At times, we all feel like we want a major life reset.
It may be because we’re feeling frustrated with where we are in life, or we just feel like it’s time to give our habits a glow up.
However, it can be overwhelming to change a lot about your life at once.
If you try to change everything at once, you most likely won’t be successful in changing anything. At the very least, you’ll get burned out after a couple of days.
The good news is that even small changes can lead to amazing results. This is one of the central points of James Clear’s Atomic Habits, a book that was amazingly helpful to me as I worked to create better habits.
He makes the point that if you improved yourself just 1% every day for a year, you’d be 37 times better by the time you’re done.
Basically, you could get 37 times better at time management, or eating healthy, or playing piano – by just improving a small amount every day.
I absolutely love that idea, but the problem is… it can be really hard to break your habits up into 1% increments.
If I have a goal to “be more organized,” what does a 1% improvement look like? Then what does it look like tomorrow? Or the next day?
Rather than break down every goal of mine into 1% increments, I like to practice the principle of “Gentle Upgrades” – small, relatively easy changes I can make to improve myself just a little.
These little upgrades are things that I can quickly implement and continue to practice in the future. To me, giving myself a mini upgrade is more simple than setting a goal. I look at these upgrades simply as changes I choose to make going forward.
Here are some ideas for Gentle Upgrades:
- Quit one thing completely
- Physically get up (off the couch, off the bed) when you say you’re going to (This is something I’ve incorporated recently because I noticed I had the habit of sinking into my comfy couch, then saying I would get up “in a minute,” yet staying there for 30 minutes.)
- Stop using your phone in bed
- Clean out your purse every week
- Decrease your mental clutter by reducing the amount of tabs you have open on your computer at a time
- Schedule a self-care hour every week and stick to it (Check out this article if you want some unique self-care ideas)
- Put your phone down and out of sight when someone (a partner, a child, etc.) talks to you
- Replace an unhealthy treat you often have with a healthy one
- Take mindful brain breaks instead of opening new tabs on your computer or picking up your phone
- Charge your phone in a room besides your bedroom
- Put things away as soon as you’re done using them
- Keep books by your bed (or implement another one of these tips to be more of a reader)
- Only watch one episode of TV a day (this has been my change in the last few months and I love it)
- Use the time you’re stopped at a red light to think of things you’re grateful for
- Mute notifications on your phone
- Go to bed 30 minutes earlier
- Use a water bottle with a tracker to drink more water (I like this cute and affordable one)
- Go on a 15-minute walk outside every day
- Compare yourself to others less by thinking “That’s perfect for them” (Read more about how to do that here)
- Start journaling at least once a week
- Implement the “one in, one out” rule to keep clutter from building up (This means that for every item you bring into your home, you get rid of something old.)
- Schedule in 3 things you can do for fun a week (Find 100 ideas of fun things to do here)
- Clear out the “junk drawer” in your house
- State your intention for getting on your phone before picking it up
- Clean out your email inbox or delete unneeded files on your computer
- Designate a time every week to turn off your phone and put it away. You can start small, like for one hour every Saturday, and build up to a whole day, or whatever best serves you.
- Meditate for 10 minutes a day
- Stop taking so many pictures to post on social media
How can I use Gentle Upgrades to improve myself?
There are different ways you can choose to use these “Gentle Upgrades” to make your life better.
You may choose to give yourself a gentle upgrade when you’re feeling meh and want a bit of a glow up.
Or you could decide to implement a gentle upgrade each month, say on the 1st of each month. Maybe you’d like to choose certain upgrades in advance and plan them out by scheduling them in your planner or calendar. Or, you could decide on an upgrade that resonates with you and that you feel like you need.
I write my Gentle Upgrades in my planner, where I put a little ‘x’ on each day that I accomplished them. This helps me to remember what I’m working on, and it also gives me a sense of satisfaction to give myself that ‘x.’
In time, my upgrades become habits that I no longer need to track. They’re just part of me.
Write your Upgrade down somewhere that you’ll see it regularly. For me, it’s my planner, but you could also write it on a Post-It and stick it on your mirror or wall. Writing it down will increase the likelihood that 1) you’ll remember what you’re working on, and 2) that you’ll actually do it!
Conclusion
Gentle Upgrades are an easy and low-stress way to improve yourself. I love them because they really aren’t too hard to implement, but they make my life a lot better.
Of course, you may not be perfect at following your upgrade 100% of the time, but if you mess up, just keep trying!
Remember, small changes can lead to amazing results.
Best of luck!
Before You Go…
If you liked this article, you might like this one about How to Reset Your Life in 3 Simple Steps
One of the best life upgrades I gave myself was getting control over my phone use. Learn how you can take control of your phone and reclaim hours of time.
