Build the Habit of Showing Up

Build the Habit of Showing Up

By Leo Babauta

Posted on August 19, 2025

So much becomes possible when we just show up regularly.

Some of the best people I’ve known are people who just show up for others, regularly. They show up, take care of things, do their best. And the lives of others get changed.

When we’re struggling with our lives, often it’s a struggle to show up for our lives.

So today, I’m going to recommend the idea of building the simple habit of showing up. Simple, but of course not always easy.

If you can show up regularly, things will start to change.

What Does Showing Up Look Like?

Showing up can be applied to any area of our lives:

Fitness: When I wanted to start running, my mantra was to just lace up my shoes and get out the door. I didn’t have to run if I didn’t feel like it — I just needed to show up. Eventually I ran my first marathon this way! The same thing applies if you want to work out at the gym, or do yoga regularly, or play a sport. Just show up, and you’ll see progress.

Finances: For me, this looks like opening my budget app every day (You Need a Budget is what I recommend) and sorting through transactions, making sure I’m on plan, making payments and adjustments to the plan as needed. It takes 5-10 minutes a day. For someone else, it might be some other small steps — but showing up regularly can make a huge difference in getting finances in order.

Meditation: Practicing mindfulness through meditation can have a huge impact on your life — but only if you’re showing up regularly and practicing. I’ve gone through many periods where I struggled to show up, mostly because I always feel too busy. But if I can remind myself that all I need to do is get my butt on the cushion, then my meditation practice starts to happen.

Big project: A writer friend of mine told me that he just needed to get his butt on the chair at a certain time and the book gets written. That’s what showing up for a project looks like.

Clutter: If you have mountains of clutter … can you take just 10 minutes a day to clear out a little of it? Slowly the mountains shrink to molehills.

Email: Overflowing inbox? Have a session every day where you clear out the less important emails (archive, quick replies) and try to reply to a few of the more important ones.

Learning: We learn best when we’re consistently showing up. Whether it’s reading through a textbook or studying Anki flashcards, you’ll see great progress by just showing up regularly.

You get the picture. A habit of showing up regularly changes any area of your life — including relationships, your career, your pile of small tasks that can feel overwhelming, and more.

How to Build the Habit of Showing Up

So how do we build this as a habit? Well, intention and practice.

Start with the intention: pick one area (any of the areas above would be good) and have the intention to just show up in that area every day (or at least, most days). It’s not about perfection. Just start with the intention. Write it down.

Then practice:

• Set a reminder so you don’t forget. Also put it on your calendar.
• Start with the smallest amount you can show up. Just lace up your shoes. Just get your butt on the chair. Just open the document. Don’t get ambitious.
• Each day, when you practice, see if there’s something you can enjoy about showing up. Can you find a little bit of fun, play, curiosity, gratitude?
• What could be lovely about showing up?
• Acknowledge yourself each time you do show up. Drop the habit of self-criticism and discouraging yourself, and instead practice encouraging yourself.
• Appreciate what starts happening after a week or so of showing up regularly.

It’s an underappreciated skill, but I think showing up regularly changes everything.

​

with love,

Leo Babauta

Zen Habits

• https://zenhabits.net/

Decluttering to Reduce Anxiety

Decluttering to Reduce Anxiety

By Louisa Rogers

Posted on December 7, 2024

 

When we declutter, we don’t just relieve our home of mess; we lighten the load of the people who live in that home.

There! I put the last of the shirts and pants I no longer wanted into the bag to take to the thrift shop, and I felt suddenly lighter. Whenever I let go of things, I always walk away with a sense of renewal.

Clutter is a stressor for almost everyone, but especially for people with any form of anxiety, including generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Anxiety and clutter enjoy a perverse kind of codependency: Anxiety can lead to a cluttered home, and a cluttered home can lead to anxiety. This is because clutter reminds us of all the things that need to be finished, which makes us feel guilty and leaves us overwhelmed. The clutter in our homes not only makes our homes look bad, but it also makes us feel bad.

Research backs this up. In one study, women who described their homes with positive language had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol than women who described their homes as cluttered.

But let’s face it—anyone who has tried to declutter knows it’s no picnic. The act of dealing with our possessions often evokes memories, which can be messy and painful. Dealing with what we’ve accumulated takes physical energy and stamina, constant decision-making, and emotional resilience.

The Psychological and Physical Benefits of Decluttering

Nonetheless, decluttering is worth it! Here are some powerful incentives for people with anxiety to declutter their homes:

It relieves stress. When things are disorganized, it can often bring vast amounts of anxiety. We may feel constantly worried or afraid of accumulating yet more clutter. Letting go of “stuff” can lighten that weight and help us feel calmer.

It builds a sense of confidence. Just a few minutes of decluttering can fill us with a sense of “Yes! I can!”

It helps us focus better. A cluttered environment can lead to cognitive overload and fatigue, as the brain struggles to make sense of competing distractions.

It improves our mood. If we’re feeling low, lethargic, or irritable, just a few minutes of active decluttering can make us feel better.

It helps us feel better about our home. The less clutter we have, the more we’re likely to enjoy our home and feel comfortable having friends over.

It helps if we’re feeling stuck. Feng shui experts maintain that decluttering is a concrete, tangible metaphor for letting go psychologically. It helps to free us from what is holding us back and create space for new possibilities.

It gives us more time in our day. The less clutter we have, the less time we’ll spend cleaning, organizing, putting things away, and looking for them.

It can help us sleep better. Decluttering may even reduce asthma and allergies, since keeping a clean home decreases the likelihood of breathing in dust, mold, and mildew.

Mindset Strategies for Decluttering for Anxiety

The process of decluttering is as important as the outcome. We don’t just relieve our home of mess; we lighten the load of the people who live in that home. How we let go matters.

Here are some ideas for how to approach the task:

Clear respectfully and gratefully. Thank your possessions for the role they have played in your life. Don’t approach them as enemies but rather as things that once served you.

Tap into the “joy.” Rather than looking at what you don’t want in your home, focus on what you definitely want to keep. This is the method made famous by Marie Kondo in her best-selling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.

Get comfortable. If you feel anxious about tackling the mess in your home, consider asking a friend to join you. Make yourself physically comfortable. Put on music or make a cup of tea. Do whatever it takes to help yourself enjoy the process.

Consider a ritual as you embark. Light a candle, take a moment of silence, or bow before starting.

Be kind to yourself. Some of us (I speak from hard-earned experience!) can be unforgiving and angry at ourselves for buying things that turn out to be mistakes. (Why did I waste my money on that stupid thing?) Notice when you’re being harsh and try to forgive yourself.

Find language that works for you. The phrases “get rid of” and “throw away” feel unfriendly to me, so instead I use words and phrases like “release,” “let go of,” “circulate,” and “repurpose” when clearing out old messes.

Practical Strategies for Decluttering for Anxiety

New Zealand professional organizer and feng shui coach Vicky White defines clutter as “anything unfinished, unused, unresolved, tolerated, or disorganized.” Using these categories as guidelines, here are some suggestions for how to declutter:

Start with the small and irritating. If you succeed early in the process, you’ll feel more confident and motivated. So, begin very small by zeroing in on a single concrete, solvable clutter problem: one corner, one shelf, one box, one drawer. You’ll be even more motivated if the clutter annoys you.

Commit to five minutes a day. Anyone can commit five minutes to donating, recycling, or tossing old items. You can always add more time, but five minutes is all you’re requiring of yourself. It’s an easy way to sneak through your resistance. Write it in your calendar. Those five minutes can change your life.

Keep a dedicated clutter box close at hand. A ready container to toss items into makes decluttering easy and automatic.

Designate a “four month box.” Things I’m not sure I want to keep but am not yet ready to give away are put in what I call a “four month box,” which I ask my husband to hide. If I don’t ask for any of the items in four months, he has my permission to take the box to a thrift store. I’ve rarely asked for anything back!

Monitor the point of entry. The easiest way to prevent clutter from accumulating is before you own it. Once you own something, it’s easy to become attached to it, and you can almost always come up with justifications to keep it. So, be vigilant when it comes to acquiring new things. Ask yourself, “Is this something I’m likely to enjoy over a long period?” Asking this can help deter you from buying things that will just sit there taking up real estate.

Surrounding Yourself with Things You Love After You Declutter

I once owned a beautiful mosaic glass candleholder a friend had made me. There was nothing wrong with it, but I simply didn’t love it, no matter how hard I tried. So I finally gave it away. Even though it was gorgeous, I didn’t truly love it, so my decision to donate it was wise.

On the other hand, I’m very fond of the print hanging above my desk. Delicately patterned kimonos sway on a clothesline tied to cherry trees on a grassy hillside. I often look up at that painting as I’m writing. The kimonos fill me with a sense of peace. Where the candleholder robbed me of energy, the kimono print restores me.

The more you surround yourself with only the things you truly love, the happier, lighter, and more peaceful you’ll feel. Start now. Light a candle, put on some music, dedicate a clutter box, and begin.

Louisa Rogers

• https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/