New Years Resolutions? Mweh...

New Years Resolutions…Shudder? Have them all written out and planned since December? Mweh?

It's week 3 in January. Most of you will have already heard of having SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely), below are a few other tips that just might light you up and inspire you to take on a few new Habits (let’s not call them Resolutions then…)

‘We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience’- John Dewey

Do you love your morning routine? What about your lunchtime routine (you do take lunch, don’t you?), and your evening routine?

Is there anything in those you want to shake up, move around, change up? Is there something you really want to do but can’t figure out where to fit it into your life?

Have a think about your morning, lunchtime and evening routines, as they’re a great place to ‘habit stack’ something you know is good for you, you know you should do, but you just can’t seem to stick to regularly. When you’re brushing you teeth, add in some mindfulness exercises. Before the kids get up, do some simple wall presses, sit-ups and planks in your kitchen as the coffee is brewing. Before you go to bed at night, do some simple stretches, or yoga sun salutation moves that help you relax, focus your mind, and stay away from blue screens. Set a reminder on your phone to turn off your phone at a certain time and stop doom scrolling. Move your lunch break to a convenient time and see if you can meet up with a friend for social time on a walk, run or to share coffee in a park and just get away form your ‘office’ space for a while.

As I said in a previous post, we are responsible for our own work/life blend to fit in the simple things in life that bring us a lot of joy.

Below are a few other tips I picked up in various blogs and coaches I follow:

• Call them ‘habits’ instead of ‘resolutions’. They should fill you with energy and enthusiasm, be easy to implement and ‘Spark Joy’ if you were to follow Marie Kondo. An enjoyable life upgrade that translates to a lighter mind, body and home.
• Do  a Yearly Review- By reflecting on the last 12 months, you can set the right intentions for the next twelve months. You need brutal honesty with yourself mixed with forgiveness and a good piece of chocolate and maybe a nice new planner you can happily scribble in. It helps you gain insights about yourself so you can create a future you love. And remember, it’s about building memories with people you care about too, not just ticking off a lonely bucket list.
• What were your wins, what did you learn, and what were the hidden and unexpected little wins too? We can’t control everything, yet life has a way of teaching us what we actually needed to learn.
• What did you most enjoy? What were you most proud off? Those questions provide nuggets for what you might want out of 2022.
• What do you want to do less of? It’s not all about doing more. How can you declutter and simplify your life to allow white space for simply thinking, relaxing, and being in the moment. 
• What subtle daily habits are sabotaging our productivity and leading to more hours of work- what fixes can you put in, reminders etc… How can you get good quality work done faster to leave space for non-work. Reduce distractions, bucket work items, decide on which ones are most important. Build time in each day for those unexpected items you suddenly get asked to do- don’t overbook your schedule so you can allow for ‘life’ to happen. Switch from being reactive to being proactive. What will your manager or stakeholder be looking for next? How can you achieve that ‘flow state’ of work by minimising those distractions. Building up the right habits and routines can be a big time saver.
• What end-of-work ritual do you do to switch over, calm down and relax? Take care of your body and mind.
• Check in- Do a monthly check-in to see how you’re doing, any tweaks along the way. Do a larger review every few months- do your habits still inspire you, do you still want the same intentions? With whom are you spending most of your time?
• Circle the special days in your year- be it family events, holidays, sporting events etc.. and have something to look forward to, lines in the sand to break up your year. Enjoy the special in those days.

‘The key to a successful life is not prioritizing what’s on your schedule but scheduling your priorities’- Stephen Covey

Have a great week,

Melanie