Research shows that happiness isn’t just something that happens to you—you can actively build happiness through daily practice.

When you treat happiness as a habit, you create sustainable well-being through the little things you do consistently. This proactive approach, grounded in behavioral science, shows that the right activities practiced over time can increase your happiness and help you build a more joyful life.

We often feel too busy to focus on our happiness. If fitting well-being into your schedule seems impossible, know that you’re not alone.

The good news? Building happiness doesn’t require a complete life overhaul—just consistent, manageable actions that fit into your day.

We created a little dose of happy with the busy, working professional in mind. We intentionally designed our Do Happy: Daily Happier Habits App to be a comprehensive yet simple framework for happiness. By making it easy for you to do something for yourself every day, you’ll be more likely to do it!

All it takes is a little dose of happy every day for your overall level of happiness to grow exponentially over time. By implementing simple daily habits to increase your happiness, you will find yourself happier and healthier in no time!

This is due to the incredible power of small wins and compounding. If you increase your happiness by just 1% every day, you can double your overall level of happiness in as little as 70 days!

But to develop a new habit, you first need the right mindset. You need to believe that your happiness matters and that your happiness starts with you. That’s the only way you’ll make sure to take action to do happy every day.

What Makes Happiness a Habit (Not Just a Goal)

Happiness is a habit, not just a destination. The difference comes down to consistency and action. Goals focus on outcomes—”I want to be happier”—while habits focus on the daily behaviors that create those outcomes and lead to a fulfilling life.

Behavioral science research shows that sustainable change happens through small, repeated actions rather than dramatic transformations. When you practice happiness-building behaviors consistently—even for just a few minutes each day—your brain actually rewires itself to notice positive things and create more positive experiences. This is called neuroplasticity, and it means that happiness truly is trainable.

The key is behavioral activation: taking action even when you don’t feel motivated. Rather than waiting to “feel happy” before you act, you take small happy actions first, and the feelings follow. This approach is clinically proven to be more effective than positive thinking alone because it creates real experiences and accomplishments that naturally boost your mood and mental well-being.

How to Build Happiness Habits That Stick

When you’re ready to take action, the Do Happy: Daily Happier Habits App is the perfect tool for you!

Happiness takes action. We call this doing happy. The app provides you with a Do Happy Task of the Day to complete every day. These tasks focus on three main pillars of happiness:

Self-Care (taking care of your own body and mind):
Self-care forms the foundation of sustainable happiness. When you prioritize your physical and mental health—through movement, enough sleep, nutrition, and stress management—you build the resilience needed to show up fully in all areas of your life. Research consistently shows that people who maintain regular self-care practices report higher life satisfaction and better emotional regulation.
Relationship Maintenance (keeping in touch with your family and friends):
Strong social connections are one of the most powerful predictors of happiness and longevity. But relationships don’t maintain themselves—they require intentional effort and regular contact. By consistently reaching out to the people who matter to you, you strengthen your support network and create the meaningful connections that make life rich and fulfilling.
Acts of Kindness (spreading kindness in the world around you):
Contributing to others’ well-being creates a powerful feedback loop that enhances your own happiness. Acts of kindness—whether small gestures or larger efforts—give you a sense of purpose and connection while making a tangible difference in your community. People who regularly perform acts of kindness experience significant boosts in life satisfaction and sense of meaning.

Completing your daily task by midnight the following day earns you a blue star on your accountability calendar and happyStars (points) toward happy status. Once you start earning stars, seeing them pop up on your calendar, and accumulating happyStars and status, you’ll become increasingly motivated to keep going!

Making Happiness Habits Effortless

You can live a happy life. Happiness, after all, is a habit! The Do Happy App helps you build happy habits, track your progress, and become the happiest version of yourself.

After you add your loved ones to the app and choose your weekly task schedule, the app becomes fully automated. This lowers the activation energy and effort needed to do happy every day.

The app tells you what to do and provides ideas on how to do it! The tasks are simple and can easily be completed over a day.

Here are some of the other ways the app helps you build good habits:

The app presents you with your Do Happy Task of the Day in the morning via a push notification and sends you a reminder in the evening to complete the task if you haven’t already.
You choose a Self-Care Challenge task from a list that prioritizes mental and physical well-being. You are encouraged to complete your Self-Care Challenge task 3 times a week for 3 to 6 months. The app tracks your progress and rewards you with progressively more bonus happyStars for each month you complete successfully.
Your Do Happy Journal focuses your thoughts on 10 happiness-boosting elements and how they make you happy every day, training you to recognize the positive aspects of your daily life. Writing in your journal by midnight the following day earns you a smiley on your accountability calendar and happyStars.
Your Do Happy Analytics enable you to analyze your personal data to understand the key contributors to your happiness and identify opportunities for continuous self-improvement.
Your Important People Organizer helps you keep track of all your loved ones and their special occasions. All inputted dates become Do Happy Reminders to ensure you never forget any important dates! The Do Happy Reminders are also completable tasks that encourage you to contact your loved ones on their special days (and earn happyStars).
Your accountability calendar serves as a visual cue for self-motivation to keep going and not break your streak of completing happy tasks: blue stars for daily tasks, smileys for journaling, and gold stars for bonus acts of kindness.
For social support, you can easily click to share your accomplishments on social media or via text messaging.

As you continue using the Do Happy App, it becomes your ongoing memory book of happiness with your personal photographs and descriptions of happy moments. You can review it whenever you want to reminisce or need a quick pick-me-up.up.

Start Your Happiness Habit Today

The Do Happy App focuses on long-term habits and sustainable progress, not quick fixes. You’ll marvel at the app’s simplicity and how it keeps you accountable to your happiness.

Get started today! Download the Do Happy App—your practical guide to adding joy and happiness to your daily routine!

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to form a happiness habit?

Research shows that forming a habit takes between 18 and 254 days, with an average of 66 days. You’ll usually see positive changes much sooner, often within two weeks of consistent practice. The key is repetition—the more you practice, the faster it becomes automatic.

Can you really train yourself to be happier?

Absolutely. Research in positive psychology and neuroscience shows happiness is trainable with practice. Genetics sets your baseline, but the behaviors and habits you engage in matter. With regular happiness-building, you can rewire your brain for positivity and develop a more positive outlook. As researchers Sonja Lyubomirsky and Kennon Sheldon state, “Happiness can be successfully pursued, but it is not ‘easy'”—meaning it takes genuine commitment, but the improvements are real and achievable.

What if I miss a day of my happiness practice?

Missing one day won’t undo your progress. Research on habit formation shows occasional lapses don’t significantly impact long-term success—what matters is getting back on track quickly. The Do Happy App makes this easy: if you miss a day, simply complete your next task when you’re ready. The accountability calendar helps you visualize your overall consistency, and you’ll see that one missed day is just a small gap in an otherwise growing pattern of success.

Is happiness really just about daily actions?

Daily actions are the foundation, but increasing happiness is about more than just going through the motions. It’s about cultivating awareness of what brings you joy, building meaningful connections, and creating a life aligned with your values. The Do Happy approach combines action (behavioral activation) with self-reflection through journaling to help you both do and understand what makes you happy. Over time, these daily practices shape not just your actions but your mindset and overall life satisfaction. Happy people often incorporate practical tips like spending time in nature, practicing gratitude, and maintaining helpful routines that support their well-being.

How is behavioral activation different from positive thinking?

Positive thinking focuses on changing your thoughts and expecting good outcomes, while behavioral activation focuses on taking action regardless of how you feel. The crucial difference: behavioral activation is action-first, feelings-second. Rather than waiting until you feel motivated or happy, you take small steps with activities that build happiness, and the positive feelings follow naturally from the experiences you create. This approach is clinically proven to be more effective for building lasting happiness because it creates real, tangible changes in your life rather than just shifting your perspective.

Start your happiness habit today—download the Do Happy App and discover how simple sustainable happiness can be!