No. 48: Share a really cool and helpful list on social media.
A few weeks ago, I was having a rough day, and I started thinking of some small things to make my day better. Ultimately, I came up with 101 ideas. I wrote about them here.
Just thinking of all these ideas and sharing them made me feel better before I did any of them. And, I asked readers to come up with even more ideas.
Well, we did it. Here are 101 more very simple habits that can improve your life today:
- Drink more water than you think you need.
- If it's winter (as it is when I'm writing this), go outside long enough to get really cold. Then come inside and warm up. Good feeling, right?
- Donate books to your local library. If you don't have one, offer them on social media.
- Eat real oatmeal. Top it with nuts, cinnamon, and fruit.
- Consolidate the contents of nearly empty food containers in your fridge or pantry.
- If you have leftover gift cards for a restaurant or store with just a few dollars on them, leave them at the restaurant or store where other people can find them.
- Treat yourself to comfortable underwear and bedsheets. You use them every day; they're a good place to splurge.
- Drive at the speed limit or lower in areas where there are pedestrians.
- Stretch.
- Move to the right for higher speed vehicles on highways. They'll be happy to be ahead of you, and you likely never have to see them again.
- Donate to a food pantry. While it's nice to give things you won't use, for bonus karma, add something you love.
- Park far away from the door.
- Donate your old eye glasses.
- Buy Girl Scout cookies. You'll make someone's day.
- Empty the wastebasket. (I know some people do this all the time; I suppose all writing is autobiography, if I'm including this as if it were an aspiration.)
- Take a minute to consciously cut yourself some slack for something you could have done better.
- Download the sound of ocean waves to your phone. It's better than music sometimes when you want to relax.
- When you want to say something angry to someone, just say "have a nice day" instead.
- Carry a treat for dogs (but ask their owner before sharing).
- Tell your significant other something you like about them that they might not know.
- Clear the cache on your computer.
- Go through your kids' old toys. Find 5 or 10 you can donate right away.
- Start a blog. It doesn't matter if nobody reads it; you're doing this for yourself.
- Clean a mess you didn't make. (Similarly, I'm aware some some people have to do this constantly.)
- Log into LinkedIn and accept some of the connection requests that have likely piled up.
- Learn to say hello, good-bye, and a few other pleasantries in a foreign language. Go out of your way to bump into people who speak it and use your new expressions.
- Share free "gift" links online from your paid subscriptions.
- Play a board game with a child (your own son or daughter, or niece, nephew, friend's kid) and/or read to them.
- Put a $20 "emergency bill" in your wallet. Then forget about it.
- Clean out your email inbox.
- Recycle some old old electronics you don't use anymore.
- Shut off your Wi-Fi for a while, or put your phone on airplane mode.
- If you see someone who looks like they're having a bad day, drop a $5, $10 or even $20 on the ground near them, and then tell them: "I think you dropped something."
- Visit someone's memorial or grave. Leave something so others will know someone has been there.
- Take a cold shower. If you can't stomach an entire cold shower, turn the water to cold at the end of your regular shower.
- Send a message to the writer of an article you really liked, just telling them so.
- Pay a stranger a compliment.
- If you have a good experience as a customer of a business, post on social media that you recommend them.
- If you think there's a chance someone doesn't remember your name, either tell them, or quote someone else using it. "Funny story: A friend of mine other day told me, 'Bill, if there's one thing I know about you ...'"
- Get up early and go somewhere that you can watch the sunrise -- better still if you can see clear to the horizon.
- Keep a list of new foods you'd like to try, or even restaurants you'd like to check out.
- Take an online course for something professional that you might not otherwise be exposed to.
- Write an "if anything happens to me" note for family or friends. It can be short; you'll add to it over time.
- Get rid of extra clothes hangers.
- Keep a running list of books you would like to read, and movies or shows you'd like to see.
- Pay for the person behind you in line. Maybe you'll start a chain.
- Go into your junk drawer and get rid of 3 things.
- Share a really cool and helpful list on social media.
- Ask people upfront how to pronounce their name.
- Make a list of karaoke songs you'd like to sing. Do a little rehearsal in the shower.
- If you're in a library, leave a dollar or two in a children's book. Think back to when you were a kid, and you'll imagine how excited some child will be.
- Search on Twitter or other social media for people celebrating sobriety milestones, and congratulate them.
- If you don't already do this now, think of 20 good friends or people you'd like to be friends. Put calendar reminders in your phone to call or text them on their birthdays.
- I'll bet you have some furniture you don't like or use. Offer it for free online.
- Look up a few funny, clean jokes to have handy for the next time telling a joke would be a good idea.
- Read for an hour about an interesting place you'll probably never travel to.
- Think of something that's bothered you; now pretend whoever was responsible for it apologized. It's a white lie to yourself, but it can help.
- Look up an old boss you haven't talked to in a long time, and tell them you learned things from them you still use today.
- Hold an elevator for someone.
- If you have a great, fun time with someone, mark it in your calendar for one year out, so you have a reason to call/text them then.
- Buy gift cards for food to give out.
- Uninstall unused apps on your phone and restart it. Or even turn it off overnight if you're feeling spicy.
- Remind yourself that if people are rude or mean, it probably has a lot more to do with them than you.
- Double check that you have a fire extinguisher, smoke detector, and first aid kit.
- Rate somebody 5 stars -- a customer service person, a restaurant, etc.
- Write a handwritten note to someone. Maybe it positive. Imagine them reading it now, but then also coming across it years from now.
- Make your bed.
- Make a 2nd batch of whatever you're cooking, and offer to a neighbor who could use it.
- Make an effort to learn at least a little bit of coding.
- Tell a mom or dad -- especially if they look tired -- that you think they have a beautiful family.
- Get rid of duplicate kitchen utensils you don't use.
- If you normally eat a salty snack, have a vegetable instead.
- Put your elected officials' phone numbers and email addresses in your phone.
- If someone does something embarrassing, intentionally do something embarrassing yourself to deflect the impact.
- If you normally eat a sweet snack, have fruit instead.
- Donate clothes that you've held onto for the big day when you'll lose however much weight you think you want to lose. If you do lose the weight, buy new clothes you'll feel better about.
- If your parents are alive and well, give them a call or at least a text.
- Express gratitude -- to God, to yourself, or whomever is around you.
- Call a local school and ask if you can pay for lunches for kids who need help.
- When someone asks how you're doing, reply that you've never felt better in your whole life. There's a 90% chance they'll smile.
- Spread the word about a great newsletter you read.
- Hold a door for a lot of people. You'll rarely have so many strangers thank you in quick succession.
- Have a second cup of coffee. Heck, a third.
- Donate blood or sign up for a screening to be a donor.
- Brainstorm something you've been afraid to do, and make a plan to do it.
- Write down the best thing that happened to you yesterday.
- Look up a new word in a paper dictionary.
- If you live somewhere with a change of seasons, make an effort to appreciate the current one.
- Give up your seat on public transportation or in a waiting room.
- Take public transportation instead of driving. (Yes, I know many people already do this. I did for years.)
- Vacuum. (I know, some people already do this.)
- Memorize at least one poem or other piece of literature. It's a great party trick to be able to recite, especially if the poem or the fact that it's you doing it would be surprising.
- Pay for a stranger's parking meter.
- Buy flowers. They don't have to be expensive.
- Hold off on buying something for three days, to see if you really, truly need or want it.
- Commit to learn the basics of a musical instrument. A few months is often enough.
- Play a brain game on your phone. Not too many.
- On a clear night, spend 10 minutes just staring at the stars.
- Reach out to someone you went to school with just to say hi. If you feel odd doing this, think of a specific story and tell them it popped in your head and prompted your call.
- Unfollow people or pages on social media
- Keep a notebook and paper next to your bed, and write down your dreams.
- Come up with a great 102nd item for this list, and share it in the comments.
This Morning
The Daily Digest for Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders
Feb 12, 2023
