28 small but mighty habits that boost your wellbeing

Discover the power of ‘microhabits’, and how these two-minute mini methods can add up to transform your wellbeing long-term

In an ideal world, we’d be able to take things slow. We’d take a calm and considered look at our days and block out a good chunk of time to devote to ourselves and our wellbeing. We’d plan holidays, sign up for a course, and spend entire days switched off from our usual demands. For some, ringfencing their wellbeing is a realistic step. But, for many, time is a currency that’s in short supply.

In 1977, Clair Vickery wrote a paper for the Journal of Human Resources, where she introduced the idea of time poverty. In the same way we think about income, Vickery argued that a lack of time also becomes a constraint on our lives – particularly for households who balance paid work with housework and childcare. Jumping ahead to 2020, a major global study published in Nature Human Behaviour found that “most people report feeling persistently ‘time poor’.”

Enter: microhabits

Microhabits are small, but impactful, things you can do in about two minutes. They can’t give you back more time when you’re already short on it, but what they can do is make the most of the small amount that you do have. The idea is that these small, but intentional, actions can add up to create long-term changes in your behaviour and wellbeing.

“The benefit of microhabits is their achievability,” explains psychotherapist Hannah Jackson-McCamley. “They’re meant to be quick, low-effort, convenient, and fundamentally achievable ways of instilling positive change. The fact that you’ll see the benefits sooner, but with less overall effort, makes us feel good and helps us to eschew guilt and a sense of failure that we might experience when trying to bring about change through more intense or high-stakes lifestyle adjustments that rely on willpower.”

In 2025, a review published in the World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews found that ‘small, incremental changes’ are more sustainable than big overhauls. And that habit-based interventions improve health outcomes, productivity, and behavioural consistency.

But beyond this, microhabits work because they slot in with the busy lives so many of us now live. More than ever before, people are finding themselves stretched to their limits between work and home responsibilities, and we need wellbeing solutions that can work hard for us in the limited time that we have available. So, what might micro-habits look like in practice?

Mental health microhabits

It goes without saying that long-term support, such as counselling or coaching, is key for taking care of more serious or ongoing mental health problems. But microhabits can support our overall mental health by helping us to connect with ourselves in a compassionate and conscientious way.

Try:

• Name an emotion once a day. For example, ‘I feel anxious’, ‘I feel overwhelmed’, or ‘I feel motivated’.

• Write just one line in a journal that describes what’s currently on your mind.

• ‘Catch’ a negative thought. When it comes up, notice it, acknowledge it, and let it go.

• Start a list of ‘little wins’. Each time one happens, add it to your list.

• Create a ‘reset’ habit attached to something you do regularly. For example, pause and take a deep breath every time you pass a window, pick up your cup, or walk by an item in your home.

• Look for safety signals. When you feel anxious, look around you to ground yourself in the moment and remind yourself that you are safe.

• Give yourself a laughter break and intentionally watch a short, funny video.

Digital microhabits

Our habits around our devices can make or break our wellbeing, particularly when we’re already feeling overwhelmed by the amount on our plates. These tips are designed to help you check in with yourself about your pre-existing digital habits, and create new ones that set boundaries and prioritise balance.

Try:

• Resist the urge to scroll during short periods of downtime. For example, if you’re waiting in a queue, tune in to the environment around you, or pick up another microhabit here rather than automatically opening your phone.

• Each time you go to open an app, ask yourself, ‘Why am I opening this?’
  Switch off all notifications an hour before you go to bed.

• Set up a charging station outside of your bedroom, and away from other key areas you relax in at home.

• Stick to one screen at a time. Pause a TV show if you’re checking your phone, or resist picking it up for the duration.

• While you’re talking to someone on the phone, try to move around as much as possible.

• Make meals a screen-free zone.

Physical health microhabits

Closely connected to our mental health, and a vital pillar of overall wellbeing, is our physical health. When it comes to taking care of it, it can be tempting to feel as though we should be taking bigger actions – signing up for regular gym classes or following the trending diet of the moment. The reality is, microhabits in this area can make a real difference.

Try:

• If you work at a desk, set a reminder to stand up and move every hour.
  Learn the ‘sun salutation’ routine, and move through it two times in a row.

• Do a simple breathing exercise. Inhale for four seconds, exhale for six.

• Have a bottle of water around you, and take a pause to drink a little every half an hour.

• Working from the top to the bottom of your body, clench and release your muscles to soothe your nervous system.

• Add some ‘waiting workouts’ to your routine. For example, do some squats while the kettle boils or do a wall-sit while the microwave is on.

• Add one extra piece of fruit or a vegetable to your meal.

• Switch from black tea or coffee to herbal tea from 4 pm.

• Each time you look at your phone, also check in with your posture. Roll your shoulders back, relax your jaw, and align your spine.

Good things come in small packages

When it comes to taking care of your wellbeing, the breadth of areas there are to cover can sometimes make doing so feel like a Herculean challenge – something that’s easy to fail at when you’re working with limited time.

But microhabits help you reclaim those small moments for yourself. Rather than just another thing to add to your to-do list, with time, these small actions become an instinctive habit that weaves its way into daily wellbeing, and work hard so that you don’t have to.