I would say I have two daily habits that I believe improve the quality of my life!

The first is learning German on Duolingo. I’ve been learning German for almost 3 years now! I started during December of 2021 while I was in COVID 19 induced self quarantine and it was a fun thing to do to pass the time.

Now I wish I had made more of an effort to learn German when my German Oma was alive. Even though I’ve been doing it for almost 3 years now, I’m far from fluent, but I can understand what is going on if someone were to speak German to me. I believe having someone to actively use the language with is a great way to learn a new language and helps cement what you learn into your mind.

I think learning German has improved my life because it’s always good to learn a new skill and stick at it to try and improve it over time. Plus learning a second language is always a useful skill to have, plus it’s a way to remember my Oma by.

My second habit that I would say improves the quality of my life is going for a 5 (ish) mile walk at a brisk pace every day. I know there’s a debate about whether or not 10,000 steps a day is just an arbitrary number of steps to achieve, but getting out and about every day, has done me a lot of good.

I’ve lost weight from walking, just a bit over 30 KG (70 lbs roughly), combined with weight lifting 3 times a week. It has also helped improve my mental health. I try to be open and honest about my struggles with depression and being suicidal, but getting out of the house has really helped.

I know some people might think that sounds a bit silly, but the exercise and whatever I have playing on my earphones, whether it be music or an audiobook, really boosts my mood in general, especially if I’m having a low day.

Getting out and into nature also helps, I think, getting somewhere quiet, where there’s nothing but the sound of wind in the trees and birdsong is really relaxing.

Sometimes it is the small simple things that can help a lot. It doesn’t have a major thing as long as it makes you happy or brightens up your day, then that’s all that matters.