9 Small But Meaningful Changes You Should Try Immediately

One small change, one big difference.

1. Try an off-line activity, like doing a jigsaw puzzle.

Ailbhe Malone / BuzzFeed

I find it really difficult to switch off in the evenings, and don't enjoy ~ creative ~ activities like journalling or colouring books. No shade to these activities, but I find it hard to switch off by doing a creative task – I get stressed out that I'm not being ~ creative enough~ or thoughtful enough with my journalling. (See – it's really not the fault of the colouring books.)

Anyway, I picked up a jigsaw puzzle on a whim the other day, and spent 20 minutes each evening putting it together – it was so satisfying! It was the perfect way to relax: methodical enough that I could unwind, but tricky enough that I had to concentrate.

I went for a 500 piece puzzle to start with, and it took me about a week of 20-30 minute sessions. I'm going to buy another one next weekend!

2. Try out the ritual of morning pages.

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"Sometimes when I can't think of anything to write about, I’ll just start writing notes for an essay I've been noodling on for a while but haven't been motivated to officially start yet. This turned out to be incredibly helpful; there’s something about getting all of your thoughts out on paper first, in a place where you can’t delete anything you’ve written, that’s actually way easier than facing a blank doc.

"And because morning pages puts me in the “tune out your inner critic” mindset, I don't wait until I know exactly what I want to say or feel particularly inspired to start (which is usually the case with new writing projects). I don't wait to be in the mood; I just go for it, even if that means all I end up with is a fragmented, imperfect collection of words that couldn’t even qualify as a first draft. It's still something!" – Rachel Wilkerson Miller

Find out more here: Here's Everything I Learned From Doing Morning Pages Every Day

3. Pick up a new skill, or brush up on an old one.

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There are tons of free online classes (Youtube is a good place to start) that will help you learn a new skill. You could try this tutorial on how to take better photographs! I also love refreshing a skill that I've had in the past – using apps like DuoLingo to level up on languages, or following simple tutorials on Youtube to pick up on old crafting projects.

4. Make a schedule for how you'll ~ideally~ spend tomorrow.

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"I'm someone who chronically waits until the ~motivation~ strikes to work on things, so scheduling my life ahead of time — as in, actually writing it down — helps me make plans not based on my mood, but instead based on what I really want. Otherwise, there is *so much stuff* I never get around to, because I'm always promising myself I'll do it later.

So most nights, I try to ask myself, "Okay, what would tomorrow look like if I was being my ideal version of myself?" and schedule from there. Do I usually stick to the schedule 100%? Lol, absolutely not. Do I wind up having a more productive day than I would otherwise? Usually!!

(Eventually, I hope to graduate to doing this Sunday nights for the entire week, but...baby steps.)" – Anna Borges

Find out more here: 7 Things I Do Before Bed Instead Of Watch Netflix

5. Try living by the one-minute rule: If a task takes one minute to complete, do it straight away.

Natalie Brown / BuzzFeed

"Have you heard of the ~One-Minute Rule~? It goes like this: If you notice a task that will take less than one minute to do, just do it right away. I'm pretty organized and on top of *some* things, but there are still so many little things I tend to just ignore, or put off, even though on some level I'd really like to get them done.

But honestly, you'd be amazed at what you can get done in just five minutes. While following the One-Minute Rule did cut about 20 minutes from my prized nightly veg-out-on-the-couch time, it *also* saved me from spending my Saturday morning dealing with stuff that piled up throughout the week." – Natalie Brown

Find out more here: I Lived By The One-Minute Rule For An Entire Week

6. Wake up 30 minutes earlier than normal.

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"I’m currently in college and typically spend my days rushing between classes, clubs, and everything else. For the past year I’ve made a point to get up a half hour earlier than I normally would so I can brew a pot of coffee and take that half hour to wake up. It makes me start my mornings on a better foot because I have time to wake up and no longer feel rushed." —annab4b53804cc

Want more tips? Try: 23 Tiny Healthy Habits That People Swear Actually Improved Their Lives

7. Spend some time reading a short book.

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"One of my literature teachers told us how one of his favorite pastimes is to take what he called book shots where you sit down for a period of time and down an entire book in one go.

A lot of times when we’re reading, we read books in fragments over a long period of time. In school, you’d have to read a book over the course of a week or two and in your free time you might read everyday on the train before work. However, it’s a completely different experience when you read a book in one sitting because you’ll be able to better understand the plot as a whole and notice the little subtleties throughout the story.

So that’s why I propose that for one hour a day (maybe slightly longer than one hour a day), you take a shot. At the end of the 30 days, I promise you’ll have a wide range of insights, ideas, and thoughts that you’ve learned from those books which will benefit you far into the future!" – 

Quora User Michael Ligier

Want some suggestions for short books? Try this: 23 Brilliant Books That Are Short Enough To Read In A Weekend

Or if you don't like reading, try an audiobook. Try this: 24 Audiobooks You Won't Be Able To Stop Listening To

8. Block off one hour a day to get shit done at work.

Hannah Hillam / BuzzFeed

I work in an open-plan office, and often get pulled into meetings when I'm at my desk, so I find it hard to put time aside to get important but non-essential work done (think: expenses, reviewing my reports' holiday requests etc). So now I block off at least one hour once a week in my calendar, and set it aside to blast through the list. Physically setting the time aside means that I get less stressed about completing these tasks, and I can be motivated to complete them in the allotted time.

9. Have lunch with a different person every day (or once a week/once a month!)

Flo Perry / BuzzFeed

"Ask a different person out to lunch everyday for thirty days.
Here’s the catch… they have to be new people you haven’t spend one-on-one time with before.

Ask people who
:

You admire

Are mutual friends
 that do interesting things

Are already great at what you want to do

In thirty days you’ll have overcome any hesitance you had meeting new people. You’ll know how to hold a conversation. You’ll know a little bit better who you do and don’t want to be like. You’ll have extended your network." –  Quora User Paul Carleton