15 Good Daily Goals To Set For A Successful Day
1. Write in your journal before bed
Journaling before bed helps us to relax and calm down. A study from Baylor University and Emory University provided the following benefits:
- Decreased worry
- Less overthinking
- Faster falling asleep
When you’re ready to start winding down for the evening, grab your journal in bed and start writing. You can write out whatever you feel you need to let go of from today or write things you look forward to tomorrow. This can be a great daily goal for yourself.
Related: 111 Goals For 2023 (New Year Personal Goals Examples)
2. Stand more
According to WebMD, standing helps limit back pain, increase productivity, and apparently even burn calories. The article does caution not standing too long, though. Healthline recommends one hour for every one to two hours sitting in your office.
3. Spend a few minutes with someone you care about
You probably already know how beneficial spending time with someone you care about can be. But in case you didn’t, among the benefits of doing that include:
- Improved psychological well-being
- Better coping with stress
- Good for our cardiovascular wellbeing
Give someone you care about a call today. Maybe even stop by their place for a visit to give them a hug. Hugs are known to reduce stress too.
4. Read something new
Reading new things can be a good way to keep your mind active. Health Navigator points out that when we choose to learn something new, our brain functioning improves. You could learn about a new study on ScienceDaily or practice speaking new words in a different language.
5. Give yourself a moment to relax
We all need to take a breath and relax in our day. Deep breathing is one proven way of doing calming ourselves down. Healthline notes that diaphragmatic breathing can decrease the release of stress hormones.
6. Enjoy a little nature
In a previous article, I discussed the benefits of being in nature. It’s been proven to boost our mental well-being, reduce stress, and even make us more creative. Take time to go outside, breath in some fresh air, and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.
7. Do a fun exercise
The importance of doing a fun exercise is that it can encourage you to do it more. Inquirer reported a study that found those who thought about workouts in positive terms did it more often and enjoyed it more.
If you hate running, don’t make yourself go running. Instead, if you like dancing, then crank up some music and start moving.
8. Throw something out
WebMD reported recently that there are mental benefits of decluttering. They noted it helps improve our overall well-being, increases our self-esteem, and even gives us better relationships.
Most people have a lot of things in their place they just don’t use anymore. You could make it a challenge to find one thing to decide to throw out every day.
9. Make your bed
As Admiral William H McRaven expressed, making our bed can help give us a sense of pride and make us want to accomplish more tasks in our day. Give yourself your first win of the day by making your bed.
10. Plan ahead
Personally, planning ahead has helped me to spend less time thinking about what I’m doing in my day. I look at my planner and get started on any task that I feel is most important. Huffington Post mentions a number of other benefits to planning.
11. End your day early
There’s not much you’re missing out on not staying up late. Late-night shows get repeated on YouTube these days, and after a certain age, going out at night gets old.
Parade noted that sleeping earlier could make our sleep schedule better. Make it a habit to end your day early and get an early fresh start for tomorrow.
12. Remind yourself of what to be grateful for
I’ve mentioned gratitude a few times in previous articles. Being grateful is one of the few things that’s been consistently concluded to improve our mental well-being. If you struggle with gratitude, here’s a list of things to be thankful for that might help you.
13. Spend time on your passion
Perhaps there need not be a study to prove spending time on what we’re passionate about is good for us. When you do what you enjoy, you usually end up feeling good. It’s also a good objective to take time for your passions because as you get better, it could eventually become your full-time career.
14. Track your progress
Knowing that you’re getting better at something can be a good motivator to keep working hard. APA reported research that showed monitoring our progress towards a goal increased chances of success.
15. Repeat affirmations to yourself
An article in Healthline mentioned that affirmations could strengthen our self-worth. It boosts our positive opinion of ourselves and increases our confidence in our ability to complete our objectives. Make it a habit every day to say positive things about yourself and positive things about your future.