7 Simple (Yet Impactful) Habits That Have Changed. My. Life. — the foundation blog

‘Tis the season to talk about goals, dreams, resolutions,

……annnnnnnnd me stepping on my soapbox (yet again) to remind you how much easier it is to achieve allllllll of those things by laying a solid foundation of *habits* (I know, sexy right?) 

because, we ain’t about quick fixes here on The Foundation Blog— we are about lasting, SUSTAINABLE, *realistic* lifestyle changes.

and I truly believe the life we live and who we become is a reflection of the habits, routines, and rhythms that make up our day to day. How we structure our time can either set us up for success or leave us floundering, but when it comes down to it — WE have the ability to make the change we want to see, step by step and day by day, by utilizing the power of habits. The reality is— how we spend our time and the day-to-day structures will result in either setting us up for success orrrrrr leave us floundering a bit.

Now even though I’m a big advocate for harnessing habits, I’m by no means perfect. I don’t have a super strict day-to-day schedule, I’m not the most type A person in the world, and I like the floooowwwww of intentionally having each day look a little big different — but there are a few consistent, non-negotiable habits that have truly changed my life

(both as an individual act and especially as a culmination of daily choices).

These seven things have truly helped me up-level to the healthiest, most organized, most happy version of myself. No dramatic overnight lifestyle changes, no quick fixes, no glamorous one-shot solutions, but simply the boring basics that have changed my life.

So what are these boring magical habits, you may ask?

reading every day

I don’t know about you, but as a kid I would read every. single. night. before bed. I’d stay up late reading Nancy Drew, the Boxcar Children, the Babysitters Club, etc. (shout out to my 90s babies!). I truly was such a reader and I couldn’t get enough…

annnnnnnnnd then screens happened.

Fast forward to college when nightly scrolling or netflix binging replaced my nightly reading, resulting in later and later bedtimes, less quality sleep, higher cortisol before bed, and unnecessary exposure to blue light. 

When I graduated, I had this epiphany that I *missed* reading.

Now it’s one thing to say you miss reading, but it’s another to prioritize it. But I made the commitment to start reading every single night before bed…annnnnnd it changed everything. I felt SO much more relaxed before bed because it felt like true, restorative self-care (whereas, when I’m REALLY honest with myself, scrolling is more of a mind-numbing “self-care”)

Plus, reading is entertaining! It’s informative! Truly such a great way to wind down. 

How this looks in my life: Each morning I try to read one chapter of a self-help book. In the morning I like more of a productive, entrepreneurial, health-focused, dense read for when I’m bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and want to get into a more productive headspace. So I’ll typically do that while Miles is playing. I’ll just sip my coffee and try to make it a little game where I can’t go on social media until I read a chapter of a book, which seems MORE than fair to me (and, um, is weirdly motivating *nervous laugh*). I don’t necessarily do this every day, but 3-4 times a week is a great week in my book (pun absolutely intended).

But something that IS an every single night, non-negotiable for me is reading on my Kindle. I used to think like “oh, I LOVE hardcover physical books,” “I’ll never be an electronic reader,” etc., buuuuut then I got my Kindle and I truly read SO. MUCH. MORE.

My favorite part about it is that I can read without having to have a lamp on, so if Adam’s asleep I can stay up reading. (to reduce blue light, I turn my kindle on inverted “night mode” where the screen is mainly black/unlit and only the text is lit up!) It’s also so easy to use, PLUS I can get any book I want at any time (like in the middle of the night when I’ve finished my latest read and I’m ready for my next). Another unexpected benefit is that I’ve greatly reduced my clutter from buying physical books! Truly LOOOOVE my Kindle & just reading in general. (you can explore some of my favorite reads here!)

switching to whole foods

One of the biggest habits that have changed my life started by picking out a book on a whim from a little free library on the side of the road (can you say DESTINY?!?!?).

This book was In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, and it COMPLETELY changed the way I view food, nutrition, and diet-culture.

Up to that moment in my life ALL I cared about when it came to food was calories, macronutrients, avoiding things I thought were “bad,” and eating random diet foods that I thought were “good.” I didn’t care if it was processed, I didn’t care how closely it resembled whole food, I had never even thought about those things before. ALL I cared about was “100 calorie!)” this, low-fat that, “added fiber!” this— you get the idea.

But reading this book made me realize that so much of the standard American diet isn’t actually food — it’s often “food like substances” that are genetically modified and engineered and created…but not *actually* food. 

That completely blew my mind.

So, abandoning my processed “health” food, and switching to whole foods (not being obsessive, but just looking for the purest, simplest ingredients I could find) changed everything. I no longer only cared about calories, I cared about nourishing myself and the QUALITY of my food— and solely focused on the most simple, pure forms of food I could find (AKA just plain ol’ whole foods)

…and for the first time in my life, I felt full. I felt nourished. I wasn’t constantly fixating on food or calories or when my next snack was. I was able to maintain a stable, healthy weight. Basically switching to whole foods changed everything. It gave me so much more mental and physical freedom — less brain fog, less bloating, less fatigue, more energy, more focus, better skin, better digestion— Truly EVERYTHING up-leveled from this ONE habit switch.

7 years later after reading that book— and I am still going strong. and have NO plans of ever changing.

how this looks in my life: I seek out simple, whole-food ingredients about 85% of the time (because no one’s perfect and no one should be!). NOTHING is “off-limits”, but I just strive to make things as clean as possible.

If you’re looking for more tangible details on how I shop, what I buy, and what I cook, check out my grocery list and “food philosophy” freebie here! It’s 100% FREE, and is a great place to start if you’re unsure of how to start making that switch. It’ll walk you through step-by-step on how I approach cooking, packaged foods, dairy, meat, pantry staples, etc. (plus my favorite cookbook!)

using organizational bins

This one is interesting, because when people ask me if I’m clean or messy…I don’t know what to say????? I loooooove being in a clean, tidy, organized space (clutter STRESSES me out), but I do feel like I personally can lean towards being a more messy soul. 

While I never did the true purge of Konmari method for home organization/minimalism, I WAS so inspired to organized the things I did have into boxes, compartments, and set spots.

For me, setting up organizational bins around my house and having a designated “spot” for stuff truly changed everything

I know this sounds dumb because, hello, DUH. obviously everything will be clean if it’s in it’s “spot”… but the truth is I struggled to put stuff in it’s spot to begin with!

Utilizing bins, storage boxes, dividers, etc. just naturally keeps things more orderly, so instead of just throwing something anywhere on an open shelf I know it goes in a certain bin. This has created such a lovely structure that I didn’t know I needed: my space is more organized, I know where things are, and mentally I feel clearer because there’s no clutter everywhere (and things are often sorted by “category” in their box!). I use these bad boys in every room of the house: from the kitchen for spices or my fave holistic beverages, to the bathroom for hair ties, reusable cotton rounds or other eco-friendly items, to my closet for accessories. 

How this looks in my life: I have organizational bins in most high-traffic areas— in my kitchen cabinets, refrigerator, in my closet, bathroom drawers, miles’ clothes, everywhere. It doesn’t take any extra time to put things away, but they just provide a little extra structure and a true set container for things. Now, instead of having a “general place” to go, but my stuff has a true SPOT, and this has truly helped me feel so much more physically and mentally clearer in my house and space. Wanna snag the exact bins I use? Check out my Amazon Storefront here!

practicing meditation

Meditation is one of those things I know I *should* do, but throughout my life I have often struggled to prioritize it.

However, ever since I started meditating with a new mindset, I have noticed a tangible difference on the days I put it into practice: I feel less anxious, more focused, more intentional, more mindful, and more present. 

What changed? I think realizing it didn’t have to take a super long time or look “perfect” was a huge turning point for me. I spent so much time thinking I needed to meditate for 20 minutes or to sit cross legged or to do things a certain way for it to “count.”

But really committing to two minutes per day no matter what (even if it’s just a moment of deep breathing while running errands or before a phone call or something like that) to take a moment to breathe, to center myself, and to set an intention truly makes my life feel calmer.

I’ve learned (the hard way… *gulp*) that the impacts of meditation go so far beyond just the meditation session — it can impact your whole day.

How this looks in my life: I use Superhuman, which is my personal favorite app for meditation (trust me, I’ve tried a BUNCH of them!). I like this app because it provides 1) more “classic” meditations, but also 2) a TON of meditations and mindfulness activities are SO unique and specific for “everyday” moments. Like there are meditations for deep breaths before a big meeting. Gratitude while doing your evening skincare. Feeling grounded + calm before a flight. A quick reset while waiting in line. Cooking meditations. Cleaning meditations. Meditations for confidence, reducing screentime, for focus, winding down before bed… like, EVERYTHING.

Overall, it just really helps me be more mindful and present in my day-to-day life (not “just” when i’m meditating) because there are so many targeted meditations for these specific everyday moments that have truly helped me incorporate more mindfulness/presence in DAILY life. Plus, many of the meditations are 2-5 minutes, which is super doable for me. 

This isn’t sponsored, but if you’d like to try the Superhuman app, my affiliate link and code KATE will get ya 6 weeks free — plenty of time to lay a foundation for that habit. Enjoy!