Top 15 easy but effective ways to change your life for the better in 2024

Edition The Guardian asked experts to talk about effective ways that can significantly change your life and thus collected 15 really useful tips.

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1. Don’t give up alcohol—experiment

• Dr Richard Piper, CEO of Alcohol Change UK

The most important thing when working with alcohol is to get into a situation where you are happy with your drinking. I used to drink a lot: 60-90 drinks a week. I can't tell you how much cutting down on alcohol has changed my life. Without alcohol, life took on colors, whereas before it was very gray and dull.

I would suggest experimenting. Not everything has to be dry. Try doing it a little differently. If you usually drink at a concert, try having the concert dry, or go to dinner and choose non-alcoholic options. I used to think that going out in public depended on alcohol and that without it everything would collapse. Now going to the pub with friends is the most enjoyable experience, and you can do without alcohol.

2. Don't try to lose weight - let it be a bonus, not the main goal.

• Elle Linton, personal trainer

I'm not a proponent of diets. I understand that weight loss is often a goal, but in order for your body to thrive, you must first master the basics.

Make sure you're eating healthy by varying your diet rather than counting calories. The more variety, the happier your gut will be.

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Gut health is linked to everything from brain function to skin health to energy levels. If you have more energy and feel better mentally, you'll likely want to move more and eat healthier.

When people strive to lose weight, they think they need to do more exercise. In fact, as with everything, if you want to increase your exercise, do it gradually, otherwise it will stress your body, which can interfere with weight loss. Stress disrupts many systems within you, so trying to relieve stress is probably the number one step to take first.

3. Don't try to declutter your entire home—declutter one area at a time.

• Vicki Silverthorne, Home Organizer

When you declutter your house one tiny piece at a time, like one sock drawer at a time, you feel a mini-euphoria of accomplishment. And when you finish with a sense of accomplishment in that small area, you're more likely to move on to the next one.

A huge part of this sorting is reducing the number of options you have to choose from on a daily basis. If unnecessary things get in the way, they clutter your brain and cause you stress. Recently, while cooking vegetables, I pulled out the kitchen junk drawer, and once the food was done, the drawer was given its first inspection.

4. Don't start writing a novel—keep a journal first.

• Ray Earle, author of My Fat, Crazy Teenage Diary

The best way to start writing a novel is to make a habit of keeping a journal. Even Graham Greene wrote 500 words every day. Making this a habit is fantastic because you will begin to notice the people and places around you. All of this feeds character and plot, and also helps with dialogue work. Plus, you can practice your voice—the way you sound when you really are and not who you pretend to be on social media.

Another great thing about keeping a diary is that it will help you figure out what or who is stopping you from writing a novel. It could be a neighbor stopping by for another cup of tea, or your mom asking you to sort out her internet.

Plus, journaling helps win arguments because you can go back and check everything: if you keep a journal, you always have the moral upper hand.

5. Don't try to yell at your kids less—learn to apologize when it happens.

• Sarah Ockwell-Smith, parenting expert

Resist the temptation to become the perfect soft-spoken parent who never yells or loses patience with their children. There are no ideal parents, all people make mistakes, including me, the so-called expert. You're only human, and raising children is really hard work—it's impossible to stay calm all the time.

Instead, lower your expectations of yourself and try to be “good enough” - this is much more realistic. The most important and perhaps best decision you can make as a parent is to learn to apologize to your children after you mess up. Psychologists call this “break-up and recovery,” which is an admission that you were loud or overly punished and then corrected the situation.

6. Don't give up all ultra-processed foods—make a few simple substitutions

• Priya Tew, nutritionist

Can you bake pancakes and replace a cereal bar with them, make a meal from scratch instead of a ready-made meal, or bake your own bread once a week? Reducing, rather than eliminating, ultra-processed foods is more achievable in the long term and allows you to still enjoy the foods that make you happy.

7. Don't give up on social media—find other distractions to make you less drawn to them.

• Cal Newport, author of A World Without Email

If you find yourself spending far more time than you think is useful or healthy mindlessly scrolling through social media, resist the urge to give it up outright. Those who manage to permanently repair their relationship with technology usually start by developing better alternatives to these distractions.

These include taking on new hobbies, spending time with loved ones, finding awe-inspiring beauty in nature, and creating products that have tangible value. This could be uplifting pieces of art or joining a helpful community organization.

When you fill your life with meaningful activities, the appeal of small distractions diminishes. So spend a month or two upgrading your analog life before you commit to simplifying your digital life.

8. Don’t get hung up on increasing your sleep duration—practice wakefulness and rest will come naturally.

• Dr Guy Meadows, Co-Founder and Clinical Director of the Sleep School

Instead of obsessing over achieving that elusive eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, focus on creating a healthier relationship with sleep. Being upset or anxious when you wake up at night is counterproductive. In fact, the more often you react this way, the longer you will stay awake. Nighttime awakenings are completely normal - they are caused by the way our sleep cycles function.

Learn to welcome these waking moments and use them as opportunities to cultivate self-kindness through rest and mindfulness. Instead of tossing and turning in bed, do a calm activity like a breathing exercise or read a soothing book.

Paradoxically, by accepting rather than resisting nighttime wakefulness, you create a sleep-friendly environment in which your brain feels safe, allowing sleep to occur naturally.

9. Don't commit to an unrealistic savings plan—push yourself toward small achievements.

• Laura Whately, author of Money: A User's Guide

Don't obsess over how much you should save, and don't feel like a failure when there's nothing left at the end of the month. Create several automatic ways to save tiny amounts, often without noticing. Many banks now allow you to round up every debit card spend and save the difference: let's say you spend $3,50 on coffee, the cost will be rounded up to $4, and 50 cents will automatically be transferred from your checking account to a separate savings bank.

Shift your focus to a more frugal lifestyle. Before you buy anything online, leave it in your cart for 24 hours, unsubscribe from tempting emails, and encourage yourself to avoid spending money by paying with cash or forcing yourself to enter your credit card details at every checkout.

10. Don't try to change your partner - make a commitment to be less nagging towards each other.

• Suzanne Abs, psychotherapist

New Year's flagellation occurs mainly due to shame and guilt. Many people spend a lot of time thinking about their shortcomings: about weight, about drinking and, of course, about their personal lives. Perhaps the best decision any couple can make is to try to mutually confront challenges and agree not to create an atmosphere that reinforces feelings of failure.

The “You never,” “You shouldn’t,” or “You must” conversations we have with our partners are almost always unhelpful and destructive to feelings. Therefore, stop the mutual criticism that many couples live with; acknowledge and accept each other's shortcomings. At the end of the day, we all want to be loved for ourselves, not for our rock-hard abs.

So stop scolding your partner when he reaches for ice cream and telling him off for not using his gym membership. Instead, try not to make your loved one worry about their shortcomings even more than they already do. Celebrate the qualities for which you chose him, and turn down the volume of the negative, nagging voices that seem to sit so unkindly within most of us.

11. Don't plan big trips - look for miracles on your doorstep

• Katherine May, author of Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in a Weary Age

Once in a lifetime trips are, of course, good, but there are so many wonders you can find on your doorstep! Let 2024 be the year you get outside every day, no matter how much time you have. If you have a minute, just stand and breathe or look at the moon every night. If you have 30 minutes, go for a short walk. If you have more time, explore a place you've never been before. Get up close and personal with the local landscape in any weather and at any time of the year. It's free, eco-friendly, and will give you your daily dose of joy.

12. Don't try to get rid of stress at work - set healthy boundaries between work and personal life.

• Polly Robinson, Executive Coach

It can be difficult to set boundaries between work and personal life, especially when we work from home or are constantly available. Use the do not disturb feature on your phone to turn off notifications from work contacts in the evenings and on weekends. If you work outside the home, use the drive back to reflect, think about what good happened that day, let go of the more difficult moments and think about what might be different next time. Writing down these thoughts will help you get them out of your head, even if you wake up at night worrying about work. Use the notes or reminders feature on your phone or carry a notepad with you to write down what needs to be done tomorrow—and let it go until then.

13. Don't force yourself to make new friends—grow your social circle first.

• Elizabeth Day, author of Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict

Which friendships should you develop most? Those that begin with generosity of spirit—the ideas that we think good things about each other no matter what happens, and that if we have a problem we can talk about it with love and clarity. There may be only one or two people in your life with whom this is true. And that's great.

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According to evolutionary psychology professor Robin Dunbar, friendship should be viewed as something multi-layered. The first layer is made up of the people you'd call at four in the morning in a crisis, and you really only have enough time to maintain those friendships with no more than five people. These are the ones you should pay the most attention to.

14. Don't stop buying clothes—just buy more second-hand ones.

• Isabel Losada, author of The Joyful Ecologist

The evils of the fast and not-so-fast fashion industry are well known, so make it a point to not buy new clothes for a year. According to statistics, we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. Therefore, we need to determine this 80%. A fun way to do this is to turn all the hangers the wrong way. When you put an item on, replace the hanger in a logical way. With this simple game, you can immediately open your closet and see which clothes you've been wearing and which ones are still waiting in the wings.

But you can make an exception for charity shops. It's nice to look into them and save beautiful things, many of which are thrown away if you don't buy them.

15. Don't train for a marathon - work on your 5K

• Corey Wharton-Malcolm, running coach and Apple Fitness+ trainer

The beauty of the 5K is its versatility. No matter where you are in your running journey, running a 5K can be both fun and rewarding. If you're just starting out, this is a great milestone to aim for. If you've been running for a while, this is a great distance to start experimenting with a pace that will help you achieve your best performance. It will help you become a more efficient runner by developing endurance, speed and strength. This will help you not only in the 5K, but also in longer distances, from half marathons to marathons.

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