They say that inspiration can come from the most unlikely sources… well, today it came from the “LinkedIn Today” digest email. This is generally the plague of my inbox, because I swear I’ve changed my preferences like eight hundred times and and I keep getting it, but today the subject line grabbed my attention before I hit delete: Six Simple Rituals to Reach Your Potential Every Day.
I know, that sounds kind of cheesy and there are a million of those articles floating around the web right now, but whatever. I clicked on it. Plus there was a pretty picture of sunflowers.
You can read the article to get the full story, but the six rituals are as follows:
- Drink a glass of water when you wake up.
- Move and sweat daily.
- Define your top 3 (the most important tasks you must complete each day).
- The 50/10 rule (work on an important task for 50 minutes with a 10-minute break).
- Express gratitude.
- Reflect daily.
I changed the order because I noticed as I was reading about them that the six rituals fell into three distinct categories: the ones in red relate to physical health, those in blue are about work/efficiency/accomplishment, and the last two in purple have to do with mental wellbeing.
I know they’re kind of generic. I’m sure eighty-seven people this week have told you to drink more water and your life will be magically improved by one million percent. But the thing I liked about this collection of six rituals was that the author of the article didn’t just pull them out of thin air as things that generally sound like good ideas; she drew them from the daily habits of one of her most successful, balanced, and energetic friends. For me, hearing “I actually drink a glass of water every morning and feel better because of it,” is more of an encouragement to adopt this behavior than “Just do it… because of science.”
These rituals also reminded me of The Happiness Project in their simplicity. My favorite thing about that book was how it focused on relatable, real-life behaviors instead of grand, sweeping, philosophical gestures. As the author says, “The very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.” Conveniently enough, look what I have!
My dearest friend Meg sent me this for my birthday this year (thanks, MM!), and I kept up with it really well for a while but have sort of neglected it the past month or so. In the vein of revisiting my favorite Happiness Project tips, and adopting the rituals of expressing gratitude and reflecting daily (and very appropriately on Meg’s birthday!), I think it’s time to crack this bad boy open again. And by that I mean keep it next to my bed. It’s a great place to record daily memories, thoughts, and things I’m grateful for, and it’s also chock full of happiness quotes!
Make sure you take your birthday advice, Meg 
What are your rituals for making the most of your day?
