Building on Small Successes: Small Habits to Improve Your Life
If you’re reading this soon after Thanksgiving, I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving and that your holiday season is off to a good start.
Most financially successful individuals learn to use the power of compounding to their advantage. By starting to save and invest early, making consistent contributions, and sticking to their plan, many people can build wealth over time.
In many ways, improving your Return on Your Life (ROL) operates on the same principle. Big, life-altering wins very rarely happen overnight. Learning, growth, wellness, and happiness all start with small habits that improve your life and compound over the years, making your life richer.
Start making more purposeful investments in these three areas, and you will begin to see meaningful wins, especially if you are starting a new chapter.
1. Health
Neither fad diets, must-have fitness equipment and cookware, nor the hot exercise class everyone is trying on social media will work on their own. However, despite how cluttered our kitchens and closets are, we keep buying health food and barbells instead of investing in the habits that will help us make better choices, get off the couch every day, and put all that stuff to use.
In part, that’s because punching in our credit card number is a lot easier than committing to change. But it’s also because we sometimes forget how powerful small changes can be, such as:
- Drinking more water.
- Planning healthy meals in advance and cooking at home.
- Taking a 15-minute walk every morning.
- Powering down an hour before bed and getting seven to eight hours of sleep.
- Scheduling annual (at least) checkups with your doctor.
These kinds of changes all start with small habits to improve your life, like bringing a water bottle to work or waking up early for a morning jog. You might even put your clothes and running shoes out the night before. That way, you commit to your morning exercise before you go to sleep. It also makes it harder to skip that exercise when you wake up.
If you start with these small habits and stick with them, they can compound and lead to healthier choices, such as working with a personal trainer or upgrading your culinary skills. You can take a similar approach to advancing your career.
2. Career
Your career is a marathon, not a sprint. Pulling way ahead early doesn’t guarantee that you’ll “win.” Starting at the back of the pack doesn’t doom you to failure. And just because the road ahead looks clear doesn’t mean you won’t have to navigate some complicated crossroads before retirement.
To maintain a steady forward pace, consider spending just 30 minutes every day on an extra career task, such as:
- Studying for a new degree or certification.
- Learning a new skill, such as how to ask AI better questions.
- Having coffee with a mentor or executive coach.
- Collaborating on a project with someone who works in another department.
- Reading professional publications or watching online master classes.
- Attending a networking event.
- Brainstorming your dream role or business.
At the end of the year, those thirty minutes a day will add up to more than 180 hours devoted to improving your professional capabilities. Those are the kinds of small habits to improve your life that can open doors over time. They also help form a strong foundation for a promotion, a pivot, or a new entrepreneurial endeavor.
Next, let’s look at how this applies to another foundational element of a fulfilling life: relationships.
3. Relationships
The most impactful investments we can make in other people aren’t big gifts around holidays and birthdays. They’re the daily expressions of kindness, compassion, and affection that let our loved ones know just how much we care.
Try to do as many of the following as you can frequently:
- Share a meal with your spouse or partner.
- Read to the kids or grandkids in your life.
- Call a friend who’s having a hard time.
- Check in on your elderly neighbor.
- Help a stressed coworker complete a task.
- Practice gratitude by saying “Thank you” and “I appreciate you,” even if it’s in a text.
FAQ: Small Habits to Improve Your Life:
Q1: Why focus on small habits instead of big, sweeping changes?
Big changes are appealing, but they are hard to sustain. Small habits are easier to start, repeat, and recover when life gets busy. Over time, they compound just like your investments. A 15-minute walk, one intentional conversation, or 30 minutes of focused learning will not change your life overnight. Repeated over months and years, they can meaningfully improve your health, career, relationships, and your Return on Your Life (ROL).
Q2: How do I decide where to start? Health, career, or relationships?
Start where the pain or opportunity feels strongest. If you are exhausted or not sleeping well, begin with one simple health habit. If you feel stuck at work, invest 30 minutes a day in learning or networking. If you feel disconnected, pick one relationship habit from the list. There is no perfect order. The “best” place to begin is wherever you are most likely to follow through this week.
Q3: What if I cannot stick with my new habits consistently?
That is normal. Habits rarely develop in a straight line. Instead of aiming for perfection, aim for patterns. If you miss a day or two, notice what got in the way, adjust, and start again. Often, shrinking the habit helps. For example, a five-minute walk instead of 15, or reading one page instead of a chapter. The goal is to keep the habit alive so it can grow when your season of life allows more space.
Q4: How do these small habits fit into my financial and life plan?
A good financial plan is not just about numbers on a page. It is about how you use your Time, Energy, Attention, and Money (TEAM) to support the life you want. The habits in this post are examples of how to direct TEAM toward better health, work you care about, and stronger relationships. If you would like help connecting your money decisions with these kinds of habits and priorities, we can talk through that as part of our Life Planning process.
Small Habits to Improve Your Life: Next Steps
Once the nonstop hustle and bustle of working and raising a family begins to slow down, you may start asking yourself some complicated questions about your wealth and the second half of your life. Our Life Planning process can help you invest in ways that make the path through the next chapter of your life more fulfilling. It can also help you align how you use your Time, Energy, Attention, and Money (TEAM) with what matters most, and identify small habits to improve your life in this new chapter. If you would like help incorporating a greater emphasis on health, career, and relationships into your life plan, especially if you are navigating a new beginning, please schedule a free call. You can also subscribe to our blog to receive our weekly insights in your inbox.
This Week’s Favorite Reads:
This week’s Five Favorite Reads offers tips on overcoming the guilt around spending in retirement, time management tips for the holiday season, and a Thanksgiving message from Warren Buffett. You will also find a reminder that the most valuable gifts we give our kids are often the ones that don’t cost us any money. Plus, an article offering tips for family caregivers who also have jobs.
Here are the links to this week’s articles, as well as a brief description of each and why you should check it out:
1. Are You Retired? Here’s How to Drop the Guilt and Spend Your Next Egg.
Many diligent savers struggle to flip from accumulation to enjoyment—and spending—in retirement. This article speaks to “Midwestern millionaires” who have pensions and seven-figure portfolios yet feel guilty about vacations, home updates, and gifts. It encourages you to redefine security as spending that is aligned with your plan and values, not just avoiding running out of money. A simple framework divides your nest egg into paychecks (essentials), play-checks (joyful, purposeful extras), and legacy (what you may never spend). With clear “spending corridors” and a few mindful questions, you can move from “Will I run out?” to “How can I make the most of it?” and give yourself permission to enjoy your money.
2. 11 Methods To Better Manage Time During The Holiday Season.
This article gathers 11 short, practical suggestions for protecting your time and energy during the holidays. You will find an emphasis on planning early, prioritizing what matters most, and being intentional about every “yes” and “no.” (Saying yes to one thing means saying no to one or more other things.) Several tips focus on carving out white space for yourself, including simple self-care rituals, daily walks, or quiet time to reset so that you can show up with more patience for family, friends, and work. Others stress setting expectations, communicating your limits, and trusting that you do not have to do it all perfectly for it to be a meaningful season. If the holidays often leave you exhausted or overcommitted, this piece can help you design a calmer, more values-aligned schedule this year.
3. Warren Buffett’s Thanksgiving Message.
At this year’s shareholder meeting, Warren Buffett announced that he would be stepping down from his role as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO effective December 31. This year, he wrote a Thanksgiving letter, as he will no longer be writing Berkshire’s annual report or leading the annual meeting in the future. He only plans to continue talking to shareholders via an annual Thanksgiving message. In this year’s message, Buffett uses his own life story to explore what really matters. He describes how “Lady Luck” and birthplace shaped his opportunities, and how unfair that lottery can be for those born into hardship or illness. That sense of unearned good fortune is why he believes in giving most of his wealth away and measuring success by the help you provide to others, not by a net worth scorecard. Buffett also reflects on aging and “Father Time”, gratitude for long friendships, simple Midwestern roots, and work he still enjoys. He urges readers to choose worthy heroes, value character over IQ, stay humble about their luck, and practice everyday kindness, which he calls costless but priceless. Letters such as this provide an example as to why so many Berkshire shareholders have descended upon Omaha each year to hear Buffett’s words of wisdom. I have attended numerous times. My favorite messages during the meetings typically relate to Warren’s life-planning-related messages, which I highlighted in this meeting retrospective. While I still plan to attend because it gives me a chance to see some of my investing friends, it won’t be the same without Warren’s presence.
4. The Gifts We Give Our Kids.
This thoughtful post is a good reminder that the most valuable gifts we give our kids are not toys or trips, but the habits, stories, and conversations that shape their relationship with money. It is an important message, especially during the holidays, when the pressure to buy more shows up everywhere. Joy Lere talks about teaching kids the difference between wants and needs, living within their means, naming where money really comes from, and using it as a tool for stewardship and generosity. She also emphasizes honest, age-appropriate money talks and letting kids struggle a bit so they build grit instead of entitlement. She highlights how financial values flow across generations.
5. 13 Tips for Family Caregivers Who Also Work Full- or Part-Time Jobs.
Caring for an aging parent while working full-or part-time can feel like more than a full-time job. This article offers practical, grace-filled tips to lower the pressure. For example, try batch cooking on weekends, keeping a simple one-word journal to track your emotions, finding a caregiving buddy, talking with your boss about flexibility, using technology to check in safely, and outsourcing chores so you can save energy for what only you can do. I especially appreciate the reminder to know your limits, protect a little time off just for you, and reconnect with your loved one as a person, not just a patient. Paired with my Caring for Aging Parents Checklist blog, it can make this holiday season more manageable.
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