Saying ‘No’ to Daily Habits and Why It’s Been Great for Me

A few weeks ago, I sat in this exact same spot and wrote all about the habits I was hoping to work on, now that spring had sprung and I felt like change was manageable. Soon after, I got to thinking about how I finally broke free from feeling like all of my good habits had to be completed daily.

The 75 Hard programme – and 75 Soft version – took the Internet by storm in January 2024. Although I had zero interest in taking it on, I can see how it lured people on: 75 days of hard work to change your lifestyle and mindset. The thing is, we are all at the behest of a society that is pretty regimented. Naturally, that makes it difficult to transform our lives at large. Plus, with the betterment ‘trend’ recently, it can feel like we must be constantly improving ourselves and God forbid you take a day off from it all. Bettering ourselves shouldn’t look like an endless to-do list of arbitrary tasks, it should feel like good days and lighter shoulders (physically and metaphorically).

That’s not to say I’m not working on good habits, I’ve simply removed the pressure of doing everything all the time. In my balanced routine, I read, run, workout, run my bookstagram, look after my space, cook from scratch… But I rarely do these every single day. Since saying ‘no’ to daily habits, I feel infinitely happier and more balanced. Perhaps this is the key to maintaining good habits for you, too.

It removes the pressure

I have always found that the pressure to check off lots of habits per day makes me feel like I can’t actually complete them, making me less than productive than when I started. Going from 0-100 doesn’t do anybody any favours. For example, if you don’t currently read at all, it is simply unrealistic to suddenly decide to read every day. We’re all only human, and you’ll feel like you’ve failed if you miss a day. And, let’s face it, we’re all pretty busy trying to make it through.

Instead, perhaps try and make it a goal to read for 10 minutes before bed if you’re not tired, or even to read during your lunch break once a week. Habits are formed once you successfully find a routine that works for you. Plus, SO many of the things we think we can or want to do daily are actually far better suited to doing weekly or monthly!

Sometimes, it’s needed

In fact, more than sometimes, it’s needed.

Sometimes, especially after tiring days, we just need to be. As I sit here eyeing my bullet journal and seeing how I haven’t read, or popped for a walk, or meditated, or or or, I lean into the fact that I’m simply here, soaking up the mundane, trying to quieten my mind after eight hours at work, and using some of my precious time to update my little blog.

It’s a reminder that not everything has to be tracked

Finally, I firmly believe that in this world of late-stage capitalism, we all like to complicate life beyond necessity. We log tasks and make grand lists of ‘things to do’ in the hope that it’ll bring more meaning and perceived value to our lives but, the truth is, we are all complete and whole humans whether or not we check these dailies off our lists or not.


What is your approach to daily living and habits?

Similar Posts