The full catalog
Habits for stress
762 entries pulled from 62 stacks. Items are ordered by how many tracked people are on record about them, including discussion, use and recommendations.
Filter counts cover the full catalog. Type, goal and cost filters apply to items only.
Items
51 entries
Reset- HabitFREE, no cost01
Daily meditation
10-20 minutes of formal practice, most days
On record from 21 of 62 tracked people: 17 do it, 1 recommends it, 3 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost02
Daily walking
A long walk most days, often without headphones
On record from 19 of 62 tracked people: 14 do it, 5 recommend it - HabitFREE, no cost03
Journaling
Writing to unload the mind, usually first thing or last thing
On record from 14 of 62 tracked people: 13 do it, 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost04
Gratitude practice
Writing down a few specific things you are grateful for, daily
On record from 13 of 62 tracked people: 11 do it, 1 recommends it, 1 has discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost05
Deliberate solitude
Regular time with your own thoughts and no other inputs
On record from 12 of 62 tracked people: 9 do it, 3 recommend it - HabitFREE, no cost06
Daily prayer
A fixed time for prayer each morning, before the phone and before the day starts
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it - HabitFREE, no cost07
Personal mantra
A quote kept where you will see it before you perform, taped up or written on your gear
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it - HabitFREE, no cost08
Time with family and friends
Protected off-hours with the people who knew you before the job did
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it - HabitFREE, no cost09
Deliberate discomfort
Choosing the thing you do not want to do, daily, as its own training
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 2 recommend it - HabitFREE, no cost10
Quitting social media
Deleting the accounts rather than trying to use them less
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 1 has discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost11
Regular check-ins with friends
A standing group chat or text that asks how you actually are
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 1 recommends it - Habit$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.12
Talk therapy
Regular sessions with a therapist, kept up long after the crisis passes
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it - HabitFREE, no cost13
Warm bath or shower before bed
Warm water an hour or two before sleep drops core temperature after
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 1 recommends it - Habit$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.14
Golf
Hours outdoors, walking, with a problem to solve that is not your own
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it - HabitFREE, no cost
A high savings rate
Bank a large share of income by spending well below what the income allows
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
Accountability mirror
Telling yourself the blunt truth in the mirror every day, then fixing it
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Act on the thing causing stress
Make the first call or send the first email on whatever is nagging at you
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Asking for help
Four words, can you help me, used on purpose rather than as a last resort
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
Celebrating your flaws
Point at the thing you would rather hide instead of trying to cover it
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Chess
Short games used as a mental reset between blocks of demanding work
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Cooking family dinner
Making the evening meal from scratch as the default, kids in the kitchen
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Dark chocolate
A square or two of high-cocoa chocolate, usually after dinner
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Extended sabbatical
A month or more entirely off work, announced well in advance
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
High five in the mirror
A silent high five to your own reflection after brushing your teeth
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Inbox zero
Empty the inbox by deciding once where every message goes
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Jigsaw puzzles
Thousand-piece puzzles as a screen-free way to switch the mind off
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Lenten fasting
Forty days of giving something up, plus fast and meat-free days, in the Christian calendar
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Lion's breath
One deep breath in, then a big loud exhale, used to break a spiral of frustration
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
Living without debt
No mortgage, no loans, no balances, chosen for the flexibility not the interest
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Mastery hobbies
Recovering through a demanding hobby rather than through rest
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Memento mori reminder
A daily, deliberate reminder that you are going to die
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Morning puttering
A slow, unscheduled first hour or two: coffee, the paper, breakfast, no meetings
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Naming your inner critic
Give the voice in your head a name so you can hear it as separate from you
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
No phone calls after 10 p.m.
A hard stop on calls and conversations late in the evening so the brain can wind down
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
No-phone zones
Named rooms, hours and events where the phone is not allowed at all
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Notifications turned off
No alerts, no badges and no social apps, so the phone only interrupts when you let it
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Phone away in conversation
Put the phone out of sight when someone starts talking to you
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
Quitting the news
Dropping the daily news cycle rather than trying to follow it more carefully
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Reading history
Put the reading hours into what already happened rather than into forecasts
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Reading philosophy before bed
Ending the day on a page or two of philosophy, then thinking it over before sleep
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Saying I don't know
Admit uncertainty out loud instead of producing a plausible answer
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Saying I get to instead of I have to
Swap one verb in your self-talk and the daily grind reads as a privilege
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Saying I love you to friends
End calls with close friends the way family would, and mean it
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Staying put
Not switching jobs, fields or cities, so skills and trust keep compounding
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
Time in nature
Deliberate time outdoors among trees, water or open sky, most days
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Uncomfortable conversations
Say out loud that the conversation will be hard before you start it
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Vegetable gardening
Growing food you then cook, on a plot, a raised bed or a balcony
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Washing the dishes
Doing the dishes by hand after dinner as a fixed, screen-free end to the day
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Weekly cheat meal
Six days of measured eating, then one planned meal with nothing off the menu
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Work-life harmony
Treat work and home as feeding each other rather than as a strict trade-off
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Habit$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Working with a life coach
Regular sessions with a coach who sets priorities and holds you to them
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it
Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed.