How To Live One Day At A Time: 7 Quick And Easy Tips

Don’t Waste The Time You Have

A woman with shoulder-length wavy hair smiles while looking down. Her hair is highlighted by the sunlight, creating a warm glow. She is outdoors, with a blurred green background.

It’s amazing how many of us live life with our thoughts fixed firmly in the past, or in the future…

…but pay very little attention to the present.

Dwelling on the past is a trap that many of us fall into, consumed by what might have been or how it was all so much better ‘way back when…’ But by doing this, we struggle to accept the realities of right here, right now.

In contrast, some of us prefer to focus all our attention on what we want for the future. We convince ourselves that we’ll be happy once we’ve achieved X, Y, or Z.

I’m here to argue that you should neither be living your life in the past nor the future, but actually start living it in the here and now, taking each day as it comes.

This is one of those things that sounds simple, but can be hard to do in practice, especially if you’ve spent your whole life yearning for the past or focusing on the future.

Here are a few small ways to anchor yourself firmly in the present and truly live every single day of your life.

1. Look after your mind and body.

A woman with long hair smiles while holding a bowl of food topped with blueberries and strawberries. She is wearing a striped shirt and sitting in a room with wooden paneling on the walls. She holds a spoon in her other hand as she looks to the side.

Tip number one, and the most important of all, is to ensure that you’re nourishing your mind and body every single day.

You can’t expect to thrive if you’re not giving yourself the necessary fuel and care day in, day out.

2. Don’t live on autopilot.

A man and woman sit across from each other at a wooden table in a bright kitchen, both focused on their respective tablets. They are dressed casually in white t-shirts and jeans. The kitchen features white cabinets, a microwave, a stovetop, and various kitchen items.

When we get into a routine and start doing the same things every day, it’s easy to stop being aware of those things.

Catch yourself whenever you slide into autopilot and firmly bring yourself back into the room and start noticing the details around you, including the sights, sounds, and smells.

3. Keep a journal.

A man in a gray suit with a red tie and glasses sits in a chair by a window, holding an open book and a pen. He appears to be deep in thought and is looking out the window with a contemplative expression. Behind him is a neatly made bed.

Recording your thoughts, worries, hopes, and observations is a wonderful way of checking in with yourself on a daily basis, and getting anything that’s been worrying you off your chest.

Each night, grab a pen, open your journal and note down the important things that happened that day.

4. Stop worrying about the “what ifs”

A pensive elderly man with white hair rests his chin on his folded hands, gazing thoughtfully into the distance. The background is softly blurred with natural light coming through a window. The image has a gentle, sepia tone.

Worrying about what might or could happen is, as we all know, a total waste of time.

Worrying about it will do precisely nothing to change the future. It will only make you miserable now and divert your attention from all the good stuff that’s going on around you.

5. Set achievable daily goals.

A person sits cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by papers, photos, and stationery. They are writing on a piece of paper, with a coffee mug, eyeglasses, and a candle nearby. The scene appears to be a creative workspace.

The only goal in your life shouldn’t be a big, intangible one that’s hovering somewhere in the future.

Setting small, achievable goals for yourself every day – and doing your best to tick them off – will fill you with a sense of achievement and purpose when you go to bed at night.

Try writing these goals on a to-do list or post-it notes to keep things visual and present in your mind throughout the day.

The key here is not to be too ambitious and to not get angry at yourself if, sometimes, you don’t achieve them.

6. Congratulate yourself on the small things.

A person with short brown hair is standing outdoors, wearing a blue sleeveless top. They have their arms raised and eyes closed, smiling and facing the warm sunlight. The background is a blurry mix of trees and greenery.

There are days when even getting out of bed can seem like a huge challenge. So when you do get up, get dressed, and feed yourself… pat yourself on the back.

There are days when you’ll achieve great things, but the days that really count are the ones on which you still show up and get things done even when you just want to curl up in a ball and hibernate.

7. Remember that you only get to live each day once.

A smiling older man wearing a helmet and a green jacket is biking on a trail. A woman in the background is also biking, surrounded by lush green trees on a sunny day.

When you find yourself forgetting to take each day as it comes, remind yourself that every day that goes by is lost to you forever.

We only have a limited number of days on this earth, so each one should be lived to the full, not spent dwelling on the past or fretting about the future.

Finally…

A person wearing a sunhat and casual clothes lounges in a green, striped hammock tied to a tree in a lush garden. They are positioned with their feet up and hands behind their head, creating a relaxed and tranquil atmosphere. Leaves are in focus in the foreground.

At the end of the day, all we truly have is this present moment… right now.

What we think of as the past is, in fact, our memories of the past, which our brains can, and do, select, alter, and skew. The past itself cannot be changed, much as we might try.

The future is completely intangible and, unless you’re a believer in fate, is as yet completely undecided.

It can only be shaped by the things you do every day, and the decisions you make in the present. Even then, you can never be quite sure what’s coming your way.

Essentially, the only thing you have any influence over is today, so, why not start living for it?