Sometimes, it doesn't take big changes to bring more peace and clarity into everyday life – often, a simple habit is enough to have a long-term impact on your life.
Habits that are good for you in the long run and easy to implement are called simple habits. If you focus clearly on an activity and give yourself time, many processes in your daily life can have a meditative effect that you perform almost automatically every day.
What do you need for that? The willingness to break old patterns and establish new habits - but these don't have to be big changes; start with 5 minutes a day. We would like to show you a few simple options for this.
The Power of Small Changes
Habits work in both directions, and we all know that. Just as we habitually reach for our smartphones while eating and let ourselves be entertained by social media content, we can also adopt other processes that give us energy in the long run. Especially the small routines we follow daily have a significant impact on our well-being.
It takes about 60 days for us to get used to new processes. Conversely, this means that you need to remember to change old habits for at least a while, even if it may feel strange at first. Just as our muscles can adapt to changes and develop muscle memory, so can our minds: gradually, we adopt new processes as habits until we no longer question them but perform them automatically.
Three points to keep in mind help us repeatedly:
- Willingness to Change: Lack of time is our most common excuse for not really changing something. Be ready to create time slots and truly adjust something in your daily life. Ask yourself the question, why you want to change something.
- Small Changes are more realistic than big ones, especially when they don't require much effort. 5 minutes a day is already enough.
- Continuity over Perfection: Simply put: As long as you do something. If you can't manage your planned 30-minute workout routine, then at least do 5 minutes. Remember, you want to do something good for yourself in the long run; we already get enough pressure from the outside. Keep your goals and habits in mind, start with that, but also allow yourself to adjust processes if something feels too much or not good.
And not to forget: Habits that are good create stability. This helps your nervous system during stressful phases and gives you the feeling that you can always rely on your routines.
Less is More: Focus on the Essentials
Let's say you want to make it a habit to have your kitchen tidied up every evening before going to bed for the next day. For this, you could set a time window with 5 favorite songs and make it part of your good-mood evening routine: listen to your favorite music and then go to bed calmly, because the next morning will be easier.
Another example: You often catch yourself in the morning on the train getting stuck on social media and feeling totally exhausted afterward. Delete the app, even if it feels unusual.
Instead, use the time for a gentle meditation. Close your eyes, listen to calming music, and focus on your breathing and what you see out the window. Do you notice how you suddenly found time for something good?
You see: Many processes can have a calming effect: cleaning the bike, preparing food, tidying up, the way to work... Focusing on the essentials of what is happening right now, reduces stimuli and slows down your sense of time. You not only sort your thoughts but also noticeably calm your nervous system. Your mind can tackle thoughts one after another instead of being overwhelmed by many different sources of input at the same time. This way, you can realign your focus at any time.
Break the Circle: Start with 5 Minutes a Day
Start by thinking carefully about which old habit you want to let go of and change. Sometimes, it is one single, conscious decision that only takes a few seconds, like deleting a social media app from your smartphone for a while. Still, you will directly benefit from the time you have gained.
For some processes, however, you need to pull yourself out of a spiral that you know all too well. You may notice that you often sit exhausted on the couch in the evening, scrolling through streaming services until it gets way too late. Instead, you could create a new 5-minute routine: set a timer for 5 minutes and use that time to write down three things that are important for the next day. This not only helps you to make the evening more conscious but also gives you a clearer start to the next day. After a while, you will notice that you have gotten used to planning your next day the night before. In the long run, this relieves your mind, and you can start the next day with a clear structure and let go of thoughts about it throughout the evening.
It's good that you theoretically know what you can do, but how do we approach this concretely now?
You have to want it: These points really help
Of course, such a change can feel uncomfortable and unfamiliar at first - that is completely normal. As mentioned, on average it takes 60 days to establish a new habit.
Find your Why: Ask yourself the question, why you want to change something and what exactly. Less stress? More time for yourself? Less influence and comparison through social media? More movement after a long workday? Tune in: how does it feel when you have adopted processes that allow you to do just that? The clearer and more honest you are with yourself, the better.
It is important that you really want to change something. However, you don't have to restructure your entire daily routine right away (Reminder: Continuity over Perfection :)). Set small goals, for example, one mindful meal without distraction per day. That should be doable, right? You will notice how you perceive food differently and taste each individual component. Focus on what is.
What does it take? A quiet environment? A time limit on your smartphone? You will find a lever that you can change for this without restructuring your entire daily routine. Eventually, you will have gotten used to simply leaving your phone in another room in this case.
Super helpful: Find a reminder that represents what you specifically want to change. An object that you always have around you or carry with you helps you to actually implement the habit. This could be a picture on the wall or a smartphone background that says something concrete like "be present," or you could choose a piece of jewelry like a bracelet or a necklace that reminds you every time you look in the mirror of what you specifically want to change. Whenever you think you have no time or energy for a new habit, close your eyes, breathe gently in and out, touch your piece of jewelry, and remember your personal Why.
Simple Habits: The Conscious Decision for You
Simple Habits are just that: simple. They require neither much time nor big changes - just your conscious decision to make small moments in your daily life more mindful. Whether you leave your phone away while eating, take five minutes for your daily planning, or turn your commute into a mini-meditation: Each of these small steps brings you closer to a clearer, more focused everyday life. Sometimes, it is precisely the small changes that have the greatest impact.