Building an Automatic Life: The Habits of Optimal Self-Improvement

By Dylan J. England | Health, Fitness & Development Coach

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8 Minute Read

Have you ever feel like you’re constantly fighting yourself just to be productive? The secret to success isn’t heroic effort; it’s adopting small, non-negotiable habits. This post breaks down the 10 foundational habits that move you from burnout to optimal performance by setting up your environment, body, and mind for success.

The Foundation (Physical & Environmental)

Before you can master your mind, you must master your environment. These first five habits are the foundation that gives you the energy and clarity needed for deep work and self-reflection.

Step 1: Move Daily

Barrier: “I don’t have time for a full gym session, so why even bother?”

Movement is the fastest way to change your state and boost your focus. It instantly lowers cortisol (stress hormone) and increases blood flow to the brain, effectively clearing the mental fog and improving mood. Strategies to try:

The 15-Minute Rule: Schedule a non-negotiable 15-minute walk outside or a bodyweight routine.
Movement Snacks: Set a timer to stand up and stretch every 60 minutes.
Consistency of motion is more valuable than intensity of motion.
Use movement as a tool to reset your mind throughout the day.
Park further away or take the stairs—build movement into transit.
Batch your movement by taking work calls while walking.

Step 2: No Phone or Distraction Window of Time

Barrier: “I need to check my phone first thing in the morning to feel caught up.”

You protect your agenda. Checking your phone first thing bombards your brain with stressors (notifications, comparisons, emails), immediately putting you in a reactive, anxious state.

Strategies to try:

The Power Hour: Ban screens for the first 60 minutes after waking up.
The Kitchen Rule: Buy an inexpensive alarm clock and charge your phone overnight in the kitchen, not the bedroom.

Protect your first hour to set your own intentions.
Your brain needs time to use its own thoughts, not social media’s.
Focus is a resource; protect it from constant digital interruption.
Turn off all non-essential notifications (like social media updates) permanently.

Step 3: Get Organized and Clean Space

Barrier: “I’m a creative person; a little mess doesn’t hurt anyone.”

A clean desk equals a clear mind, and eliminates visual stress. Each item of clutter is a “visual noise” that forces your brain to subconsciously allocate energy to processing it, draining your overall mental bandwidth.

Strategies to try:

The 5-Minute Reset: Tidy your primary workspace for five minutes before you leave it each day.
One In, One Out: Adopt a policy where every new item you buy requires you to donate or discard a similar old item.
Your environment is a reflection and a driver of your mental state. Cleanliness removes the friction needed to start a task. Decluttering is an act of proactive self-care.
Focus on clearing surfaces first (desks, counters) for the biggest immediate psychological impact.

Step 4: Meal Prep and Choose Nutrition

Barrier: “I’m too busy during the week to cook anything elaborate.”

You can’t think clearly or perform well with unstable energy. Proper nutrition maintains stable blood sugar, preventing the energy crashes and mood swings that derail productivity. Strategies to try:

The Sunday Stack: Dedicate 1-2 hours on Sunday to prepping proteins (chicken, beans) and washing/chopping vegetables.
Plan Only One Meal: Just decide on lunch or dinner for the week to eliminate daily decision fatigue.
Treat food as fuel for your brain, not just your body.
Consistency in healthy eating is more important than perfection.
Remove food-related decision fatigue during your peak work hours.
Keep a bag of nuts or pre-portioned fruit slices nearby for instant, high-quality brain fuel.

Step 5: Plan the Week

Barrier: “I hate feeling tied down. I prefer to see what the week brings.”

Structure frees you from stress and allows you to schedule time for rest and fun first. Planning moves you from a reactive state (putting out fires) to a proactive state (working on priorities).

Strategies to try:

Schedule Rest First: Block out personal time, fun, and exercise before filling in work tasks.
Rule of Three: Identify the three most important outcomes for the week and ensure they are time-blocked.
A plan prevents you from confusing busywork with actual progress.
Planning helps you anticipate and mitigate potential challenges.
Use your plan as a strategic tool, not a rigid prison.
Review last week’s plan to celebrate wins and identify where you wasted the most time.

Part 2: The Mental Toolkit (Mindset & Introspection)

Once your environment and schedule are dialed in, you need the right mental toolkit. These habits ensure you are constantly learning, course-correcting, and staying flexible on your path to improvement.

Step 6: Constant Education

Barrier: “I don’t have time to go back to school or take expensive courses.”

Your capacity to grow is directly tied to your capacity to learn new things. Lifelong learning keeps your mind curious, adaptable, and relevant, preventing career and personal stagnation.

Strategies to try:

Passive Learning: Listen to skill-based audiobooks or podcasts during walks, commutes, or while doing chores.
The Adjacent Skill: Commit to learning one thing that complements your main career (e.g., a leader learning basic graphic design).
Education doesn’t require a classroom, only curiosity.
Make consumption active; listen to learn, not just to pass time.
Never stop expanding your intellectual horizons.
Dedicate 15 minutes before bed to reading a non-fiction book that teaches a new skill.

Step 7: Check In with Yourself / Audit

Barrier: “I feel good most of the time, and I don’t want to overthink things.”

You need to be a learner, not a victim, of your own behavior. A periodic audit allows you to measure progress in key life areas (health, finances, relationships) and identify problems before they become crises.

Strategies to try:

The Quarterly Check-in: Set aside two hours every three months to formally review your goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) for life.
Ask the Hard Questions: Where did I spend the most time and energy this week? Did that spending align with my goals?
Self-reflection is the mechanism of course-correction.
Self-compassion is key; audit to learn, not to judge.
You can’t fix what you refuse to measure.
Use a simple journal entry once a week to capture your highs, lows, and one lesson learned.

Step 8: Get Clear on Priorities

Barrier: “Everything feels important, so I just try to do it all.”

Saying ‘no’ strategically protects your time for the 20% of effort that gives you 80% of your results. Clarity on priorities allows you to use the word “No” without guilt.

Strategies to try:

The Eisenhower Matrix: Sort tasks into four categories: Urgent/Important, Urgent/Not Important, Not Urgent/Important, and Not Urgent/Not Important.
Identify the Domino: Find the one task that, if you complete it, makes every other task easier or unnecessary. Do that first.
Effectiveness is choosing what not to do.
Use the 80/20 Rule to focus on high-leverage activities.
If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.
Before agreeing to a new request, ask yourself: Does this support one of my top three goals for the month?

Step 9: Silence to Think

Barrier: “I hate being bored. I need to be listening to something or doing something.”

Your best creative ideas and deepest solutions only happen when you give your mind space to wander. This is time for your brain’s Default Mode Network to connect disparate ideas.

Strategies to try:

Transition Silence: After a commute, sit in your car for 5 quiet minutes before walking into your house.
Schedule “White Space”: Block 15 minutes of quiet, device-free time daily—no agenda, just sitting.
Silence is not wasted time; it’s essential mental processing time.
You can’t hear your intuition over the noise of constant input.
Unstructured time is required for structured problem-solving.
Try a “Low-Dopamine Morning” where you engage in a low-stimulation activity (like drinking coffee quietly) before starting work.

Step 10: Be Flexible in Everything You Do

Barrier: “If I mess up my routine once, the whole day is ruined.”

The only way to succeed long-term is to be adaptable and commit to never missing two days in a row. A rigid system fails at the first sign of real life. Flexibility is resilience.

Strategies to try:

Planned Imperfection: Know that you will miss a day—that’s life. The rule is to get back on track the very next day.
Buffer Time: Build 15-minute breaks between meetings and tasks to absorb unexpected delays without derailing your entire day.
Focus on the outcome, not the rigid adherence to the process.
Build systems that are designed to withstand failure.
Resilience is the ability to pivot and not panic.
Have a “Minimum Viable Routine” (e.g., 5 push-ups, 5 minutes of planning) for days when your full routine is impossible.

But if you’re looking for proven effective methods to improving your health and wellness be sure to read past and future articles and don’t forget to listen to The Practical Edge Podcast.

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Ready for a coach who can help you sharpen these habits for life?
Check out my coaching program at www.dylanjengland.com. Let’s build the foundation for your best life—together.

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