how one tiny habit changed my day
You know those mornings when you wake up, check your phone “just for a minute,” and suddenly you’re running late?
You skip breakfast, grab coffee on the way, and feel like the day started before you did.
That used to be my normal. Everything felt rushed.
One evening, I decided to do something small. Instead of scrolling before bed, I started reading a few pages of a book.
That small change helped me fall asleep earlier and wake up with more energy.
One of the first books I picked up was The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg – and it completely changed the way I understood daily routines. It made me dive deeper into habits and how they shape our days.
‘‘Change doesn’t come from willpower alone – it comes from understanding your habits.’’
Why Habits Matter
Studies show that up to 40% of what we do every day happens automatically. These automatic behaviors are habits – and they control a lot of our life without us even realizing it.
The good news? We can change them. Once we understand how habits are formed, we can replace routines that drain us with routines that give us energy, calm, and focus
At Kanoli, we use these principles to help people and teams redesign daily routines in ways that really work.
‘‘Habits make decisions before you even think.’’
The Habit Loop
Every habit follows a simple pattern:
👉 Cue → Routine → Reward
Cue – the trigger that starts the behavior (feeling tired, stress, time of day)
Routine – the action you take (scrolling, stretching, reading)
Reward – the feeling your brain is chasing (relaxation, calm, focus)
You can’t erase a habit, but you can reshape it by keeping the same cue and reward while changing the routine.
In my case, the cue was tiredness, the reward was relaxation. I just changed the middle part, instead of scrolling, I read.
That small switch changed my nights and my mornings. I started waking up calmer, having time for a short yoga practice and breakfast before work. Just a year ago, I couldn’t imagine having time for any of that before going to work.
“You don’t need a full reset. You just need to rewrite the loop.”
Reflect for a Moment
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Think of the small things – checking your phone first thing, skipping breakfast, or your morning walk. These little routines define your mood, energy, and focus far more than one big “healthy” act.
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Start by noticing them. Awareness is the first step to change. You can’t fix what you don’t see.
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Pick something simple, a 2-minute stretch instead of scrolling, a glass of water before coffee, or reading a page of a book before bed. Small swaps can spark big changes.
From Personal Change to Team Routines
That one small change, swapping late-night scrolling for readin, became the foundation of a calmer, more grounded life.
It made me realize that habits aren’t about discipline. They’re about designing your environment and energy so things flow more easily.
At Kanoli, we’ve explored how the same principles apply to teams too – how shared routines shape focus, creativity, and collaboration.
Healthy team culture isn’t built on constant motivation. It grows from shared, simple habits: taking short breaks, checking in intentionally, giving space to recharge.
‘‘Strong teams aren’t built on motivation, they’re built on shared habits.’’
At Kanoli, We Help You Create Habits That Stick
At Kanoli, we help people and teams design daily rhythms that actually work, from mindful mornings to balanced workday routines.
We believe in small, practical steps that build real, lasting change.
“Culture is made of habits. Change what you repeat,
and everything starts to shift.”
My next goal? To replace my “after work YouTube” routine with something more relaxing – maybe journaling or an evening walk.
What I’ve learned, and what we share at Kanoli, is that change doesn’t start with big resolutions.
It starts with small, kind decisions you make every day.
One loop at a time.
With love and acceptance,
Alina from Kanoli Team
