9 Things I've recently started doing that quietly changed everything

A running list of small bets with surprisingly high ROI

I’ve been super intentional with habits and decisions lately. Some of the changes I’ve made in my life recently haven’t come from massive life altering decisions – they’ve come from small ones that quietly move the needle and make life slightly better. Many of these don’t sound like much but when you stack them all together they start to compound.

Here’s my running list of what’s actually been working for me and some of the things I’ve implemented into my life recently:

1. Using a high quality sleep mask every night - Quite possibly the most life changing decision for sleep I’ve ever made. The beauty of it is there is a tangible action that signals to your body “ok, now it’s time for bed” – putting on my mask. It blocks out any and all outside light and is super comfortable. Notice I said high quality – the shitty sleep masks are more annoying than helpful but a good one is life changing. I highly recommend anyone adopt this habit.

2. Being Intentional about remembering names – Dale Carnegie once said “Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” Remembering someone’s name is one of the best ways to show someone you can. Simply saying “I am not good with names” is a poor excuse. I have found this has benefitted me drastically especially in places I consistently visit like the MMA gym.

3. Consistently stretching - Even if it’s just 10 min a day. Opening up my body has been huge for me as a chronically stiff lifter and runner. I found I saw noticeable progress in about 2 weeks of consistency with this habit. I would encourage everyone to give this a shot.

4. Putting my phone downstairs or in a different room when sleeping – Gamechanger. There’s really no reason to have a phone in the bedroom and keeping it outside is a great detachment from any work or distraction and true relaxation.

5. Actually drinking enough water – I always drink 2 cups of water first thing when I wake up in the morning. Everyday with 0 exceptions. I’ve been doing this for almost 7 years now ever since I read Own the Day, Own your Life by Aubrey Marcus. It flushes your system, rehydrates your for the day ahead and just wakes you up. But I always slacked on water during the rest of the day until recently when I started making a point of drinking water almost every time I walked into my kitchen. I noticed my energy levels increased, I felt more alert and my digestion was better. Roughly a gallon a day is what I aim for. The best way to build this habit

6. Upgraded Premium Spotify Subscription – I’m not talking about the basic 11/mo spotify subscription. If you’re anything like me, you love to read. I read a lot of books and I love listening to audiobooks when I train or travel. I recently paid an extra $10 a month for what seems like unlimited audiobook listening hours on spotify and this has been huge. I’m able to crush books whenever I want without running out of credits or having to buy more. There’s a massive ROI in being able to read whatever you want whenever you want.

7. Not Eating meals 2+ hours before bed - Ideally closer to 3. I started doing this after doing a lot of research on how much deeper you can sleep when you push meals forward. Better quality sleep and lower heart rate. You can literally feel the difference. Give it a try.

8. Religiously protecting my time – I used to give my time to everything. I was barely ever free. Until I realized in the last 18 months free time is truly king. No you can’t pick my brain. No, I don’t want to take that extra “surprise” meeting. No, I will not sacrifice my time to do things I don’t want to do. Making the decision to be a staunch guardian of my time has paid more dividends on my mental state and levels of peace than anything else.

9. Scheduling my work day in 30 min increments – Everything from 9-6 M-F gets scheduled. On certain weekends I’ll do the same. This allows me to be intentional with my work, always know what is going on and minimize dead time. If I’m on calls for 3 hours straight, it’s scheduled. If I have some white space on my calendar,i it’s getting booked in 30 min slots. Way better way of life.

These are a few of the highest ROI habits I’ve recently implemented into my life.

Give them a try and watch your life improve.

Thanks for reading

Ryan