I’ve been reading up on a lot of passionate people who talk about how they get into “the zone” or experience a certain “high” when they get down to work.

It may sound kind of complicated, but if you ask me, it’s simply the idea of forming a habit, consistently working from that habit and letting it impact your life on many levels.

That’s the power of habits. Good or bad, it can stick to you for a long time. Obviously, it’s best to keep forming good ones so that you can get into “the zone” of life itself.

Pretty soon, you’d be accomplishing great things without even knowing it.

Here are 8 really good habits you can instantly start on

1) Do not bring your phone to bed

Smartphones are a double-edged sword. As cool as it is to surf the web at your convenience, it can take up a lot of your time and attention, particularly how we do it in bed.

I’m sure a lot of us are guilty of it. We go to bed with the intention of sleeping, but we tell ourselves, “Just a little Facebook-ing” or “Let me see what’s on Buzzfeed”. Not only does this spoil your eyesight (because we switch off the lights first right?), but unknowingly tires us out as we get less sleep.

Stop it. Go to bed without your phone from now on. Just go to sleep. You’re going to have way more energy the next day.

2) Delete social media apps

There has been a trend of people staving off social media. It’s a great habit, but doing it cold turkey may be a little too much.

Instead, delete the mobile apps. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or whatever. Get rid of them. You can use them at home in your computer.

This habit is going to open up your eyes, your mind as you start connecting with both people and the world when you head of the house. You’d be surprised how much you’re actually missing out.

3) Break routine

I don’t mean changing one of your life’s routines (or habits) at one shot. That’s too drastic.

The idea here is to constantly try something different at random parts of your lives. It could be taking a different route to work or listening to a different playlist that’s not your favourite in your phone.

When you break routine and do something different, you automatically grow in life.

4) Make getting out of the house mandatory

Because staying home and being glued to the computer or Netflix isn’t how you should live your life.

As much as you probably have everything you need in your room, you ought to get out of the house because, well, just because.

Happy and successful people out there are out there. They make life happen by charging head on towards life.

5) Read

This habit is a charming one, yet it’s overshadowed by other things.

Reading automatically improves your language, knowledge and even your confidence. All you have to do is get down and start reading. It doesn’t matter if it’s blogs, magazines or whole books. Start reading real articles whenever you can.

6) Meditate

First off, let it be known that meditation isn’t some activity where you sit in a lotus position, cross your fingers and close your eyes for the sake of it.

Meditation is simply quieting the mind to allow new insights to come in, many of which are going to surprise you at how obvious and profound they are.

Foster this habit by meditating all the time. Quiet the mind wherever you are. At the very least, this would push out the negative thoughts derived from the stresses of daily life.

It is however, good to call meditation an activity as long as you do it alone in your private space. We all need our own space from time to time. You’d be relieved and thankful for the break.

7) Express gratitude in bed after you wake up

Be thankful first thing in the morning. Name up to ten things you’re grateful for. I’m sure you can do that.

This’d kick start your day and give the momentum for a better day. It’s definitely better in comparison to typical days where you wake up feeling groggy, tired and dreading the day of work ahead.

8) Feel uncomfortable and do it anyway

I’m a strong advocate of getting off your ass to get things done. This is how I think you beat procrastination. Let’s twist that a little bit:

Whenever you feel uncomfortable, recognize that it’s a good sign.

Then just do it anyway.

There’s no real answer to getting things done. It’s your choice. I’m just trying to point out that you aren’t meant to feel on top of the world all the time.

This habit is going to change your attitude towards work and definitely create great strides in your work.

Special bonus for Pick The Brain Readers

I hope you enjoyed the article!

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Alden Tan keeps it real at his blog and writes about motivation in unconventional ways. His two main passions are Bboying and writing. Check out his free report, 12 Things Happy People Don’t Give a F**k About!