11 SIMPLE HABITS THAT WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY EVERY DAY

DO YOU WANT TO BE HAPPIER? MOST OF US THINK THAT THE KEY TO GREATER HAPPINESS IS TO MAKE BIG CHANGES IN OUR LIVES. SURPRISINGLY, RESEARCH SHOWS THAT INCREASED HAPPINESS OFTEN COMES FROM TINY CHANGES TO OUR DAILY OR WEEKLY ROUTINES. EACH OF THESE HAPPINESS HABITS CAN PROVIDE A POWERFUL LIFT TO YOUR MOOD AND YOUR OUTLOOK ON LIFE. DO SEVERAL OF THEM TOGETHER, AND YOU'RE GUARANTEED TO MAKE YOURSELF HAPPIER.

hat advice comes from Cassie Holmes, professor at UCLA's Anderson School of Management and author of Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most. In a review posted to UC Berkeley's Greater Good site, psychologist Jill Suttie explores how Holmes's recommen dations can translate into a happier, less stressed life for all of us.

The key to increased happiness, Holmes writes, is how we spend our discretionary time--the hours when we get to choose what we do. Studies suggest that spending too much time watching TV or on social media can lead to unhappiness and even depression, whereas activities such as social interaction, exercise, and spending time in nature lead to greater happiness.

With this research in mind, starting a few small habits can have an outsize effect on how you feel. Give a few of them a try, or try all of them together if you want a real happiness boost.

1. FOCUS ON RELATIONSHIPS.

We've all done it. You're out for dinner with a loved one or good friend, but your attention keeps drifting away to the social media messages or work emails popping up on your phone. Our instincts tell us that these important messages require our attention right now, but when we give in to these instincts, our own happiness and well-being suffer because we lose some of the opportunity to interact and bond with the person who's in front of us. Even when we're on our own, a real conversation with someone we care about trumps a social media message.

So Holmes has a stunningly simple suggestion: "Simply close out of that social media app you're in and dial up a friend to actually talk."

2. GIVE YOURSELF MOMENTS OF FLOW.

When you're working on something--at your job, a side hustle, a creative endeavor, or even a hobby--you'll be happiest when you can get into "flow," that state where you're fully engaged in what you're working on to the point that you lose track of time. So give yourself opportunities for flow by scheduling chunks of time for you to focus on your project and work with as little interruption as possible.

Conversely, at moments when you're not focusing on a project or complex task, look for opportunities to interact and have real conversations with your colleagues. Just as stronger relationships make us happier in our personal lives, stronger relationships at work will make us happier on the job.

3.

GET SOME EXERCISE EVERY DAY.

You already know that getting regular exercise will help you feel healthier and live longer, but there's also ample evidence to show that it will make you feel happier and less stressed. That's a very good reason to make time for exercise every day, or as close to every day as you can manage. Not only that, recent research shows that exercise helps you sleep better and feel more refreshed and energetic the following day. So the hour or half-hour you invest in a walk, a run, or a workout pays dividends that make it very worthwhile.

4.

"BUNDLE" ONEROUS ACTIVITIES

WITH FUN ONES.

You may already do some of this, for example if you listen to your favorite podcast or watch your favorite show while on the treadmill. Life is full of opportunities for making tedious tasks more fun, for instance listening to dance music while you fold the laundry, or a fun audiobook during your commute. And you can up the happiness quotient by adding relationships to the unpleasant task. For example, have a cooking party with one or more friends where you hang out together in the kitchen, preparing meals for the coming week.

5. MEDITATE, OR JUST BREATHE.

There's a lot of scientific evidence that meditation makes us happy as well as improves our brain function. In fact, the most measurably happy human on the planet is a Tibetan monk who spends most of his time meditating. But not everyone is comfortable meditating. Holmes writes that she's "too fidgety and impatient" to do it. But even focusing on your breathing for a few slow breaths can calm you when you're stressed and improve your mood. And being more mindful in general, by focusing on the present moment and what you're seeing, feeling, and experiencing, reduces stress and improves well-being. These are all elements of meditation and you can use them even for a few moments at a time, no lotus position required.

6. DEFEND YOUR WEEKENDS.

Holmes recommends treating the weekend "like a vacation." That means not filling it up with chores and obligations and making sure to spend time doing something you truly enjoy. The weekend can also be both more enjoyable and more memorable if you do something you don't usually do, such as going to an exhibit or a concert. You'll come back to the workweek feeling more relaxed and energized than if you spend those two days catching up on paperwork.

7. Find awe.

A fascinating study found that people who experience awe, defined as "the emotion that arises when one encounters something so strikingly vast that it provokes a need to update one's mental schemas," feel less pressed for time as a result. One of the best ways to experience awe is to get out into nature, even in a park, if a forest or beach isn't immediately available. And a 15-minute "awe walk" in nature consciously seeking awe is shown to make people happier. It's well worth taking those 15 minutes to find awe for yourself.

8. Do small acts of kindness.

Another surprising way to feel less time crunched is to perform small acts of kindness for others. I found this very counterintuitive when I first read about it--after all, the acts of kindness in themselves take up time. But an experiment led by Holmes showed that when participants performed a small act of kindness (in this case writing a brief letter to a gravely ill child), their sense of their own available time expanded.

Separate research has shown that spending money on others will make you happier than if you spend it on yourself. So go ahead and do something nice for someone--it's guaranteed to increase your own happiness as well as theirs.

9. Practice gratitude.

Research consistently shows that feeling gratitude will make you happier. And gratitude is one of the few emotions that, at least in my experience, is under our control. Most of us can't will ourselves to feel happy or loving. But we all have plenty in life to be grateful for, and if we stop for a moment and consider some of those things, we will feel grateful, at least for those few moments.

For years, I've started my day by mentally listing three things that I'm grateful for before I get out of bed, and (important) before I pick up my smartphone or tablet. Give it a try and see if gratitude lifts your spirits, as well.

10. Mix it up!

Lots of things that make us happy delight us less over time. I had a striking version of that experience when, after wanting one for years, I finally bought my first electric car. Every time I got behind the wheel, I marveled at how smooth and silent it was, how quickly it responded to the accelerator, and how it always started the day fully charged so I that never had to worry about rushing to the gas station when I was already late for an appointment. Six months later, I still loved the car--but it didn't fill me with joy the same way it did in those first few weeks.

This is called hedonic adaptation, and it applies to everything that gives us pleasure if we repeat it often enough. So change things around--do something you love in a different setting, with a different person, at a different time, or in a different way. "We stop noticing when the same good thing happens again and again. Change, however, makes us pause and pay attention," Holmes writes.

11.

Make happiness part of your schedule.

One of the nicest things you can do for yourself is to make a happiness plan. Holmes recommends looking at your schedule every week and blocking in time to spend with friends or loved ones, time in nature, time for yourself to daydream--any of the 10 suggestions above, and anything else that makes you feel truly fulfilled. When something's written into our calendar, we tend to do it. It's a great tool for making sure that happiness is part of your week.

(By Minda Zetlin for Inc.)