50 Ways to Have 50 Little Wins This Month

Sometimes you just need a win. And as good as checking every box on a to-do list, cleaning your whole home, or throwing a successful party feels, accomplishments don’t need to be huge to be worth celebrating. In fact, research shows that counting the little wins in life helps you stay motivated to work toward the bigger ones. “When we think about progress, we often imagine how good it feels to achieve a long-term goal or experience a major breakthrough. These big wins are great — but they are relatively rare. The good news is that even small wins can boost inner work life tremendously,” reads one Harvard Business Review article. 

Not only does patting yourself on the back for making your bed or pausing on your walk to appreciate a cool rock build positive inertia, but it’s also just fun. Stopping to honor these little moments instead of breezing right past them helps your days feel full of good news. In the slightly altered words of Hugh Grant, “If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that little wins actually are all around.” From spring cleaning to self-care to keeping in touch with friends, here are 50 small moments to celebrate this month. 

1. Get a good night’s sleep.
2. Wake up after your first (or second) alarm. 
3. Make your bed. 
4. Drink a big glass of water. 
5. Take your vitamins. 
6. Feel the sunshine on your face. 

7. Complete your skincare routine, whether it’s one step or 10. 
8. Buy yourself some flowers. 
9. Fix up your scratched cabinets with a walnut. 
10. Give your cabinets a quick and colorful makeover with some peel-and-stick wallpaper. 

11. Frame a piece of art you’ve been meaning to hang. 
12. Make a piece of art yourself, just for fun. 
13. Add some art to your kitchen. 
14. Text a long-distance friend a sweet message. 

15. Adopt a new houseplant. 
16. Try a simple new recipe (like this frozen banana iced coffee). 
17. Make a travel plan to look forward to. 
18. Collect some of your clutter into a “magic bag” to treat yourself later. 

19. Make a springy simmer pot. 
20. Try out a new service with a free trial. 
21. Give your cast iron skillet a good clean.
22. Fluff up your bath towels.
23. Dust off your houseplants in seconds.

24. Easily wrangle your tangle of cords with a basket. 
25. Join your local Buy Nothing group and give away something you don’t use anymore. 
26. Peruse your Buy Nothing group for some stylish (and free!) home decor. 
27. Take a minty fresh shower by placing a plant in your bathroom. 
28. Look around your home and appreciate the features you usually overlook — whether that’s the wood paneling, boob lamp, or mirrored closet doors.
29. Stand in every square foot of your home to fully appreciate the rent (or mortgage) you pay. 

30. Do a batch of laundry, whether you use a laundry service or do it yourself. 
31. Take a trip to your local dollar store and uncover an inexpensive treasure. 
32. Invite a friend or few over for a dinner party — and make it feel extra special with a well-designed invite. 
33. Say hello to a neighbor (and bring over a homemade treat if you want)!
34. Go sit in a park, backyard, or patch of grass and read a book. 
35. Open a high-yield savings account to make more money off your money (and save up for something exciting).
36. Turn your meal prep into an episode of “Chopped” by doing a fun no-spend pantry challenge.
37. Update your resume with your current position to save yourself the trouble down the line. 

38. Take a dance break, meditation break, or any kind of joy break. 
39. Take a look at your subscriptions to see if there’s anything you’re not using — and pocket some easy savings. 
40. Make an adorable match cloche with a shot glass and keep it for yourself or gift it to a friend. (Or, try another beginner-friendly DIY around your home.) 
41. Keep your eyes peeled for a cool rock on your next walk.
42. Support a local business (it feels so good when you do!).

43. Hold your pet up and take a walk around your home so they can see never-before-seen parts of their pad.
44. Pride yourself in opening the microwave door the second before the beep goes off. 
45. Eke out the very last drop of a product, whether that’s face wash, concealer, or, miracle of all miracles, Chapstick.

46. Make a note in your phone of all the food in your pantry so you don’t have to wonder what you have next time you’re at the grocery store.
47. Check Amazon prices before your next Target run to save some money with their price-matching policy.
48. Listen to a new-to-you album in full. 
49. Reset your passwords — and make them secure this time. 
50. Write even the smallest task on your to-do list to build momentum (i.e., “Make a to-do list” — check!)