Improving and developing yourself is a life long journey. But it is an exciting journey that you will be so thankful you committed to! However, sometimes we all need some inspiration for what to do next in our self development journey. Which is why I am sharing 37 life changing self development activities!
But first let’s quickly chat about what self development is and why it is so important.
What is self development?
Self development is when you are making an intentional effort and taking actions to improve yourself.
It is a deeply personal thing because improving, developing, and bettering yourself will really depend on you and what you want.
But a self development journey really comes down to when you are making a conscious effort to do things basically every day to better yourself.
Why are self development activities important?
- They are a more measurable way to track self development/ self improvement.
- Self development activities encourage you to try new things and get out of your comfort zone.
- They help you think about and figure out what you want to do with your life and who you want to become.
- It helps to enhance and better your already good traits!
- Gives you the tools to work on your weaknesses and things you want to better about yourself.
So now that you know what self development really is and why self development activities are so helpful let’s jump into this huge list of self development activities!
Also make sure to subscribe to my YouTube here if you want to watch/hear more about self development tips and advice!
37 Life Changing Self Development Activities:
{ Activities to improve yourself }
1: Create a one year plan.
First up is a simple but helpful self development activity- sit down and make a plan for what you want the next 365 days to look like.
2: Do a productivity increasing challenge.
Making it a mission to improve your productivity can help you accomplish so much more! Try an activity of doing a productivity challenge- here’s my 7 day productivity challenge.
3: Improve your body language.
Body language is one of the most important ways to communicate better which can have great benefits in your life. Do some research as an activity to discover how you can improve your body language.
4: Make a plan to spend less time on your phone.
This is so great for improving your mental wellness. Make a plan to disconnect from your phone daily. I have some tips for this that you can read here.
5: Learn to actively listen to others.
Do some research for this important one of the self development activities and learn how to actively listen to others.
6: Do 5 daily positive affirmations.
Starting your day with a few positive affirmations is a great way to set yourself up for better days. Definitely an activity you will be thankful if you start doing!
7: Read a non-fiction book every month.
Non-fiction books are an amazing way to start improving and developing yourself. So make it a goal to start reading a whole non-fiction book each month.
8: Find a stress coping mechanism that works for you.
Everyone gets stressed out! But taking the time to find stress coping mechanisms that work for you is so essential for becoming the most amazing version of yourself.
9: Try a new time management system.
This activity is so helpful! When you find a time management system that works the best for you then you will be able to get more done.
10: Find a way to do daily gratitude.
I definitely recommend considering getting a daily gratitude journal (here’s one!) to help you with this self development activity.
11: Do a self confidence boosting challenge.
This is an awesome way to work on becoming more confident. I have a 25 day confidence challenge that you can follow here.
12: Start keeping a habit journal.
Habit journals are one of the best ways to help you form new positive habits. Here is one of my favorite and simple habit journals!
13: Start waking up earlier in the morning.
Waking up early in the morning helps you be more productive and get more done. I have some tips for waking up earlier that you can read here!
14: Meditate- start or work on finding the right style for you.
Mediation is so helpful for developing your spirit and mindset. So either start meditating or put some effort into making sure you are doing the right style for you.
15: Make an ultimate goals list.
This is one of my personal favorites of the self development activities! Making a huge list of every big and small goal you want to complete is so motivating!
16: Take an online course.
There are so many free online courses that can help you improve and become more educated about nearly anything you are interested in.
17: Work on improving your sleep at night.
Getting better sleep at night can be truly life changing. I have 5 super helpful tips for getting better sleep that you can read here.
18: Create a weekly routine that helps your life.
Weekly routines are an awesome way to help you be more organized and help you work towards your dreams and goals. I have some tips and ideas for this here!
19: Find and listen to podcasts relevant to your goals.
Podcasts are one of the best forms of entertainment because they can provide a lot of value to your personal development journey.
20: Make a list of bad habits and start tackling them.
This is an incredibly important one of the self development activities. When you make it an effort to start acknowledging and addressing bad habits you can transform your life.
21: Declutter your home and digital life.
I have two helpful posts for this activity. For decluttering your home check this out and for decluttering your digital life check this one.
22: Try journaling!
Journaling is one of the best ways to improve yourself and discover yourself at the same time. Here are a few journal prompt lists:
23: Create a morning routine that helps your goals.
Morning routines are a great way to set yourself up for better days that help you make your goals happen. So try making a routine that really works with your goals!
24: Write a letter to yourself in 5,10, and 20 years.
This activity is so great because it lets you really think about what you want your life to look like in the future.
25: Make a health improvement plan.
Taking the time to make a health improvement plan is so essential but also very personal! Take the time to write down a list of the things you want to improve about your health and how you can improve them.
26: Do a social media audit.
This means going through everyone you follow on social media and unfollowing anyone who you don’t like, stresses you out, or makes you sad. Remember you don’t owe anyone a follow.
27: Work on tasks to prioritize better.
Making it a goal and activity to learn to prioritize better can really help you start getting more done every day!
28: Find a planner/planner system that works for you.
Planners are such a helpful tool for being more organized and productive but they are the most helpful when you use the best planner and planning system for you. I have a video on how I set up my Erin Condren Life Planner here!
29: Do a daily time log.
This is an awesome way to better your time management! Do a time long for a couple days to help better your time management. Time logs are just jotting down what you did every hour so you know how you spend your time.
30: Make a self care routine.
Self care routines are genuinely a big part of developing and bettering yourself. Don’t believe me? Read this here on why self care routines are important!
31: Learn how to improve your energy levels.
Boosting your energy can really help you get more done each day and who doesn’t want that? I have some helpful tips on how to start feeling more energized that you can read here.
32: Start a night time routine that wraps up your day better.
Nigh time routines like morning routines are very personal but you can tailor them to help you achieve your goals!
33: Make a vision board.
Thinking about what you want to do with your life and what you envision it looking like in the future can really help your mind and personal growth.
34: Conduct a self evaluation.
Self evaluations can be time consuming but this self improvement activity is so helpful for truly bettering yourself.
35: Make a life long learning bucket list.
This is an activity I am so glad I did and hope you consider doing to! Make a list of things you want to learn in your life like languages, technologies, tools, hobbies, etc.
36: Practice ways to avoid drama and disconnect from toxic people.
This is obviously a large activity/task but any effort you make to avoid dramatic situations and toxic people can really improve your life.
37: Do a self love task every day.
I saved my favorite for last! Starting to do self love every day is definitely one of the best self development activities you can start doing.