it will change your life once you reach it.
Our bodies are built to perform best when they’ve been properly nourished — so getting enough sleep is important not only for productivity but also our health and well-being. Eating well keeps us energized and makes us feel our best. And exercise is not just beneficial for our physical fitness, but our mental well-being as well — regularly taking time out to complete simple exercises clears our minds and helps us stay focused on the task at hand.
Developing good time management and organization skills
Let’s be honest: if you’ve made it to adulthood and you still don’t know how to organize yourself, there are probably a lot of things in your life that suffer from your lack of organization. You don’t have a handle on your finances, your social calendar, or even just your kitchen cabinets.
There’s no shame in this. It isn’t easy to learn how to manage yourself, particularly when you’re young and have so many competing demands on your time. But you can — and should! — do the work necessary to get better at it. To keep it simple and make it easy for you to do the right thing, I’ll suggest two overarching pieces of advice:
First, develop good habits. If you want to get better at managing your time and being more productive, coming up with a system for doing the things that matter most will help. Then consistently stick to that system! For example, I have a daily planner that I use every day (even on weekends!). When I wake up, I write down all my appointments for the day and prioritize them by importance. After each appointment is scheduled, I review my schedule and try to plan out the next hour or two of my day as best as possible so that I can make the most of it.
Organizational skills help us save time by enabling us to be more efficient with the things we do. Time management skills help us use our time wisely by maximizing productive actions and eliminating unproductive actions. Having these skills gives us more time to spend on things that are really meaningful to us.
Building and maintaining strong relationships with others
Building strong relationships with family, friends, and the community can provide emotional and practical support during difficult times, which can help to reduce stress and improve overall well-being. Also, having strong relationships with others can provide a sense of belonging and connection which can increase self-esteem and self-worth
Continuously learning and growing through education and new experiences
Not only is it important to continually seek new skills and experiences, but the key is in finding the right ones — the ones that lead you in the direction you want to go. I don’t mean to say there’s one path you must follow; rather, it’s about being aware of your goals and using them as a guide when it comes time to decide what opportunities you should pursue. If you’re looking for ways to improve yourself, it’s important not only that your options lead you toward self-improvement, but also that they be things you can realistically achieve.
In other words, try not to focus on the end goal so much as the process — developing good time management and organization skills will help you get where you want to go more than simply wanting to be better organized.
Practicing mindfulness and stress management techniques
Mindfulness has been proven to have numerous benefits. Studies show it increases focus, improves memory, lowers blood pressure, and reduces anxiety. It even reduces pain sensitivity! It’s easy to see how this simple practice could help improve every aspect of your life. But it’s important to note that mindfulness isn’t just about being relaxed all the time; it’s about being aware of your thoughts and emotions without judgment, in order to make the most informed decisions possible for yourself.
Seek help and support when needed
It’s easy to feel like you can handle everything on your own. You’ve done it for so long, you might have forgotten that there are tons of resources out there for people who are seeking help. Always consider reaching out if you’re feeling like things aren’t going in the direction you want them to and need help identifying what changes could get things moving in a positive direction.
