Improving your life doesn’t have to be a long-drawn-out process. Many self-improvement ideas seem to be focused on the long term. And while long-term goals and habits are typically a good thing they don’t exactly inspire swift action.

Let’s face it. If you could lose 20 Lbs in a day, dieting would be easy, and if you could make 6 figures in a day, fixing your finances would be a cinch.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way and there are times when focusing on the small things can lead to more long-term changes.

This is a long list of small actions and changes to make. There are quite a few links to get through and some items are simply things to take care of that are often neglected.

Take your time when reading and go slowly. I think you’ll find this post helpful.

Let’s look at 75 Ways To Improve Your Life Today.

75 Ways to Improve Your Life Today

1. Get a library card — Library cards are free and so is reading and learning.
2. Start reading labels — Get into the habit of reading the ingredient labels on food packaging. You may be surprised by what’s in the food you’re eating.
3. Clean your home — Clean your home and get things organized.
4. Do a deep cleaning — Cleaning your home is one thing. Doing a deep cleaning is taking things to the next level. By deep cleaning, I mean cleaning out closets, under the refrigerator, in the refrigerator, cabinets, and any other places that don’t normally see the light of day.
5. Eliminate one thing — Choose something negative to eliminate from your life. It could be a toxic person, an unwanted belonging, or a negative trait. The point is to start small and build from there.
6. Buy new socks and underwear — Seriously. Socks and underwear with holes in them should be tossed. New ones will make you feel a whole lot better.
7. Change your passwords — Just a friendly reminder that you probably haven’t changed passwords in forever.
8. Call your mom — Or call another loved one or friend just to say hello.
9. Renew your passport — Renew your passport in case an impromptu trip comes along. If you don’t have a passport, apply for one. If you live in the US you can do so here.
10. Pack a To-Go bag — Lightly pack a to-go bag in case that trip does come up. This way you’ll be able to be ready quicker and forget fewer things.
11. Learn a survival skill — Learn one new survival skill. There are a ton of online sites that teach skills on survival and self-defense. It never hurts to learn.
12. Get prepared — Buy some candles in case of a power outage or add the word ICE [in case of emergency] to the emergency contacts in your phone.
13. Eliminate phone distractions — See The Complete Guide To Eliminating Smartphone Distractions
14. Quit drinking — For the most part, drinking is a pointless activity.
15. Quit smoking — Duh…
16. Create a budget — Make up a budget or at least tally your baseline expenses. A budget will help you understand where your money goes and adding up your baseline expenses will show you how much you need to earn every month.
17. Make a plan to get out of debt — Debt is enslavement and should be avoided when possible.
18. Drink water — The benefits are immense.
19. Buy a really nice water bottle — Purchase a water bottle you love. One that you’ll want to take with you wherever you go. This is the absolute best reminder to drink water throughout the day.
20. Go for a walk — Even something as simple as a short walk will improve your mood and the sunshine will do you some good. Exercise matters.
21. Start a writing habit — Start a book, write a letter, keep a journal, or start a blog. Putting your thoughts into words is one of the best ways to achieve self-awareness.
22. Spend some time alone — Alone time can help us reflect and recharge.
23. Plan — Plan the next 90 days of your life. Make a to-do list of goals for the next 90 days you’d like to accomplish. This is something I do 4 times a year reviewing the previous 90 days and planning the next.
24. Update your resume — Consider getting your resume up to date in case something happens to your job. If you’re unhappy with your job see 7 Reasons To Quit Your Job
25. Get cleaned up — Get a haircut, get your hair done, shave, etc. When we look good we feel good.
26. Have sex
27. Finish something — If you’re anything like me you probably have some unfinished projects. Pick one that can be wrapped up and finish it.
28. Fold the laundry — This goes along with cleaning however deserves its own mention. Laundry seems never-ending. Especially if you have a family. Getting everything folded and put away is a feat in itself. Even if it’s only for a day.
29. Create routines — Take the time to sit down and write out morning and night routines. Routines create structure and help us be productive. They also eliminate chaos and keep us on track.
30. Open an investment account — Start investing and make it a habit. Even if it’s $20 dollars or smaller, investing is key to long-term financial success. You won’t be sorry in 10 or 20 years that you started investing today.
31. Delete a social media app — Consider deleting a social media app you don’t use or find value in. If social media is something that’s causing a distraction or drama consider using social media more intentionally.
32. Buy a new outfit — This one goes back to looking and feeling good. You don’t need to go overboard. Just a simple outfit you love.
33. Fix something — Find something small, something annoying, and preferably something broken and fix it. I recently fixed a stove burner with a loose electrical connection. It was something that I easily ignored and dealt with for months. Once it was fixed, I realized that if I would have fixed it as soon as it broke, my life would have been much easier.
34. Schedule checkups — Call your dentist and doctor to schedule checkups and cleanings.
35. Be grateful — Spend a few minutes reflecting on how good you have it and how fortunate you really are. Gratitude is highly underrated.
36. Back up your devices — This one goes into the peace of mind category. Back up the hard drives for your computer and mobile devices. This way you won’t have to worry about losing important files.
37. Make a small step — Make a small step toward a long-term goal. Spend 20 minutes on a current project. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but progress is progress, and starting the habit of small and incremental steps is how you achieve success.
38. Start a project — If you don’t have a current project start one. Do something today, even if it’s wrong. Learn to create momentum by beginning new things.
39. Do something out of the ordinary — Nothing exciting ever happened while laying on the couch. Take a different route on the way home from work or change up your normal routine. Do something uncomfortable and interesting. Life is an adventure, however, we easily get into the habit of doing the same things over and over again. Do something spontaneous and see where it leads. You won’t regret this one.
40. Do a good deed — The best way to feel good is to help others. It’s an instant mood and self-esteem booster. If you’re a believer in karma, this is a great way to improve your life today.
41. Stop lying to yourself — See 5 Lies We Tell Ourselves And Actually Believe.
42. Make a decision — If there’s a decision you’ve been putting off or something that’s been weighing on your mind make the tough choice today. It may be right or it may be wrong but indecision is the path to nowhere.
43. Set schedules — Set up new schedules for redundant tasks like checking/responding to emails, paying bills, and cooking meals. Think streamlined and efficient while eliminating waste.
44. Wash your bedding — I don’t know the science behind it if any, but, there’s something about getting into a bed with fresh sheets that makes for an amazing night of sleep.
45. Check your credit — You can get a free annual credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com — Boring but important.
46. Make connections — Use Twitter, my social media platform of choice, or whichever you prefer, and make a real-world connection with someone you otherwise wouldn’t associate with. Bonus points for making friends with new business contacts, people from foreign countries, and folks that wouldn’t normally be within your social circle.
47. Register to vote — If you’re into privacy, registering to vote is not a good choice. Other than that, the upside is having your voice heard.
48. Practice deep breathing — Breathing deeply increases lung capacity, relieves stress, and increases overall health. Try it for 5 minutes and make it a daily habit when possible.
49. Fix your coffee — I’m a huge proponent of black coffee. The health benefits of black coffee are numerous including increased mental focus and ramping up your metabolism. The problem with coffee, especially from places like Starbucks, is the amount of creme and sugar they put into it. You might as well wake up and eat a giant piece of cake with lots of frosting. At least with the cake, you won’t be fooling yourself into thinking you’re making a healthy choice. The key to fixing your coffee is simple. Reduce the daily amounts of things that go into it slowly. For example, I used to drink my coffee with sugar in it when I was a teenager. Over time, I reduced the amount of sugar incrementally until I no longer used it. Black coffee is best. [I’m anticipating the flood of angry emails that are about to come in over this.]
50. Skip breakfast — Breakfast is overrated and intermittent fasting is the way to go. At the minimum try to eat all of your meals within an 8-hour window. This works for some and not for others.
51. Register a domain — More importantly, register your name. YourName.com may be something you never need, however, if you decide to get into any sort of project and decide you want to own your name, now is the time to grab it before someone takes it. It costs very little to register a domain name and takes as little as 5 minutes to register one. Owning YourName.com is well worth the investment.
52. Check your plans — Spend an hour or two checking your phone, cable, and internet plans to make sure you’re getting the best deal along with the package that best suits your needs. Companies update their plans often and you may be able to save a few hundred dollars over the course of a year.
53. Do something meaningful — Spend an hour or more doing something meaningful. If you’re into photography, take some pictures, or, spend time with your children, love on your pets, or care for your house plants, and garden. Think of things that are beyond yourself and things that make a greater impact on the world.
54. Exercise your pet or pets — Another meaningful task.
55. Balance your checkbook — Never rely on a bank to tell you how much money you have. Banks make mistakes, add fees, and in some cases are overtly dishonest.
56. Perform maintenance — Check your car’s fluids and tires, clean out the lint trap in the dryer, clean and remove unnecessary files on your computer. You get the idea. Having things run as they should, will improve your life.
57. Throw out records — Shred and properly dispose of old records that you don’t need to keep. In most cases, 3 to 7 years is all that you need.
58. Make copies — Photocopy important documents like birth certificates, marriage certificates, licenses, hard-to-replace documents, etc, in case of a fire or catastrophic event. Find a safe place to store the copies. Preferably at a separate location.
59. Update online accounts for privacy — Go through your online accounts and update the privacy settings. These settings frequently change and should be updated regularly. Consider using a fake birth date when possible and in some cases, a pseudonym helps as well.
60. Throw out old medications — Declutter your medicine cabinet and dispose of old medications and prescriptions. For tips on proper disposal visit the FDA’s website here.
61. Choose one thing and don’t do it — Pick something to not do. Using the power of saying no, choose one thing, and stick to it. There are times when skipping things we don’t want to do is a form of self-care.
62. Ignore something — Choose something to ignore like an email, phone call, or text message. This is a good way to build the habit of not reacting to everyone else’s to-do list.
63. Take initiative — Choose a task and do it without someone asking.
64. Let something go — Take the time to think of a fear, an old grudge, or a negative feeling you’re holding onto and let it go. Make peace with the past and make today the day you move on.
65. Don’t worry about it — Take the day off from worrying. Most things don’t matter and you’re welcome to resume worrying tomorrow. Today’s your day off.
66. Get a new wallet — This is a guy thing but most men, myself included, will carry a completely shredded wallet. [I once had one that was duct-taped — I carried it that way for a year] Buy a new wallet and throw out the old one.
67. Download a note-taking app — The easiest way to stop forgetting things is to download a note-taking app on your phone. I prefer Google Keep as it syncs across all of my devices.
68. Opt-out — Add your phone number to the Do Not Call Registry and opt out of unwanted email lists. [except for mine of course] 🙂
69. Get some fresh air — Open some windows and let some fresh air in along with natural light. Even better, get outdoors!
70. Learn a new skill — Start learning a new skill. Whether paid or for fun, simply learning new things makes us a more interesting person and valuable.
71. Get money — Do something to make some money. It could be flipping things on Facebook or selling unwanted items. It really doesn’t matter how you earn as long as it’s legal and enjoyable.
72. Find new blogs to read
73. Simplify some things — See 75 Ideas To Simplify Your Life
74. Take your time — Practice going slow. Create space and slack within your day. Do things with intention. We don’t have to be busy all of the time. In fact, busyness is a choice we make that usually leads to unwanted stress and unhappiness.
75. Get some sleep — Go to bed early and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow’s another day.