When you want to change something in your life, it can feel overwhelming. Whether it’s losing 50lbs or switching careers, starting a side business or spring cleaning the home, it might be a change you’re desperately keen to make … but getting started is really tough.
You don’t have to take huge, sweeping, radical steps, though. Small and simple changes are often the best way forwards – they’re sustainable and manageable, and you’re not likely to give up after one half-hearted attempt.
Here are ten to try.
1. Set Your Alarm Half an Hour Earlier
There’s never enough time in the day – especially when you want to start something new. Maybe you’d love to write a novel, take up exercise, or have time to pray or meditate.
Rather than trying to overhaul your schedule or make massive efficiency gains, how about simply setting your alarm half an hour earlier? An extra 30 minutes in the morning, before you go out to work, could make all the difference.
2. Go For a Twenty Minute Walk Before Dinner
We all know how importance exercise is – particularly when it comes to keeping our energy levels up and reducing our chance of serious disease. But how many of us really manage to make exercise a consistent part of our lives?
Instead of coming up with yet another over-enthusiastic routine (which lasts for all of a week), go for a much simpler change: add in a twenty minute walk each day, before dinner. You could head to the local store to pick up fresh veggies, or simply walk around the block a few times.
3. Put a Bottle of Water On Your Desk
You may have taken on board the 6 – 8 glasses of water per day message, but do you really manage that? If you do, do you find yourself gulping down water when you get thirsty, after spending a morning or afternoon dehydrated?
One of the simplest tricks for drinking more water is to keep a bottle of it on your desk. It’s easy to take a swig regularly if you’ve got water in arm’s reach – and if you keep the cap on the bottle, there’s no chance of a spillage.
4. Hide the Television Remote (and Keep a Book by the Couch)
There’s nothing wrong with watching television. But for many of us, the TV becomes a default activity. It’s all too easy to come home, slump on the couch, and reach straight for the remote without even thinking.
If that’s a habit you’re trying to break, put the remote somewhere else. Hide it in a cupboard or on a high shelf. That way, you’ll have to make a real decision to watch television.
You can go even further with this by putting a book that you want to read, or something else you want to get on with, next to the couch.
5. Take a Packed Lunch to Work
Trying to save money or eat more healthily? Fed up of wasting half your lunch break standing in line to buy a sandwich? Then take your own lunch to work.
It costs much less to make a sandwich at home than to buy one out, and it only takes a few minutes. You’ll know exactly what’s going into your meal, so you can control the amount of fat and the number of calories, too.
6. Skip Your Usual Starbucks Trip
Many of us get into the routine of stopping at a coffee shop every day, maybe en route to work. Perhaps you started doing this as an occasional treat or a convenience when you’d not had time for breakfast – but it’s become a habit.
A few dollars a day might not seem like much – but it adds up over the course of a year. Why not skip that Starbucks stop and set up an automated transfer to put $5/day into your savings account instead? After just a month, you’ll be over $100 better off – that’s more than $1, 200 a year.
7. Switch Your Light Bulbs for Energy-Saving Ones
Suffering eco-guilt? A lot of us want to do our bit for the planet – but we don’t know where to start. One of the simplest steps is to switch all your standard light bulbs for energy-saving ones. It’s not only much better for the environment, it’ll also save you money on your electric bill.
If you were put off energy-saving bulbs in the past due to cost or poor light levels, give them another try: the technology has moved on considerably.
8. Write a Grocery List
Do you find yourself spending more in the grocery store than you mean to? Do you constantly end up getting take-out because the cupboards are bare?
A little planning goes a long way when it comes to grocery shopping. Think through the meals you want to eat during the week, and write a list of all the ingredients that you need to buy. It only takes five or ten minutes, and saves you a lot of head-scratching (and wasted money) in the store.
9. Tackle that Thing You’ve Been Putting Off
We all put things off. Maybe it’s making that phone call, tidying your desk, sorting out a few little-but-annoying problems around the home…
It’s surprising how much better you can feel after getting a long-standing chore off your to-do list. Try picking one thing each day to sort out: it’ll only take a few minutes, and after a week or two, you’ll have got a bunch of energy-draining stuff out of the way.
10. Say “Thank You” to Someone
This is such a tiny change, you might think it’s hardly worth doing. Believe me, it is. Saying “thank you” to one person each day – whether it’s a colleague, friend or family member – can make a huge positive difference in your relationships and your own happiness.
Think how good it feels to be recognized and appreciated when you’ve worked hard at a task. By saying a simple “thank you”, you can give other people that same sense of appreciation (and you’ll be turning your own thoughts towards the positive aspects of your relationships).
十个变化让你的人生变得不同
当你想改变你生活中的一些事情的时候，会变得很艰难。不管是减肥50磅或者换一个职业，开始另一个业务或者给家里做一个大扫除，这可能是一个改变，你拼命的想去做。。。但是刚开始真的很难。
尽管你不可能有一个巨大的彻底的激进的步骤去改变。但是小小的简单的改变经常是最好的方式。这种改变时可以持续的并且易控制，重要的是你不会轻易的放弃。
这里有十种方式可以尝试。
1.把你的闹钟提前半个小时
一天从来没有足够的时间——尤其是当你开始做一件事的时候。或许你喜欢写小说，做运动，或者留一些时间祈祷或者沉思。
宁可去检查你的时间表或者大幅度提高效率，为什么不去把闹钟调快半个小时呢？早晨你上班之前的三十分钟可能会让一天变的不同。
2.在晚餐之前散步二十分钟
大家都知道运动的重要性就是——尤其是运动可以带给你充足的精力，让你远离疾病。但是我们之中有多少人真正坚持做到了这一点？
并不是要你一直保持能持续一周的热情，只需要做一点简单的改变：每天晚饭之前增加二十分钟的步行时间。你可以去当地的商店买一些新鲜的蔬菜或者只是简单的绕着街区走几个来回。
3.在你的桌子上放一杯水
或许你知道一天要喝6-8杯水，但是你真的做到了吗？你是不是发现自己在感到口渴，经历了一早上或者一下午脱水后才大口喝水呢？
让你喝水的最简单的方法就是把水杯放在你的桌子上面。如果你伸手就能拿到水，你喝水就变的很规律，如果你把瓶盖子合上，水也就不会溢出来了。
4.远离你的电视（在沙发上放一本书）
看电视并没有什么问题。但是对于大多数人而言看电视已经变成一个默认的活动了。回到家中躺在沙发上，想都不用想就拿起遥控器，这都是很简单的事情。
如果这是一种习惯，你要尝试着改变一下，把遥控器放在另一个地方。把它放在茶几上或者一个高的架子上。这种情况下你要看电视就要花费一点功夫了。
你还可以更进一步，把你喜欢的书放在沙发上，或者把你想看的东西放到沙发边上。
5.工作的时候带一盒午餐
试着去节省一点钱或者吃的更健康一些？厌烦了浪费一半的午餐时间排队买三明治？带着你自己的午餐去工作吧。
在家你可以只用几分钟的时间就可以做一个三明治，比排队买一个花费的时间要少的多。你知道你应该吃些什么，你可以控制多余的脂肪和卡里路。
6.跳过你的星巴克之旅
好多人每天都会去一家咖啡馆呆一会，也许是在上班的路上。或许你是为了请别人喝一杯咖啡，或者是当你没吃早饭的时候图个方便，但是这已经变成了一种习惯。
可能一天几美元看起来并不是很多，但是一年的开销加起来就会很多。为什么不跳过星巴克商店，每天为自己攒5美元。一个月就会超过一百美元，一年就是1200多美元。
7.把你的灯泡换成节能灯
在为了环境事业而感到内疚痛苦？很多人想为地球做一点事情，但是我们并不知道从哪里开始。一个最简单的办法就是把你的灯泡换成节能灯。没有什么比这个方法对环境更好了，这样也可以节约很多电费。
如果在过去由于花费或者是可怜的光线让你拒绝使用节能灯，现在给他们一个机会，因为现在的技术已经很发达了。
8.写一个购物清单
有没有发现你在商场的花费的时间比你想象的要多？是不是当你的橱柜空了才不得不叫外卖？
一个小小的计划将会导致你走很长一段路去商店购买。每周想想你会吃些什么食物，把你想要买的材料写一个清单。他可能只花费你五到十分钟的时间，但是可以节省很多麻烦。
9.解决那些你一直拖延的事情
我们会经常拖延事情。或许是打一个电话，整理你的书桌，整理一些小的但是很让人讨厌的事情。
把堆积已久的杂事从你的必做清单上清除掉，那种感觉会好到让你自己都惊讶。每天挑选出一件事情：他可能只花费你几分钟的时间，然而一个星期或者两个星期之后，你就会解决很多耗费经历的事情。
10.对每个人说“谢谢”
这是一个非常微小的改变，你可能感觉它不值得做。相信我，它是值得的。每天对一个人说谢谢——不论是你的同事，朋友或者家庭成员——你的人脉关系和幸福指数都会发生巨大的变化。
想想当你在工作的时候非常认真的做一件事情的时候得到了赞赏和认可，那是一件多么好的事情。说一句“谢谢”是一件非常简单的事情，你可以给其他的人同样的认同感（你的人际关系会朝着好的方向发展的）。