Habits for the New Year

We’re less than a week away from the New Year, and by the time this article goes live, it might already be 2026.

The end of a year always brings a strange pause with it, a moment where you naturally look back, whether you want to or not. This year, my feelings about 2025 are deeply mixed.

On the surface, I can clearly see improvement in many areas of my life. I built better routines, became more consistent.

At the same time, there are areas where I didn’t move forward at all. Some patterns stayed exactly the same, and that realization is uncomfortable, especially when those patterns involve people you hoped would grow alongside you.

The Habits I’m Taking Into the New Year

I introduced many habits throughout 2025, but only a few truly proved themselves by making my life noticeably better.

One of the biggest influences was Atomic Habits by James Clear. The book offered clear, practical examples of how to build habits and, more importantly, how to stick with them long term.

In the new year, I’m not adding anything new. Instead, I’m continuing what already works and refining it.

For example, I improved my breakfast routine, but in 2026 I want to take it even further and make it healthier and more intentional.

I’m now over 40. I’m not chasing ambitious financial goals. What I want is to improve what I already have, especially my health, energy, and overall mood.

Habits That Make Me Feel Good

My morning and evening routine

My morning and evening routines aren’t elaborate, but they are consistent. And that consistency has completely changed how my days feel.

Waking up and knowing exactly what I need to do right away has been life-changing.

I leave my phone turned off, get up, drink a glass of water, enjoy a few quiet moments, and then I move. Sometimes it’s a walk. Other times, I pick up my weights.

I usually move for 10–15 minutes, sometimes even 30. After that, I eat breakfast and sit down with my Morning Pages journal to write.

Evenings follow a similar rhythm. I turn my phone off, read a good book, put on my red light mask, and allow myself to slow down.

Consistency isn’t easy, and this is something I still need to work on in 2026. There are days when I simply can’t switch off or fully relax, no matter how much I want to.

These routines don’t exist to make me more productive. They exist to help me feel better, calmer, and more grounded.

My Breakfast

I used to eat my breakfast on the go, and whatever I manage to grab or buy.

But in 2024 and 2025 I started having savory breakfast every morning and I try to increase protein as much as I can.

I always include some kind of salad, avocado, or blueberries.

This simple habit remarkably changed my health and increased my energy levels. And I plan to keep this up as long as I can.

My Exercise Routine

Up until 2024 and 2025 I failed to exercise regularly. I would start for a couple of weeks and then failed to keep that up.

But when I started doing short, home based exercises every morning when I wake up something changed.

It is now so firmly in my routine that I always think about it in the morning. What exercise I am going to do today?

I always keep it simple, a couple of lower body exercises, then the next day upper body exercises.

These exercises are short but they have huge impact on my well-being.

I feel stronger, more energized and I rarely get sick.

So if there is one change to make in 2026 that would be to start exercises, both cardio and body weights.

If you manage to keep it up for a couple of months, you’ll start to feel and look different.

And what’s incredibile is that the habit stays with you. Even when you get sick, you easily slip back into the routine once you are well.

I talk about it in more detain in my post How to get fit after 40.

Being present

Photo of my journal and the book The Power of Now by Tolle

In 2025, I read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. It helped me realize how often I move through life without truly being present.

Days pass while I’m thinking about the past or worrying about the future. I’m physically here, but mentally somewhere else.

In 2026, I want to live more in the present moment and fully experience the ordinary moments I share with my family.

That’s all we really have.

I want moments without multitasking—moments when I’m fully there. Sometimes the most valuable thing you can do is stop and pay attention.

Habits That Help Me Grow

Reading

Reading brought me a lot of joy this year. It gave me new perspectives and helped me understand some of the harder moments in my life—both myself and others.

If there’s one habit worth building next year, let it be reading. It opens doors, shifts your thinking, and quietly changes different areas of your life.

I enjoy both fiction and non-fiction, and in 2026 I simply want to read more.

I also plan to use my reading journal more consistently so I don’t lose the insights that matter.