Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash
Mastering the art of simplifying your life while making space for the little things you love (or that improve your life) is an underrated skill. Life is already complicated—so why not have your go-to shortcuts to improve your life and make it smoother?
These small things that improve your life could be a simple trick that saves you time and keeps you organized, a step in your routine that keeps you grounded, or a small habit that makes your life run effortlessly. All these small fixes eventually add up to improving your life.
In this article, I will share 25 easily doable small things you can do to improve your life. These small fixes I have been doing and loving for some time, and I genuinely feel like they have improved my life.Â
You can implement what resonates with you and works with you. The more you lean into what works for you, the more enjoyable and unchaotic your life becomes.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them—at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I truly love and believe will bring value to your life. Thank you!
Here are 25 easy things to do to improve your life.
1. Always check marketplaces before buying new
This helps save so much money. There are more people than you imagine that are willing to give up things in perfect condition just because they don’t have use for them and would rather give them to someone who actually needs them at a discounted price rather than give them away.
As I am based in France, my go-to’s are Vinted, Leboncoin, and Vestaire Collective. I know that they work terribly in other locations.Â
Find the marketplaces that are the most reliable in your location and make it a habit to check them before making a new purchase. You can even create a folder in the bookmarks bar with those marketplaces for easier access.
2. Having a “leaving the house” box for when you’re ready to go
As we constantly have to change from workbag to working out bag to going out bag, there have certainly been times when you’ve forgotten important things (hi wallet and metro card) because of the number of times you’ve had to transfer your essentials between bags.
That’s when this simple hack that has absolutely made my life easier comes in handy. Get yourself a nice small box that fits your essentials so that you easily have them whenever you’re on the go!
3. Delivering groceries
Delivering groceries has to be one of the most underrated services people use. For some reason ordering groceries online felt so wrong. Maybe because food delivery was highly frowned upon in my household, so I grew up not keeping it as an option in my head.
It saves a lot of time especially if you have a busy schedule and try to have more home-cooked meals. Having your ingredients delivered is already half the job done, all that’s left is cooking them!
4. Using a Lumie instead of your phone’s alarm
A Lumie, also known as a wake-up light or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) lamp, is designed to mimic natural sunlight and wake up gradually instead of a harsh phone alarm clock that just wakes you up annoyed.
It also helps regulate your circadian rhythm, making you wake up more refreshed. They don’t just have daylight and sunrises, they have built-in alarms that are gentler like birds chirping, white noise, etc.
However, people who will benefit the most from a Lumie are:
- People who struggle with dark mornings or winter blues
- Anyone with trouble waking up early
- Working from home and needing natural light exposure
- Cannot break the habit of scrolling in the morning because they use their phone as an alarm
- Live in a location where the sun rises really late or really early so they can’t have their window shuttles open otherwise they’ll wake up earlier than you wanted
- People dealing with irregular sleep schedules
5. Charging or leaving your phone in another room overnight
This tip is to follow up on the benefits of having a Lumie. If you’re unable to break the habit of scrolling on your phone when you wake up, then it would be beneficial if you leave your phone in another room and use a Lumie (or another normal alarm).
As we say: out of sight out, out of mind
6. Eating seasonally
Eating seasonally brings so much magic into each season and your life because it connects you with nature’s rhythm, makes food taste better, and adds a sense of excitement to each meal.
There’s a certain joy in anticipating what’s coming next… Spring’s crisp greens, summer’s tasty berries, autumn’s cozy pumpkins. It makes you more mindful of what you’re eating, turning meals into a little celebration of the season.
Also, it aligns with your body’s natural needs as nature knows what it’s doing. Summer fruits keep you hydrated, winter veggies are hearty and warming, and spring greens are fresh and detoxifying.Â
Not to mention that growing food seasonally has a lower environmental impact!
7. Reading more fiction books
I used to treat reading like a chore–like something I need to learn from. If this book wasn’t a self-help book or added to my information, then I’d feel like it’s wasting my time. I became overwhelmed by listening to self-help podcasts, reading non-fiction books, etc.
While it’s good to learn new things, balancing out your reading with both fiction and non-fiction allows you to enjoy reading and get lost in the stories, characters, and stimulates your creative mind, and gives you a chance to imagine the scenes and delve into an imaginary life.
8. Drinking hot chocolate with sugar-free cocoa powder and honey or agave
If you find yourself craving chocolate or a cozy warm drink at night, you can enjoy that same comforting feeling without the extra refined sugar—though there’s absolutely nothing wrong with indulging in classic hot chocolate!
But if you’re looking to cut back on refined sugar, try making a rich and satisfying hot chocolate using sugar-free cocoa powder sweetened with honey or agave. It still gives you that warm, chocolatey goodness while being a gentler choice for your body.
9. Having a small whiteboard in your room for planning
A friend of mine told me this tip for planning your personal projects or the day on a whiteboard and that it helped him so much with his music business! I went out and bought a small one, put it somewhere visible and it made planning way easier.
There’s something about writing on a board that just makes your brain more simplified when writing things–it’s visual, flexible, and engaging.Â
Whether you are mapping out ideas, planning content, or setting goals, a whiteboard just feels open-ended and interactive, making you brainstorm easily without the rigid format.
10. Putting your non-skin-care self-care products next to you in bed
Finding a way to make your things more accessible just makes your routines so much easier. As mentioned, out of sight, out of mind.Â
Doing skincare that goes on your face is easy because it’s just your face and a bunch of products next to each other, but foot cream and nail oil? There’s no way I’m remembering them without having them next to me.
11. High-quality pillows
Oh, how I love adult purchases. How would’ve thought that at some point in life, I would be super excited about going pillow shopping… As I’m constantly working on having the best quality of sleep, I have dived into the world of pillows and I will never go back.
Did you know that there are pillows that have cooling effects for those who get warm at night? I surely didn’t. Buying a high-quality pillow that suits your preferences is really a game-changer to your quality of sleep. They’re a hundred percent worth the investment.Â
12. Having morning coffee slowly in bed
Actually planning a 10 or 15-minute coffee time in the morning turns an everyday habit into a moment of calm, intention, and self-care before the day fully starts.Â
Instead of jumping straight into getting ready for work, sipping coffee in bed lets you wake up gently and adds an extra thing to look forward to in the morning. I go to bed thinking about those extra few minutes that I’m going to very slowly sip my coffee in my cozy bed before rushing to get ready for work.
13. Bamboo bowls
There’s something about eating from a bowl that makes the experience way better, let alone a bamboo bowl. Bamboo has this earthy feel that makes my meals more relaxing. They also look very aesthetically pleasing, are pleasant to touch, and just elevate my eating experience.
You can eat anything in them–salads, soups, or anything! They also support sustainability and the environment.
14. Choosing low-impact exercises for cardio
I thought that doing cardio or losing weight has to make you super sweaty and breathless, and just overall a high-intensity workout. As someone who is always running as the main form of cardio, I have recently switched to using machines in the gym such as the elliptical or bike for cardio and I can feel how less stressed my body is now.
If your goal is to lose weight like mine is currently, it’s not gentle on the body to do high-intensity cardio movements frequently. Consider finding a machine or way to move that is gentle on your joints and you can enjoy it. I personally love walking, elliptical, and biking.
15. Buying bigger handbags
As much as I love a cute mini-bag, I cannot manage without my big totes. Totes hold almost anything–it’s perfect for when you need to carry multiple things without juggling smaller bags and constantly worrying about space.Â
Whether you’re heading to work, the gym, a weekend getaway, or just running errands, a large tote fits the multitasker lifestyle.
16. Stretching in the morning in a way that feels good to you
You know that Ah feeling you get when you go a good stretch? These are the stretches you do in the morning that make you feel good. If you like to have a more planned stretching routine, you can go on YouTube and find short morning stretches, my favorite is Sunrise Yoga with Adrienne. It’s short and simple, and I find her voice so soothing.Â
17. Buying an extension screen for working remotely
This one is a game-changer for a few reasons. It enhances your overall work experience. One of the biggest perks is extra space. With a second screen, you can multitask more efficiently–keeping a tab open on one screen and another on the other.Â
Also if you’re working with design software, spreadsheets, or multiple tabs for research, an extension screen is a game-changer. I have been putting off this purchase for so long, and since I have finally made the decision, I feel like working remotely has been way better and more productive.
18. Sticking cute little sticky notes with sayings that inspire you on your wall
More like the sticking affirmations thing on the mirror, this one reminds you of sayings that inspired you every day. You know when you read something and it makes you feel way better or assures you? Put that thing on a sticky note to see every day.Â
My personal favorite is:
“A beautiful life is not stumbled upon, it is built. It is chosen. It is nurtured over the years. It is not one that is immediately comfortable, but one grown through the acknowledgment of what is worth being uncomfortable for.” -Brianna West
19. Blowdrying your pajamas in the winter
This one feels like a big warm hug. During colder months, try either putting your sleeping pajamas on the heater or using a blow dryer on them. It’s such a warm and cozy act of self-care.
20. Swapping foundation for CC cream
You know those days when your face doesn’t feel refreshed or you just want to have more makeup, but at the same time foundation feels too heavy to be worn at that time? That’s when CC cream comes in. I honestly have completely swapped foundation for CC cream since it’s a more natural, lightweight, and skin-friendly alternative.
I use this one from Erborian since it was very famous on TikTok for some time and I totally get the hype!
21. Reading seasonally
Same as eating seasonal food, reading seasonal has this magic in it that creates a connection between your books and the world around you. The same as watching Christmas movies around Christmas time, why don’t we do the same for books?
I don’t feel like watching “Home Alone” would feel the same if watched during Summer time. There’s just something special about having these movies during their specified time. It gives you more things to look forward to.Â
Reading books that match the season heightens the experience. Imagine reading a cozy mystery in autumn, for example, a light romance in spring, or an easy summer love story in summer. Each one feels just right when read at the perfect time.
22. Doing a brain dump
You that feeling when you’ve talked to your best friend and them everything that is stressing you, and you have this clear mind after? That’s exactly what brain-dumping on a piece of paper feels like.Â
It’s like a mental rest that helps you unload everything cluttering your brain onto paper (or a digital space).
A brain dump gets everything out of your head so you can see it clearly instead of letting it build up as mental noise. You can see a different perspective on things when you get to let it out instead of just keeping it in your head.
I love to also go through my old journals and see how much my thinking has evolved and see the problems that used to stress me out a lot so insignificant. Makes you realize how these things just fade over time and you might not even remember them after a while.
These are my favorite easy ways to improve my life and make it easier, I’d love to know about yours!
Here are some similar blog posts:
Winter Arc Challenge–Gen Z’s Newest TikTok Obsession, Is it Right for You?
Why Feeling Lost at 25 is Completely Normal
Mindfulness at Work: Easy Practices for Staying Grounded During the 9-to-5
How to Get Your Spark Back – 3 Easy Ways That Will Bring You Back to Yourself