A friend of mine always wanted to write about her life—her travels, the lessons she’d
learned, the stories she wished she had asked her grandmother to share. But every time she sat down to start, she felt overwhelmed. She told herself she needed hours of quiet time, the perfect notebook, and just the right words.
One day, she made one tiny shift. Instead of trying to carve out hours, she set a goal to write just one
sentence a day. That was it. Some days, it was a simple thought. Other days, that one sentence turned into a paragraph, then a page. Over time, she built a habit. Now, she’s filling journals, capturing moments she once thought she’d forget. If something feels too big to tackle, don’t try to change everything. Just make one small shift and see where it leads.
Here are 20 small shifts that could lead to something bigger:
1. Write one sentence about your day on a sticky note and put it in a jar.
2. Swap
your morning phone scroll for looking out the window for 60 seconds.
3. Leave your book on your pillow as a reminder to read before bed.
4. Stand up and stretch, every 15
minutes, while you're watching TV.
5. Put a fun sticker on your water bottle every time you finish it.
6. Add one song that makes you feel good to your morning
routine.
7. Change your phone’s lock screen to a quote that inspires you.
8. Leave a notebook open on your kitchen counter to jot down quick
thoughts.
9. Light a candle before dinner to turn a regular meal into an experience.
10. Put one thing away where it belongs every time you leave a
room.
11. Send yourself an email with an idea whenever inspiration strikes.
12. Keep a gratitude list in your car and add one thing while you're having your morning
coffee.
13. Turn a daily chore into a mindfulness practice by focusing on one sense at a time.
14. Start every to-do list with an easy task that will take you 5 minutes or
less to do.
15. Change one passwords to something that reminds you of a goal.
16. Keep a postcard or picture from a place you love where you’ll see it every
morning.
17. Swap your usual grocery checkout impulse buy for a new fruit or veggie.
18. Set a 2-minute rule: if something takes less than two minutes, do it
now.
19. Add one unusual ingredient to a meal just to see what happens.
20. Compliment the first person you see each morning—even if it’s yourself in the
mirror.
Small shifts don’t feel like much in the moment, but they create ripples. The hardest part is starting, and sometimes, all it takes is one small change to set everything in motion.
