57 “Tiny” Daily Habits You Can Start and Grow Right Now

The key to being successful with a new habit is starting small.

Let me rephrase that. The key to a good habit is starting tiny.

But with tiny habits, you can add new habits quickly. That’s the idea.

The main idea is to make sure you’re continuing the habit, so if adding new habits stops you from completing previous habits, you’re doing it wrong. But if all is going well, you can add a new habit once a month, if not once a week.

Starting small like this helps you to create the actual habit without it being too much of a burden on your life. If it’s too hard, we don’t do it. That’s human nature. With tiny habits, by the time the habit starts to grow large, you’ve already developed the habit itself, so it’s easier to continue.

By the way, you can see my daily habits here.

You may run out of ideas pretty soon with that many habits going on, but don’t worry! I’m going to give you 57 habit ideas, how to start them as tiny habits, and how to keep up with all of them.

I will be updating this list periodically with new habits, so expect it to grow much larger!

How to Keep Up With 57 Habits

When you’re practicing tiny habits, it’s good to have a trigger, as discussed in my post on tiny habits.

I’m not going to go over all the details (read that post to learn more about the science behind tiny habits), but it’s good to do any new habit directly after something you already do habitually. Your current habit is the trigger. Your new habit it queued by the trigger. That still applies, but you actually don’t have to do that. I have been adding a lot of habits, and I don’t have triggers for all of them.

I have been using Productive App to track all of my habits, because I have been creating one new habit each week. You can learn more about how I use Productive App here, but for this article, you’ll just need it to do this:

1. Input each new habit you create
2. Set the time of day you will complete the habit
3. Check it off as “done” once you have completed it

It can’t get much easier, right? No, no it can’t. Excuses be gone.

Productive App is only for iPhones, but Habitica works well and it’s for both of the major platforms. I prefer the simplicity of Productive App though. And if you don’t have a smart phone or just prefer not to use an app, be sure to have a trigger habit before every new habit you create (ex: after I start the coffee pot, I will do one pushup, and increase from there).

When I use Productive App, I have a habit string in the mornings, involving many habits. And I have a habit string in the evening, involving a few key habits before bed. I’ve found that I’m much less likely to stick with afternoon habits, so I only do a few select habits in the afternoons.

57 “Too Easy” Habits You Can Start Today

I’m going to list each ultimate goal or habit in bold, and then follow it up with how to start the tiny habit.

These are separated by category so you can easily find the habit you want to create, and see the tiny version.

Some habits are listed twice if there are multiple ways to start the tiny habit.

Blogging/Business

1. Blogging – Comment on one new blog a day (two a day the second week, and so on)
2. Blogging – Send one guest blogging request email/week (send two the second week, and so on)
3. Blogging – Spend five minutes a day building your social media (add a minute a day, each week)
4. Side Hustle – Spend 10 minutes a day working on your side hustle (increase by 10 minutes a day, each week)
5. Writing – Write 100 words a day (on week two, go to 120 words/day, and so on)
6. Writing – Write one paragraph a day (one week two, go to two paragraphs/day, and so on)
7. Writing – Writing one sentence each day (one day two, go to two sentences/day, and so on)

Finances

8. Budgeting – Track five things you buy this week (add one thing each week, until you track everything)
9. Budgeting – Keep one budget category under budget this month (do two the second month, and so on)
10. Investing – Start investing $50 a month (increase by $10/month, every month)
11. Saving – Set an automatic $50 draft to go into your emergency fund (increase by $10/month, every month)
12. Selling – Sell one item you want to get rid of, each week (sell two items the next week, and so on)

Personal Growth

13. New Language – Learn one new word a day (if you’re doing well, increase — if not, stick with one word a day)
14. Positivity – Set a reminder to stop and just start smiling, once a day — it will make you feel better (go to two times a day the second week, and so on)
15. Positivity – Compliment one person everyday — here’s 100 ideas (compliment two people a day the second week, and so on)
16. Read More – Read one page in a book everyday — use this time to find the best time of day for this — learn how to read even more here (go to two pages a day on week two, and so on)
17. Self Confidence – Write down one good thing about yourself everyday (increase as you see fit)
18. Self Discipline – Start implementing some of the habits on this list, increase them gradually, and stick with them
19. Set Goals – Set one goal each week (continue until you have 10 solid goals, and then start sorting them into categories) Note: you might find creating new habits to be more beneficial than setting goals
20. Taking Risks – Take one risk, in your work or personal life, each week (on week two, take two risks, and so on) Note: we’re talking about beneficial risks here, like asking for a promotion, not stupid risks like grand theft auto or arson
21. Try New Things – Try one new thing every day or week (no need to increase)

Health

22. Breathing – Spend one minute in intentional deep breathing each day (on week two, go to two a day)
23. Drink More Water – Intentionally drink one full glass of water today (drink two tomorrow, and so on)
24. Eat Better – Eat one healthy meal a day (eat two healthy meals a day the second week, and so on)
25. Eat Better – Eat one healthy meal a week (eat two healthy meals the second week, and so on)
26. Eat Better – Add one healthy aspect to your diet a week, such as drinking more water, adding stricter perimeters, cutting out something unhealthy, etc. (add another the second week, and so on)
27. Eat Less Carbs – Eat less than 200 or 300 carbs a day (cut by 20 the second week, and so on)
28. Eat More Vegetables – Add a veggie to one meal a week (add to two meals the second week, and so on)
29. Flossing – Floss one tooth a day (do two the second day, and so on – just remember which teeth!)
30. Improve Posture – Set a reminder to sit up straight for 10 minutes a day (on week two, go to 15, and so on)
31. Lifting Weights – Do one lifting exercise three times a week (add a new exercise each week)
32. Lifting Weights – Start StrongLifts with just the bar on all exercises (add five pounds each session)
33. Nap More – Take a five minute nap right after work or on lunch (add a minute each week until you reach your desired timeframe)
34. Planks – Hold a plank for 20 seconds, five days a week (the second week, add two seconds to each day — once you get to 1:00 or 2:00, start breaking them up into sets)
35. Pushups – Do one pushup a day, as many days a week as you want (increase by one pushup a day, and so on — if you take an off day, don’t increase the number on that day, wait until your next pushup day)
36. Quit Smoking – Limit yourself to a certain amount of cigarettes each day (cut by one more each day, or each week) Note: this only works for some people, it seems like most people do best quitting cold turkey
37. Quit Sodas – Limit yourself to the average number of sodas you drink in a day (cut by one soda a day, each week, until you’re soda-free)
38. Running – Run for one minute a day, as many days a week as you want (go to two minutes a day on week two, and so on)
39. Running – Run 1/10 mile a day, as many days a week as you want (add an additional 1/10 a day, each week)
40. Situps – Do one situp a day, as many days a week as you want (increase by one situp a day, and so on — if you take an off day, don’t increase the number on that day, wait until your next situp day)
41. Sleep More – Go to bed 10 minutes earlier tonight (continue to go to bed an additional 10 minutes earlier each day, until you’ve reached your desired amount of sleep)
42. Stretching – Stretch for one minute a day (go to two minutes a day on week two, and so on)
43. Walking – Walk 1/4 mile a day (one week two, go to 1/2 mile/day, and son)

Home

44. Cleaning – Clean at least one thing in your house today (clean two things tomorrow, and so on — just cleaning one thing a day is enough if you choose)
45. Declutter – Donate one box of stuff this week (increase to two next week– just donating one box a week is enough if you choose)
46. Declutter – Put one thing in a donation box today (put two things in tomorrow, and so on)
47. Declutter – Get rid of one thing this week (get rid of two things next week, and so on)

Other People

48. Marriage – Start a monthly date night (on month two, go on two dates – get to at least one a week)
49. Meeting New People – Find one new person each week to meet (meet two people the second week, and so on)
50. Parenting – Read one article or page in a book on parenting each day (increase as you see fit)
51. Parenting – Spend 10 minutes a day just playing (or hanging out) with your kids (increase by 10 minutes a day, each week)

Personal

52. Affirmations – Affirm one thing in your life each day (add one daily affirmation each week)
53. Gratitude – Write down one thing you’re grateful for each day (increase as you see fit)
54. Journaling – Write one sentence a day for a week (write two sentences a day the second week, and so on)
55. Meditation – Meditate for one minute a day (go to two minutes a day the second week, and so on)
56. Praying – Spend one minute in prayer a day (go to two minutes a day the second week, and so on)
57. Wake Up Earlier – Wake up 10 minutes earlier everyday this week (increase by 10 minutes a day, each week, until you’re at your desired wake up time)

There are plenty of reasons to start a tiny habit. It’s the easiest way to start and keep going.

There are plenty of things we want to do, but we simply can’t find the time for.

If you’re still looking for good habits to start, this is an impressive list for ideas.

Some of the wording can be confusing on how to start these tiny habits and how to increase them, so feel free to ask any questions and share you own ideas below!