No matter the time of year or season of life I am in, a few things that ground me are my daily habits. Whether it’s the start of a new year, or the middle of summer, it’s always a good time to be intentional about your daily habits. These are wholesome, sustainable and attainable, practical habits to incorporate into your daily life.
If you’re wanting to live a simpler and healthier life, be inspired by these 7 healthy habits to practice daily!
Wake Up Early
I haven’t always been a morning person, but since college I would say, I have enjoyed waking up early. The quietness and starting your day slowly is something I find so important and refreshing. It’s also found to be beneficial for your overall health to wake up early and helps to regulate sleep and wake patterns. I find if I don’t wake up at my normal early time, the rest of the day I feel a little more rushed, less productive, and more anxious.
Reading the Bible
My most important daily habit is reading my Bible. For my reading plan, I follow the Bible Recap, which takes you through the bible in a year and you can start whenever you want, doesn’t have to be January 1! This daily habit is so sacred, because it allows me to give my time to the Lord, learn more about Him and be anchored in His truth to start each day.
Whether you are a Christian or not, reading in the morning is such a peaceful way to start the day. I love the feeling of taking in the quiet and feeling unplugged from the world for a few moments before feeling ‘connected’ the rest of the day.
Moving Your Body
Moving my body everyday is my next daily healthy habit. For awhile, I felt like I had to do an intense workout multiple times a week for exercise, but when God helped shift my mindset from feeling like I was ‘punishing’ my body and only exercising to want to lose weight or just to get the workout over with to honoring my body because it is a gift from Him, and a temple where the Holy Spirit dwells. With this mindset shift, I found I desired to be more kind to my body and less harsh with myself. This daily habit these days looks a lot more like nourishing my body with whole foods and moving my body whether that’s weight lifting, walking on the treadmill, or a walk in nature with my dog. When I took the stress and pressure off myself, I found these routines came much more natural and are much more enjoyable anyways.
Fueling My Body with Nutrient-Dense Foods
As I mentioned above, I have been learning about honoring and respecting the body God has given me not only with exercise, but with eating foods rich in great nutrients. I have found that when I do this, I am less likely to crave processed foods or added sugars because it becomes a habit and I feel good. And most importantly, I know my body is getting so many vitamins, minerals, fibers, etc. that are helpful for so many health issues (preventative or not!) The mindset I try to have (and that works for me) is not to restrict myself to a certain amount of food a day or restrict certain foods, but to make sure I am eating plenty of healthy foods that day FIRST, before I may want to indulge in something less nutrient-dense. Because I certainly can’t always turn down chocolate chip cookies! I have seen many diets or fads out there and it can be easy to get consumed by them or lured in, one I struggle with is intermittent fasting. I respect those who do this practice, but for me personally, it doesn’t feel well or right with my mindset to not have the freedom to eat until 12pm or 10am each day if I wanted to. I definitely have tried it and know that it didn’t work for me for long term and that’s okay!
Taking Care of the Home
Taking care of our home is my next daily habit. This is a newer one for me because I got married in 2020 and now live with my husband and have a home together! Learning how to take care of our home or “homemaking” has been so fun for me, I truly feel like I am stepping into more of my calling as a woman of God and a wife with this role. I work from home full-time and I am so thankful it has allowed me to step into this even more. I strive to make our home a place of rest and joy and a place my husband is excited to come home to after work. Caring for our home not only is cleaning, tidying up or planning meals, but I am learning it’s so much more about my heart and attitude behind these things.
Put Your Phone Away
Putting my phone away for a period of time each day is something I have been working on since becoming married. My husband and I both have found that putting them away from right around the time he gets home, through dinner, and a little after if we are doing something together is so beneficial to our marriage and both of our healths. I also enjoy not looking at my phone until after my morning quiet time.
Ending the Day with a Clean Kitchen
This habit I have picked up on from learning to take care of our home over the past year and I felt it deserved its own spot in this list! Whether you are aware or not, the physical space we live in has a large effect on how we behave. Not only does tidying up help to make things like cooking and exercise easier, by creating more space and time, but it decreases frustration, and improves productivity. After every meal, I make sure to do the dishes, and clean up the kitchen along with before bed, I make sure to wipe all the counters down along with the sink. Going to bed with a clean kitchen allows you to wake up to a fresh start without having to deal with yesterday’s mess.
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