As you conduct your year-end evaluations and set goals for 2018, keep in mind the power of simple habits. Setting just one small goal each day can help improve your life. These easy steps are called keystone habits. They will help you develop other, better habits.

Of course, we should always be focusing on spiritual habits. Let’s assume you’re already doing that. But creating other habits in life have their own cause-and-effect benefits as well. Here are five habits you should adopt in 2018 that can have a positive influence on your ministry.

1. Eat a Balanced Diet

Healthy eating habits are not only important for managing weight, but they also help ward off heart disease and high blood pressure and decrease your risk for Type 2 diabetes and some cancers. A good, balanced diet will also keep your energy levels up, giving you the boost you need to make it from Monday to Sunday each week.

2. Walk 10,000 Steps a Day

Since the advent of fitness trackers, you’ve probably heard the recommendation of walking that magical number of 10,000 steps each day. Even if you don’t have a Fitbit, you can still get up and move. Let’s face it, most pastors have a sedentary lifestyle.

Start developing a plan now to make your life and ministry better in 2018.

But walking those 10,000 steps a day can have positive effects on your health, which also means less downtime for sickness. And less downtime means more focused time for fulfilling your vision.

3. Get Enough Sleep

How much sleep is enough? You’ve probably heard of the eight-hour goal. But regardless of when you set the alarm, everyone knows instinctively when they’re getting enough — and not enough — sleep. Sleep can affect your mood, memory, creativity and performance. All of those can play a direct role in whether you finish strong each week in ministry.

4. Read a Book a Week

Reading for as little as 30 minutes a day can produce positive results. Not only does it help you develop mental acuteness and intellectual acumen, but it can even help you live longer, according to one study. Other research suggests reading promotes happiness and reduces depression.

Start working on your reading list today. Influence magazine often offers reviews and recommendations for reading material of interest to church leaders.

5. Focus on Friendships

We can easily focus on so many other goals or habits that we neglect those around us. But developing strong relational bonds help us in a multitude of ways. It can keep us more empathetic to the needs of others while also keeping our minds sharp. Close friends influence us in ways that can be good or bad. So make sure you’re setting habits of beneficial friendships.

These are a just a few habits that can help you in your ministry next year and beyond. Research shows it takes 21 to 30 days to develop a good habit, and even longer to drop a bad one. So seize the opportunities of the new year ahead, and start developing a plan now to make your life and ministry better in 2018.