Why Making Your Bed Might Actually Change Your Life (No, Really)

I once rolled out of bed and stepped straight onto a pile of laundry so colossal, it nearly qualified as a hiking trail. As I stared at the chaos, a simple phrase I’d heard from a Navy SEAL echoed in my head: 'If you want to change the world, start by making your bed.' Admittedly, I laughed. Change the world? With a tucked-in sheet? But then I tried it for a week. Let’s just say, what started as a joke turned into an unlikely experiment that spun out into the rest of my routine—and maybe, just maybe, my life.

The Bed-Making Paradox: Why Tiny Acts Pack a Punch

“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” The first time I heard this, it sounded almost laughable. How could something as simple as pulling up the sheets and fluffing a pillow possibly have any impact on my life, let alone the world? I was skeptical, to say the least. But as I dug deeper into the idea—and eventually put it to the test myself—I discovered there’s a strange power behind these daily, seemingly pointless tasks. Making your bed each morning isn’t just about looking tidy. It’s about setting a tone of accomplishment, creating a mini feedback loop, and, surprisingly, building a foundation for bigger changes through small actions.

From Skepticism to Curiosity: My Bed-Making Experiment

I’ll admit, I used to roll my eyes at the idea of a morning routine that started with making my bed. I’d read about Navy SEALs and their obsession with this ritual, but it felt like a relic from childhood—a chore, not a life-changer. Still, the phrase kept echoing in my mind:

“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”

The Strange Power of Small Actions

What happened next caught me off guard. That first morning, as I stood back and looked at my neatly made bed, I felt a tiny spark of pride. It was a small win, but it was mine. I’d accomplished the first task of the day, and that sense of completion nudged me forward. Suddenly, brushing my teeth, making coffee, and even tackling my inbox felt a little easier. Each tiny action seemed to snowball into the next.

This is the paradox: the smallest actions can have the biggest impact. Making your bed is a classic example of habit formation—it’s a low-barrier task that builds momentum. When you start your day with a win, your brain gets a hit of accomplishment. That little boost can encourage you to take on another task, and another, until you’ve built a whole chain of productivity. It’s like setting up a row of dominoes; tip the first one, and the rest start to fall.

Why Navy SEALs Obsess Over Bed-Making

The Navy SEALs don’t just make their beds for the sake of neatness. For them, it’s about discipline, pride, and the belief that the little things in life matter. If you can’t do the small things right, how can you expect to handle the big things? That’s why they drill this habit into every recruit. It’s a daily reminder that attention to detail and consistency matter, no matter how insignificant the task may seem.

As Admiral William H. McRaven famously said,

“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another.”

How Bed-Making Became My Productivity Hack

After a week of my own “bed-making boot camp,” I noticed something had shifted. My mornings felt less chaotic. I was more likely to stick to my morning routine and less likely to let small setbacks throw off my day. That simple act of making my bed became a kind of anchor—a way to claim control, even when everything else felt unpredictable.

• Habit Formation: Making your bed is a gateway habit. It’s easy to do, and it sets the stage for other positive behaviors.
• Sense of Control: In a world that often feels overwhelming, small actions like this give you a sense of order and control.
• Productivity Boost: Completing one task early in the day creates momentum, making it easier to tackle bigger challenges.

The bed-making paradox is real: tiny acts can pack a punch. What started as a skeptical experiment turned into a daily ritual that quietly transformed my mornings—and, in subtle ways, my life.

Lessons from the Battlefield (and the Bedroom): Discipline as the Secret Sauce

I never thought making my bed would have anything to do with surviving Navy SEAL training, let alone thriving in civilian life. But after 36 years as a Navy SEAL, I can say this with total honesty: the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over. The connection between Navy SEAL training, discipline and attention, and the habits of productive people is much deeper than it looks on the surface.

From Barracks to Bedroom: The Unexpected Crossover

Every morning during SEAL training, my instructors—Vietnam veterans, tough as nails—would storm into our barracks. The very first thing they did? Inspect our beds. Not our push-ups, not our gear, not our weapons. Our beds. If you did it right, the corners were square, the covers pulled tight, the pillows centered just under the headboard, and the extra blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack. It was a simple task, and honestly, it felt a little ridiculous at the time. We were training to be warriors, not hotel housekeepers.

But there was a method behind the madness. The instructors demanded perfection in the smallest details. If your bed wasn’t made to their standard, you’d hear about it. And you’d fix it, again and again, until you got it right. This wasn’t just about sheets and blankets. It was about building habit strength—the kind that seeps into every part of your life.

Discipline in the Mundane: Why Attention to Detail Matters

Here’s what I learned: Discipline practiced in one area bleeds into others. If you can master the small, boring, repetitive tasks, you’re training your mind and body to handle bigger challenges. Making your bed with military precision each morning isn’t about the bed. It’s about starting your day with a win, no matter how small. That win sets the tone for everything that follows.

In SEAL training, we learned that attention to detail could mean the difference between life and death. But in civilian life, it can mean the difference between chaos and calm. When I started applying that same discipline to my daily routine—paying attention to the little things, even when nobody was watching—I found that my days ran smoother. I was more productive, more focused, and less overwhelmed by the big stuff. The bed was just the beginning.

A Personal Challenge: Folding Sheets SEAL-Style

One Saturday morning, I decided to see if I could still make my bed the way my SEAL instructors demanded. I got oddly competitive with myself. Could I get those corners as tight as they used to be? Could I center the pillow just right? I even timed myself, just to see if I could beat my old record. It was just me, a set of sheets, and a memory of a gruff instructor barking, “Do it again!”

What surprised me wasn’t just how quickly the muscle memory came back, but how good it felt to nail the details. That sense of accomplishment carried over into the rest of my day. I tackled my to-do list with more energy. I found myself paying closer attention to my work, my conversations, even the way I made my coffee. It was like flipping a switch from “good enough” to “do it right.”

Small Acts, Big Results: The Secret of Productive People

Here’s the truth: productive people aren’t born with superhuman willpower. They build it, one small act at a time. Navy SEAL training is all about resilience and attention to detail, but you don’t need to go through Hell Week to benefit from those lessons. Making your bed is a tiny act of discipline, but it’s a powerful one. It’s proof that you can control your environment, even in the smallest way. And when you start your day with discipline, you’re more likely to carry that mindset into everything else you do.

But the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.

So, whether you’re facing a battlefield or just the chaos of everyday life, remember: discipline is the secret sauce. Start with your bed. See where it takes you.

Hope is Contagious (And Starts With a Blanket Fold)

I’ll never forget the day I lost my job. The world felt heavy, my future uncertain, and every small setback seemed to echo louder than ever. That evening, I dragged myself home, dreading the silence and the weight of disappointment. But as I opened my bedroom door, there it was—a neatly made bed, sheets pulled tight, blanket folded just so. It was a small thing, but in that moment, it felt like a lifeline. I had made that bed that morning, before I knew how my day would unravel. Coming home to it was like finding a note from my past self: “You’ve got this. Tomorrow can be better.” That simple act of discipline, folding a blanket, gave me a tiny spark of encouragement when I needed it most.

This is the secret power of small actions. When we talk about resilience and perseverance, we often imagine grand gestures or heroic feats. But the truth is, hope grows in the cracks between discipline and failure. Life will test you—sometimes to your very core. You’ll face setbacks, discouragement, and moments when quitting feels easier than pushing through. But every time you make your bed, or complete a small task, you’re building a foundation for overcoming adversity. You’re telling yourself, “I can do this. I can keep going.”

I love to imagine what it would look like if someone like Abraham Lincoln or Malala Yousafzai started their mornings with hospital corners and a smoothed-out comforter. It’s almost funny to picture, but maybe that’s the point. Even the people who changed the world—who faced unimaginable challenges—had to start somewhere. Maybe their mornings began with a simple, steady ritual. Maybe that first act of order and care was the spark that fueled their courage for the day ahead. One person can change the world by giving people hope, and sometimes, that hope starts with something as ordinary as a blanket fold.

There’s a reason the Navy SEALs use the image of a brass bell in their training. It hangs in the center of the compound, visible to every student. If you want to quit, all you have to do is ring the bell. No more early mornings, no more freezing swims, no more grueling obstacle courses. Just ring the bell, and the hardship ends. But if you want to change the world, don’t ever, ever ring the bell. That’s the lesson: Perseverance isn’t about never failing—it’s about refusing to give up, even when failure seems inevitable. It’s about showing up, making your bed, and facing the day, no matter how tough it gets.

The power of hope is contagious. When you choose discipline over despair, when you complete a small task in the face of chaos, you’re not just helping yourself—you’re sending out ripples. Maybe your partner notices the made bed and feels a little lighter. Maybe your kids see you keep going, even on hard days, and learn what resilience looks like. Maybe a friend hears your story and finds the courage to keep going, too. Strategies for change don’t have to be complicated. Sometimes, they start with the simplest habits, repeated day after day, until hope becomes a part of who you are.

So if you’re having a miserable day, remember this: you can come home to a bed that is made—a bed that you made. That act of care is a promise to yourself that tomorrow can be better. And if you keep at it, if you never ring the bell, you might just inspire someone else to do the same. Change doesn’t always begin with a revolution. Sometimes, it starts with a blanket fold.

If you want to change the world, don't ever, ever ring the bell.