Good Habits List: 100 Good Habits to Start, Each With a Tiny Step

What is a good list of good habits to start?

A good list of good habits gives you small, specific actions you can start today, not big goals. The 100 good habits below are grouped into 10 areas of life: health, sleep, mind, work and study, money, relationships, home, learning, digital life, and kids and family. Each one has a tiny version you can do in about two minutes.

You do not need many. Most people do better with one to three habits, each tied to something they already do every day, and a second or third added only once the first feels easy.

How do you use this list of habits?

Read through the list and tick the box next to any habit that would make an ordinary day a little easier. You can pick up to three. Then send your picks to the free habit tracker template, turn your first pick into a 30-day plan, or print the whole list as a one-page checklist and circle your picks with a pen.

Your ticks stay in this browser only. Nothing is sent to us unless you open the tracker or the plan builder.

What makes a habit a good one to start?

A good habit to start is one you actually want, that fits a moment you already have, and that you can do on a bad day. Big, impressive habits tend to fade because they need motivation every time. Small ones can run on a cue instead.

A habit forms when you repeat an action in the same situation until the situation starts to prompt it. A review for family doctors describes this as repeating a simple action in a consistent context until the context triggers it (Gardner et al., 2012). That is why every tiny version below is tied to a moment, not a goal.

Use these three questions to test any habit on the list:

1. Do I want this for myself? A habit you chose tends to be easier to keep than one someone assigned to you.
2. Where would it go? Name the moment it follows, such as "after I pour my coffee."
3. What is the two-minute version? If you cannot shrink it, pick a different habit for now.

Good health habits

These habits are about movement and food routines. They are routine ideas, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, check with your doctor before changing how you exercise or eat.

Habit	Tiny version (about 2 minutes)
1. Walk every day	Walk to the end of your street after lunch.
2. Drink water in the morning	Fill a glass before you make coffee and drink it first.
3. Stretch after sitting	Stand and reach your arms overhead after every long call.
4. Eat one more vegetable	Add one handful of something green to dinner.
5. Do squats or push-ups	Do five squats while the kettle boils.
6. Eat breakfast sitting down	Sit at the table for breakfast instead of eating on the way out.
7. Take the stairs	Use the stairs for one floor, then take the elevator if you want.
8. Pack a healthy snack	Put one piece of fruit in your bag the night before.
9. Move after dinner	Do one lap around the block before the dishes.
10. Floss your teeth	Floss one tooth after you brush. Keep going if you feel like it.

Why these help: walking (1), taking the stairs (7) and moving after dinner (9) all count toward the 150 minutes of moderate activity a week that the CDC recommends for adults, and squats or push-ups (5) count toward its two days of muscle strengthening. Two minutes will not reach those numbers, and that is fine. The tiny version is the start, not the target.

Want the health basics behind these habits, with the official numbers for sleep, exercise, food, alcohol and stress? Read healthy lifestyle habits. Tracking water first? The water tracker printable has a row for every day and a box for every glass, so the pattern shows at a glance.

Good sleep habits

Sleep habits work best as a pair: a steady time to wake up and a steady time to start winding down. Everything else supports those two.

Habit	Tiny version (about 2 minutes)
11. Keep a steady wake-up time	Set one alarm for the same time every day, weekends included.
12. Keep a steady bedtime	Set a phone alarm that says "start winding down."
13. Charge your phone outside the bedroom	Plug your charger in the hallway.
14. Put screens away before bed	Put your phone on its charger 30 minutes before lights out.
15. Cut afternoon caffeine	Swap your afternoon coffee for water or decaf.
16. Dim the lights at night	Turn off the main light when you brush your teeth at night.
17. Get daylight in the morning	Drink your coffee by an open door or window.
18. Keep the bedroom dark and cool	Close the curtains when you change for bed.
19. Empty your head before bed	Write tomorrow's top worry on paper before lights out.
20. Get up when you cannot sleep	Keep a book and a dim lamp in another room for wakeful nights.

Why these help: the CDC's sleep guidance says adults need 7 or more hours a night and suggests going to bed and getting up at the same time every day (11 and 12) and turning off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime (14). Use the sleep calculator to find a bedtime that fits your wake-up time, and the guide on how to build a bedtime routine to put habits 12 to 16 in order. If you snore loudly, feel sleepy most days or still sleep badly after a few weeks of steady times, talk to a doctor.

Good habits for your mind

These habits give your attention a rest and help you notice how you are doing. None of them needs special equipment.

Habit	Tiny version (about 2 minutes)
21. Journal	Write one sentence about your day before bed.
22. Meditate	Sit and notice ten breaths after you brush your teeth.
23. Write down three good things	List three small things that went well while the kettle boils.
24. Take a phone-free break	Leave your phone on the desk when you get a drink.
25. Spend time without input	Walk or wash dishes with no podcast for five minutes.
26. Breathe before you react	Take one slow breath before you answer a tense message.
27. Check in with your mood	Rate your mood from 1 to 5 when you sit down for lunch.
28. Do one kind thing	Hold a door or send one kind message on your commute.
29. Look at something green	Look at a tree or the sky for one minute on your break.
30. Plan something to look forward to	Write one small thing you are looking forward to this week.

If you pick journaling or meditation, keep the first week tiny. One sentence or ten breaths is a complete win. The journal prompt finder gives you a prompt for each day, the meditation timer starts at one minute, and the mood tracker turns habit 27 into a month on one page.

These are everyday habits, not treatment. If you feel low or anxious most days for two weeks or more, talk to a doctor or a mental health professional. In the US you can call or text 988 at any time.

Good work and study habits

Work habits reduce the number of decisions you make each day. They help you start on the right task without a long warm-up.

Habit	Tiny version (about 2 minutes)
31. Plan tomorrow tonight	Write tomorrow's first task on a sticky note before you log off.
32. Do the hardest task first	Open the hard file before you open email.
33. Close the day on purpose	Write one line: "Done today, next up tomorrow."
34. Batch email	Check email at two set times instead of all day.
35. Keep a clean desk	Put three things away before you stand up.
36. Use a timer for focus	Start a 10-minute timer on one task.
37. Take real breaks	Stand up and look out a window when a timer ends.
38. Review your week	Spend five minutes on Friday listing wins and loose ends.
39. Write things down	Keep one notes page for every idea that pops up.
40. Test yourself when you study	Close the book and write down three things you remember.

Why these help: planning tomorrow tonight (31) is a when-and-where plan. In a meta-analysis of 94 tests, deciding when and where you will act linked to better goal follow-through than a goal alone (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, 2006). Testing yourself (40) is one of the two study methods with the strongest evidence; see what research says about the best study techniques. The Pomodoro timer handles habits 36 and 37, and the weekly review handles habit 38.

Students can start with good study habits for students.

To practice a few of these for a season, try a Winter Arc for students: three to five study habits from October 1 to December 31, ticked daily in the free Winter Arc tracker.

Good money habits

These are everyday awareness habits, not financial advice. They help you notice where money goes so decisions feel less rushed. For advice on your own situation, talk to a qualified financial professional.

Habit	Tiny version (about 2 minutes)
41. Check your balance weekly	Look at your main account once a week with your Sunday coffee.
42. Write down one purchase	Note one thing you bought today and how you felt about it.
43. Pause before buying	Leave non-urgent items in the online cart until tomorrow.
44. Review subscriptions	Once a month, scroll your statement for repeating charges.
45. Plan meals before shopping	Write three dinners before you make a grocery list.
46. Bring lunch from home	Pack leftovers into a container while you clean up dinner.
47. Open your mail	Open every bill the day it arrives, even if you pay it later.
48. Name a savings goal	Write one thing you are saving for on a note in your wallet.
49. Save on payday	Move a small, fixed amount to savings the day you get paid.
50. Track one spending category	For one week, note every coffee or takeout order.

Meal planning overlaps with money habits. Three planned dinners can remove a lot of small, rushed decisions, and the meal planner makes the grocery list for you.

Want to practise two money habits at once? A no spend challenge builds the pause before buying, and a savings challenge turns small weekly transfers into a chart you fill in. For bills that come once or twice a year, see sinking funds.

Good habits for relationships

Relationship habits are small, regular signals that you are paying attention. They matter most on ordinary days.

Habit	Tiny version (about 2 minutes)
51. Text a friend	Send one "thinking of you" message during your commute.
52. Eat one meal without screens	Put phones in another room at dinner.
53. Ask a better question	Ask "What was the best part of your day?" instead of "How was your day?"
54. Say thank you out loud	Thank one person for something specific each day.
55. Call family	Call one relative on the same weekday each week.
56. Listen fully	Put your phone face down when someone starts talking to you.
57. Remember birthdays	Add a birthday to your calendar as soon as you hear it.
58. Plan time together	Put one small plan with someone on the calendar each month.
59. Apologize quickly	Say "I'm sorry, that was on me" the same day.
60. Learn a name	Say hello to one neighbor or coworker by name.

Why these help: a meta-analysis of 148 studies with 308,849 participants found that people with stronger social relationships had about a 50% greater likelihood of survival over the study periods than people with weaker ones (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010). The studies were observational, so they show a link, not that one text a week adds years. They do show that keeping in touch is worth treating as a habit, not an afterthought.

Good home habits

Home habits keep small messes from turning into big weekend jobs. The trick is to attach each one to something you already do in that room.

Habit	Tiny version (about 2 minutes)
61. Make your bed	Pull up the covers before you leave the bedroom.
62. Reset the kitchen at night	Clear the counter by the sink before you turn off the light.
63. Do one load of laundry	Start a load when you get home on a set weekday.
64. Put things back	Return one item to its place every time you leave a room.
65. Tidy for five minutes	Set a five-minute timer before your evening show.
66. Prep for the morning	Put your keys, bag and shoes by the door after dinner.
67. Take out the trash	Take the bag out whenever you leave the house on trash day.
68. Cook at home more often	Cook one simple dinner on the same weeknight each week.
69. Wipe the bathroom sink	Wipe the sink with a cloth after you brush your teeth at night.
70. Declutter one thing a day	Put one item you no longer use in a donate bag.

For a weekly plan that spreads the bigger jobs out, use the cleaning schedule. If cooking at home (68) is your pick, the guide on how to cook at home more often starts with one night a week.

Good learning and reading habits

Learning habits are easiest to keep when the tiny version is fixed: one page, one lesson, one word. The amount can grow later.

Habit	Tiny version (about 2 minutes)
71. Read a little every day	Read one page before you open your phone at night.
72. Learn something new	Look up one word or idea you did not understand today.
73. Practice a language	Do one short lesson while your coffee brews.
74. Swap a playlist for an audiobook	Listen to one audiobook chapter on your commute.
75. Practice a skill	Play one song or draw one sketch after dinner.
76. Keep a reading list	Add a book to a list whenever someone recommends one.
77. Save new words	Write one new word and the sentence you found it in.
78. Teach what you learn	Tell someone one thing you learned today at dinner.
79. Take notes on what you read	Copy one sentence you want to remember into a notebook.
80. Ask more questions	Write down one question you want answered this week.

Track pages in the reading log, see good reading habits for more ideas, or plan a season of self-study with a personal curriculum. For habit 73, how to learn a language daily shows what a 15-minute day looks like.

Good digital habits

Digital habits are mostly about defaults: what your phone does without asking you. Change one default and the habit runs itself.

Habit	Tiny version (about 2 minutes)
81. Turn off non-essential notifications	Turn off notifications for one app today.
82. Keep your phone away while you work	Put your phone in a drawer for one focus block.
83. Do one thing before checking your phone	Drink a glass of water before you unlock it in the morning.
84. Set an app time limit	Set a daily limit on the one app you open most.
85. Move social apps off the home screen	Move one app into a folder on the last page.
86. Unsubscribe from email lists	Unsubscribe from one marketing email each day.
87. Clean up your photos	Delete five screenshots while you wait in line.
88. Check your backups	Open your backup settings on the first of each month.
89. Have a screen-free evening	Pick one evening a week with screens off after dinner.
90. Use grayscale at night	Turn on grayscale or night mode at the same time each evening.

Find out where your hours go with the screen time calculator, then read how to reduce screen time. For habit 83, see should you check your phone first thing in the morning.

Good habits for kids and families

Children build habits the same way adults do: a clear cue, a small step and a lot of repetition. Pictures and charts help younger children who cannot read yet.

For more ideas by age, from preschoolers to teens, see good habits for kids: 50 habits with how to teach each one and a printable star chart.

Habit	Tiny version (about 2 minutes)
91. Read together at bedtime	Read one picture book together after bath time.
92. Have a family dinner	Eat together one night a week with phones away.
93. Follow a morning routine chart	Put a picture chart by the door with three steps.
94. Do a chore together	Fold towels together for five minutes on Saturday.
95. Play outside every day	Go outside for ten minutes after school, before screens.
96. Keep a kids' bedtime routine	Do the same three steps every night: bath, teeth, book.
97. Pack the school bag the night before	Put the bag by the door after dinner.
98. Share a high and a low	At dinner, each person shares one good and one hard moment.
99. Write thank-you notes	Draw or write one thank-you note each month.
100. Agree on screen rules together	Agree on one rule, like no screens at the table.

Why these help: the CDC says children and teens aged 6 to 17 need 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous activity every day, so playing outside (95) is a good family default. Its sleep guidance lists 9 to 12 hours a night for children aged 6 to 12 and 8 to 10 hours for teens aged 13 to 17, which is why a steady bedtime routine (96) is on the list. For questions about your own child's health or sleep, ask your pediatrician.

How do you pick 1 to 3 good habits to start?

Choosing is the easy part. Setting it up well is what makes it last.

1. Pick one to three habits. Choose the ones that would make an ordinary day a little easier, ideally from different areas and different times of day. Skip anything you only feel you should do.
2. Find an anchor for each. An anchor is something you already do every day, like brushing your teeth, pouring coffee or sitting down at your desk. One anchor per habit.
3. Stack it. Write one sentence for each: "After I [anchor], I will [tiny version]." This is called habit stacking. The habit stacking builder helps you write it and pick a good anchor.
4. Prepare the space. Put the book on your pillow, the shoes by the door, or the glass by the kettle.
5. Track it simply. Mark each day you do it. Across 138 studies, monitoring progress improved goal attainment, more so when progress was physically recorded (Harkin et al., 2016). A check mark on a habit tracker is enough.
6. Grow it slowly. Once the tiny version feels automatic, add a little. One page becomes two, and one lap becomes a short walk. Add the next habit only when the first runs without much thought.

New to tracking? The guide on how to use a habit tracker shows how to define done, mark hard days and run a five-minute weekly review.

Not sure which area needs a new habit most? Score your life areas with the free wheel of life, or find your top five values with the core values finder and choose one small daily action for your top value. To choose the habit most likely to make others easier, see keystone habits.

Good habits for students, adults and kids

The full list works at any age. These short lists are good first picks for each stage of life.

Good habits for students

• Test yourself when you study (40) instead of rereading. More in good study habits for students.
• Plan tomorrow tonight (31) with the study schedule maker.
• Use a timer for focus (36) and keep your phone away while you work (82).
• Keep a steady wake-up time (11), even on weekends.
• Read a little every day (71) that is not for class.

Good habits for adults

• Walk every day (1) and do squats or push-ups (5) twice a week.
• Keep a steady bedtime (12) and charge your phone outside the bedroom (13).
• Close the work day on purpose (33). The shutdown routine guide shows how.
• Check your balance weekly (41) and save on payday (49).
• Text a friend (51) once a week. For a fuller day, see daily productivity habits.

Good habits for kids

• Follow a morning routine chart (93). Make one with the morning routine chart, and see the morning routine for kids guide.
• Do a chore together (94), tracked on a chore chart.
• Keep a kids' bedtime routine (96) with a printable bedtime routine chart.
• Share a high and a low (98) at dinner, or try one of the journal prompts for kids.
• Agree on screen rules together (100) using these screen time rules for kids.

Which habits suit your situation?

Your situation	What to try first
Busy schedule	One habit that needs no extra time, like drinking water before coffee (2) or planning tomorrow before you log off (31).
Low energy	A home or mind habit you can do sitting down, like writing one sentence (21) or clearing one counter (62).
Restarting after a break	The habit you kept longest before, at its smallest size. Do not try to pick up where you left off.
Weekends	Keep the same anchor if you can. If your weekend has no routine, attach the habit to your first coffee or first meal.

If you are coming back after missing days, start at the tiny version again. Rebuilding a streak from one page or one lap is faster than waiting until you feel ready for the full version.

What does a day with three small habits look like?

Here is a realistic weekday for someone who picked three habits from three different areas and gave each a few weeks before adding the next.

• 7:05 a.m. Fill a glass of water before starting the coffee maker, then drink it while the coffee brews (habit 2).
• 12:40 p.m. After lunch, walk to the corner and back. On a busy day it is three minutes. On a quiet day it turns into fifteen (habit 1).
• 5:25 p.m. Before closing the laptop, write tomorrow's first task on a sticky note and put it on the keyboard (habit 31).
• 9:50 p.m. Nothing new. The evening stays free.

Total added time on a busy day is under ten minutes. The important part is that each habit follows something that already happens every day: coffee, lunch and logging off.

What are common mistakes when choosing good habits?

• Picking five habits at once. A long list feels motivating on day one and heavy by day five. Start with one to three.
• Choosing the impressive version. "Run every morning" is harder to start than "put on running shoes after coffee."
• Skipping the anchor. "Sometime today" is not a plan. A habit without a cue depends on memory and mood.
• Treating a missed day as failure. Missing one day is normal. Go back to your anchor the next day.
• Copying someone else's list. A habit that fits another person's life may not fit yours. Pick what solves a small problem you actually have.

Want to know what to stop, too? The list of bad habits pairs 52 common bad habits with a good habit to swap in. Not sure which of your current habits to keep? Mark each one +, – or = in the habit scorecard to find the first one to change.

What does research say about building good habits?

The best-known study on habit formation followed 96 volunteers who each picked one eating, drinking or activity behavior and did it daily in the same context (Lally et al., 2010). The time it took for the behavior to feel automatic varied widely between people, from 18 to 254 days. There is no fixed number of days that makes a habit stick.

Two findings from that study shape the tiny versions on this list. A summary of the research for family doctors notes that simple actions, such as drinking water, reached their peak automaticity faster than more elaborate ones, such as doing 50 sit-ups (Gardner et al., 2012). It also notes that missing an occasional day did not seriously set the process back.

The limits matter. That study was small, tracked mostly simple health behaviors and relied on people rating their own automaticity. It does not tell you how long any habit on this list will take for you. For more detail, read how long it takes to form a habit.

Many of the ideas behind this list, such as habit stacking, tiny versions and tracking, come from popular books. Our Atomic Habits summary checks each of its ideas against the research.

Where should you go from here?

Pick one habit from the list and write your one-sentence plan today. If you want a structured month, the 30-day habit building plan gives you one small step each day. You can also build a habit plan around your own anchor, read the full guide on how to build a habit, or browse the habit building topic hub.

Want even smaller starts? The micro habits guide has 60 actions that take two minutes or less, each tied to a moment in your day, and a table for growing them. Struggling to start one? Pair it with a treat you only allow during the habit. The temptation bundling guide has 40 ready-made pairs.

Not sure whether you are building a habit or a routine? The difference changes how you set it up; see habit vs routine. To keep score, pick from 100 habit tracker ideas, each with what counts as done.

Planning a new year? Put the habits you choose on a free vision board, one picture per habit, and browse new year resolution ideas rewritten as small daily steps.

Picked a habit? Tick it each day in the online habit tracker, which also works as an app on your phone, with reminders, and prints on one page.

Prefer your phone to paper? Track up to five of these in the habit tracker app, free on iPhone and Android with no account.