Daily Habits Checklist for 2017

Having good habits is essential to personal growth, living healthily, being productive, and staying organized. For me, habits start daily. I had some productive habits in 2016 and I’m using this as a daily habits checklist for 2017.

Having good habits is vital to being the best you, being more successful, and making the changes you’ve always wanted in your life. Habits take discipline and dedication, but they become easier everyday.

If you’re intending to make 2017 something special, then it starts with good habits that you’re going to keep up with. Here is what I will be doing each day, take a look and see if you would benefit from adding some/all of these into your daily routine.

Daily Habits Checklist for 2017

Wake up Earlier

Whatever time you currently wake, I’m sure you can turn the clock back a little more. Waking up early and starting the day when most are still asleep gives you the edge over them.

Incorporate some good sleeping habits to get better quality sleep and you’ll wake up with more energy. It’s so much easier to get things done first thing when it’s quiet that you’ll be more productive.

Drink a Glass of Water

We wake up in need of hydration, which is why most of us reach for the coffee. Water is much better however, it helps to flush toxins, delivers nutrients around your body, and keeps your kidney functioning healthily.

There are studies to show that even mild dehydration causes concentration issues, loss of memory, and bad moods. More than enough reasons to drink a big glass of water each morning.

Do Some Exercise

Ever since I started doing a little exercise each morning good things started to happen for me. I felt better, it improved my mood, and the cumulative effect over time was a much healthier and energetic me.

There are loads of YouTube morning workout videos. Just pick one and get started, that’s what I did.

Plan Your Day

If you leave the house in the morning or get settled in your home office without a to-do list and a plan of action you’re wasting valuable time. Being organized = being productive, goals don’t just remind you what you have to do, they are motivational.

Some people like to set their goals the evening before try this and see if it helps. Setting a daily to-do list will increase productivity, hold yourself accountable for getting things done.

Read or Listen to Something Motivational

Something I started in 2016 that I know helped me become more focused was listening to motivational speeches. Motivational speakers like Les Brown, Tony Robbins, and Jim Rohn are excellent for inspiration and motivation.

As their quotes start to embed into your subconscious you will feel and see things differently. You’ll believe you can do great things – because you can.

Visualize What You Want to Achieve in Your Day

Visualization is incredibly powerful. If you’ve never tried visualizing before I recommend starting in 2017.

It just takes a couple of minutes to look at the day ahead and what you want to see yourself achieving. Visualization techniques are used by successful entrepreneurs, professional athletes, and many in between.

Take Care in Your Appearance

If you take care in your appearance you’ll feel more confident and others will notice. You don’t need to go over the top and venture into the vein, neither should it take very long.

But buy yourself some nice clothes and coordinate. Also, make sure your shoes are always very clean, this is a tip my first ever boss gave me.

Always Make Time for Others

We’re all busy and it’s hard to make time for everything, I know this. But make a special effort not to neglect others. We can always make time for others, even if it’s just a minute or so to hear them out and say we will get back to them.

Look at it from the other side. You know how it feels when someone is too busy to even hear you out, it hurts. Think about that next time someone asks, ‘do you have a minute?’

Stick to Your Plans

Setting goals and plans in one thing. Sticking to the goals is equally as important. That’s why it’s important to set plans that are achievable and motivational.

Sometimes it’s not possible, but we can all go that extra mile to try and get everything done. Set a timeline, ways to achieve your plans, and go out of your way to stick to them.

Always Give 110%

Just doing enough and scraping by isn’t going to make good things happen for you. Every day counts, and giving that little extra will separate you from the crowd.

Making a list of habits and sticking to them is the first step. Always improving and doing that little bit extra is the next step. Try it, good things will start to happen.

Start Being Proactive not Reactive

Reacting to situations means you’re always one step behind. Something has happened, this lowers your chance of making the most of the situation and puts you in a pool with everyone else reacting.

Start being proactive. Being proactive means you’re first to act, it means you get to make the choices, and you’re in the driving seat. If this is out of your comfort zone, great.

Eat Healthy

You are what you eat, and being busy is not an excuse. There are plenty of healthy alternatives to snacks and junk foods that are more tasty (honest) and will be giving you the natural energy you need to be productive longer.

A lot of New Year’s resolutions involve eating better and exercising, yet most will fail due to poor planning and motivation. Starting with small daily habits makes it easier. Switch out a chocolate bar for a piece of fruit, and swap a coffee for a juice to start.

Send an Encouraging Message to a Friend

We all need little pick-me-ups. Getting a message out-of-the-blue is always such a nice surprise and can light up someone’s day.

It takes less than a minute to send an email or a text to a friend reminding them you haven’t forgotten about them or you’re thinking about them. You may even rekindle an old friendship.

Start Meditating

I’ve said it before, but I credit meditating with a lot of the good things that has happened in my life. It only takes a couple of minutes a day and the effects of meditating are so powerful.

You can reduce stress, improve concentration, it helps with a number of the habits in this list, and will make you more mindful and self-aware. Put aside a few minutes in the evening, it’s one of the best habits you’ll ever have.

Make Time for Yourself

This is linked to meditating and all the benefits I mentioned above. If meditating isn’t for you, then just make some time to be alone with yourself to be mindful or collect your thoughts.

Even the most social and gregarious of people need time alone with themselves. Don’t forget to turn off your phone and other distractions though.

Do Your House Chores

We all have chores around the home, and whether you enjoy doing them or not they need to be done. Doing them daily means that the chores will not build up, and it’s proven to be quicker to do some chores daily than letting them build up and trying to do everything in one go.

Organize your working area too. A cluttered desk means a cluttered mind. Although, there is a famous quote by Albert Einstein that always makes me laugh, ‘if a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?’

Set an Outline for the Following Day

One of the best habits for improving productivity is setting an outline for the following day the evening before. This means you can hit the ground running in the morning, and has the added bonus of not forgetting anything overnight.

Wind down Properly before Sleeping

Trying to go from 100 miles an hour to hitting the pillow is a bad idea. You will end up staying awake with all kinds of things spinning around in your head.

Practice good sleeping habits, and by using techniques mentioned in this post like meditating or making time for yourself you can unwind better. Waking up feeling fresh and energized is an important part of the whole puzzle for a productive day.

---

If you implement some, or all of these daily habits in 2017 I can guarantee you are going to increase your productivity, you’ll feel physically and mentally better than ever, and good things are going to happen this year.

It’s incredibly satisfying getting a lot done. These habits have increased my productivity ten-fold, and the nature of habits mean that once they are ingrained into your life they are effortless.

If you have anything to add I’d love to hear it, just drop me a comment below. Thanks.