20 {Daily} Habits {and the app that helps me stay on track}

I’ve been trying to get into better habits this last week or so, partly to help me stay more organised and partly to be more mindful about taking small steps to better health. As work has picked up I’ve found myself looking for more ways to keep on top of things but also to stay inspired.

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I’ve started using several new {to me} apps to help me stay organised {look out for an upcoming post specifically about these!} but one I wanted to mention in this post is an app called Productive – Habit Tracker. As with a lot of apps there are both free and paid versions. The free version didn’t allow me to have the number of habits I wanted so I opted for a 3 month paid subscription at ~£11 in total as a trial period to see if I’d use it.

The app is super simple to use. The basic idea is that you add habits you’d like to track and aim to make “daily streaks”. Habits can be organised or personalised with icons, colours and you can choose what days, time of day and how often to repeat your habit. You can also set reminders by time or location and an end date or set amount of times you undertake a habit. Another option is to create a one time task rather than a regular habit. There is also a broad range of categories such as morning routine, mental self-care or personal finance you can browse and choose habits from.

At the moment I have chosen to organise my habits into 4 coloured sections: blue for health, yellow for home, green for self-care and red for organisation. I am using my own habits but plan to explore the categories within the app more in time and also start using it for one off tasks too.

Here are 20 daily habits I have on my Productive app:

1. Morning and evening skincare routine {as separate habits}
2. Practice gratitude {3 things I am grateful for everyday}
3. Have screen-free time {read a book, play with the kids etc}
4. Watch something educational, listen to a podcast or read the news {promoting personal growth, staying inspired and current}
5. Make beds and clear my space {setting myself up for the day}
6. Write top 3 list {top 3 jobs to do each day to help me to prioritise and stay focused – can be work related or home/family/self-care related}
7. Get fresh air {there are definitely days I don’t leave the house; this reminds me to take 5 and take in some fresh air, even if it means sticking my head out of a window!}
8. Take vitamins/medication {a good reminder as I do forget!}
9. Check emails {this is more about taking bite sized chunks out of what can become a very overwhelming task and ensuring nothing important is missed. Note – I only check work emails Monday-Thursday but aim to check my personal or blog email accounts daily}
10. Practice self-care {again even if it’s just a reminder to take 5 minutes to yourself}
11. Fill water bottle {definitely trying to get into the habit of staying hydrated}
12. Prep for next day {staying one step ahead to help make our mornings run smoother}
13. Clean something {I do try to follow the Organised Mum Method but as long as I clean something everyday I feel like I’m more on top of the housework}
14. Move your body {whether through dedicated exercise, taking a walk or playing races with the kids for 5 minutes – small changes add up}
15. Check the weather {another really simple way to feel ready for the day – even if the forecast ends up being wrong!}
16. Washing {if you have kids or a large family you will understand my {our} pain when it comes to the seemingly endless task of washing – doing a wash or folding and putting a load away everyday keeps the chaos at bay}
17. Clear photos off phone {at one point I had over 21,000 photos on my iphone…..Probably half of which were duplicates or unnecessary. I’m now trying to spend a few minutes every day going through and deleting photos – I’m now down to 16,000 hurrah!}
18. Check money {another great habit to get into, just to check your banking app everyday to keep on top of your finances and check for any dodgy or unexpected transactions – fml another repeat subscription I forgot to cancel!}
19. Eat something green {one of the things which I really need/want to change or improve are my eating habits. By “green” I basically mean anything super nutritious – making at least one healthy swap or addition everyday}
20. Do something you love {connect with your bestie, sing along to Mariah in the kitchen, cuddle your dog – anything which makes you beam with happiness}

I may not complete every task everyday and the app {helpfully} allows you to skip habits which can help with feeling overwhelmed if you know you’re just not up to say moving your body that day.

Some of these may seem like “easy wins” and that’s exactly what they are. If I can get up and make the beds, check the weather, my banking app and emails and jot down the top 3 tasks I want to get done that day all before 8am then BOOM I feel like I’m winning 🙂

This isn’t about setting yourself up to fail but to make you think, actually I could just do that really quickly now and help make the small tasks add up. I’m really enjoying it so far and I am already feeling the benefits.

What would you have on your daily habit list?