6 Small Lifestyle Changes That Can Improve the Quality of Your Life

Want to know something crazy?

Improving your life doesn’t have to be hard.

You don’t need to hit up the gym every single day to be fit, you don’t need to eat a salad for every meal to be healthy, and you don’t need to read every single self-help book published or listen to self-help podcasts around the clock.

Sometimes I read what other people who aspire to be their best selves do, and I get a little insecure about myself. I’m not perfect. I’m not the healthiest individual in the world. I eat gluten, I like alcohol, and sometimes, I binge watch Friends even though I’ve seen it a billion times already, and I know I can probably do something more productive with that time instead.

The point of self-improvement isn’t to check off every single box every single day and hold yourself back from living. The point is to improve and to look back on your life and feel proud of yourself.

So with that being said, if you’re looking to make some small but life-changing lifestyle changes in order to become a better you, here are a few ways you can start.

Do a dopamine detox on Sundays.

Do you ever struggle to get back into the flow of things when Monday rolls around? You’re not the only one. This is because your dopamine levels are completely depleted from your weekend of being social and having fun and doing things like work is the last thing you want to do.

Dopamine is what makes you want things. It’s what makes you reach for your phone first thing in the morning to check your Instagram. It boosts your mood and motivation.

Your bodies have a biological system called Homeostasis, which means it likes to keep an internal physical and chemical balance. Whenever an imbalance occurs, your body will adapt to it.

When your brain gets used to having high dopamine levels, those levels become your new normal, which forces you to create a dopamine tolerance.

Day-to-day activities can become impossible for you to do when your dopamine tolerance is too high. On top of that, reading, going to the gym, working, will be extremely challenging.

Doing a dopamine detox will change your life, and this is why it’s my secret weapon to preparing myself for Mondays. I avoid all of my social media apps, and I try to do mundane activities throughout the day.

This consists of having a really slow morning; I might read a book, I do laundry, I tidy up the house, I go for a slow walk with my partner, we don’t listen or watch any news, we just enjoy one another’s company. It almost feels like we’re in the old days where the online world isn’t even a thing.

When Monday rolls around, I feel rejuvenated and ready to take on the world, and work is significantly easier to get through.

Don’t walk outside glued to your phone.

Pay attention to how people walk when they’re outside. I guarantee most of them are walking with their eyes glued to their phones.

The point of walking outside is to take yourself out of your house, where you’re probably sitting at your desk, staring at your computer screen, so you going outside just to put another screen in your face doesn’t really help you in any way.

Instead, keep your phone off, or avoid scrolling through it if you’re listening to something.

Getting outside is also a great way to get outside of your box and get your creative juices flowing. If you’re struggling with work or feeling down, taking a walk outside can help clear your mind and trigger new ideas.

New ideas won’t be triggered if you’re scrolling through Instagram and watching TikToks.

Switch your TikTok out for a Kindle.

Speaking of TikTok — just like your body needs to exercise, your brain does too, and reading can give your brain the mental workout it needs in order to stay sharp and improve its performance.

Studies show that staying mentally stimulated can slow, or even prevent, the progress of Alzheimer’s and Dementia because keeping your brain active and engaged prevents it from losing power.

In addition, it’s also proven to reduce your stress levels. Despite being stressed in your work life, personal life, or experiencing countless other issues faced in daily life, it all just somehow slips away when you lose yourself in a great novel.

Last Tuesday I spent over two hours on TikTok instead of reading. I told myself I’d get on the app for 5 minutes to look at some easy recipes. 5 minutes quickly turned into 2 hours.

Forbes says TikTok is basically digital cocaine, and a USC professor and author, Dr. Julie Albright says we’re basically drugging ourselves.

“You’ll just be in this pleasurable dopamine state, carried away. It’s almost hypnotic; you’ll keep watching and watching.”

I ended up deleting the app the following morning and now try to avoid getting on my phone altogether after 7 pm. Instead, I bring my kindle to bed with me.

Stop allowing yourself to be in bad company.

A friend of yours asks you to go to dinner; you say yes, but deep down, you don’t want to. You agreed because you felt guilty saying no.

This was me last weekend.

You need to learn to say no, and you need to learn to stop feeling guilty over stupid shit that doesn’t help you or your life.

As humans, we have this need to make people happy, and it’s so stupid because we know deep down it won’t make us happy if we agree to it.

Let this be the year you finally stop allowing yourself to be in bad company, and let this be the year you finally put your foot down and realize that it’s okay to say no.

Say no to things that don’t serve you. Say no to people who cause you more harm than good.

Doing these will help make your life more stress-free.

Stop living outside of your means.

School doesn’t teach us financial literacy.

I didn’t learn anything about credit cards, checkbooks, bank accounts, mortgages, or any of those things when I was in school.

I used to fear looking at my bank account. I used to avoid it like the plague. I’d only look at it on Fridays — my paydays. Why? Because I would constantly live outside of my means.

We all hate bills and debt. Those two things are a massive stressors and can deeply affect our quality of life which is why it’s imperative to get comfortable with checking up on your bank account regularly, creating a budget for yourself, and having some money set aside for a rainy day.

Spend time alone.

French philosopher Blaise Pascal once said,

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

You’d be surprised at how many people struggle with being alone. Some people are incapable of hanging out with themselves. They always need a friend to go to a coffee shop with, or they always need someone to talk to on the phone.

By learning to be comfortable in your own company, you can give yourself the opportunity to explore yourself and your passions without interference.

And time to yourself is critical for growth and personal development. Instead of worrying about what others want, their opinions, or their needs, alone time lets you focus on yourself.