15 New Year’s Resolutions You Can Accomplish

We are only on the seventh day of the new year, which means there is still time to create those new year’s resolutions! The anxiousness over our ability to keep up with said new year’s resolutions can hinder us from even making them, so I want to share with you all 15 different new year’s resolutions that you can actually accomplish. New Year’s resolutions don’t have to be major changes to your lifestyle, small changes can prove just as effective to better your life.

1.Maintain a Positive Attitude

Positivity is key to living happier and achieving more! Being less judgey of others, seeing the brighter side of situations and realizing the potential of things are all ways you can maintain a positive attitude! Remind yourself to erase the negative when you find yourself thinking that way and think of at least one positive of the situation. This has helped me in the past to become more aware and make an active effort to remain positive.

2.Do something nice every day/week for someone else

Let’s have 2019 be the year that we give back! Give someone around you a compliment, find an organization to volunteer at, donate, take your friend out for coffee…there’s so much you can do! I think at times we underestimate the effect we can have on someone’s day just by doing the smallest things! 

3. Focus More on Mental Health 

We often don’t spend a lot of our new year’s resolutions on mental health. But this year, I challenge you to do something good for your mental health and yourself. It can be as simple as learning to meditate, going out with friends to relieve your stress, or blocking off alone time for yourself. Mental well-being is so crucial to overall satisfaction with ourselves. Know that mental health doesn’t mean you have to be diagnosed with something, but also taking the right steps to maintain a healthy way of thinking and being.

4. Specific Fitness Goals

Everyone makes fitness new year’s resolutions, but most fail to achieve their goals because they make their resolutions to be too much. Focus on a particular goal or set a date. Do you want to go to the gym a specific number of times a week? Do you want to get your body fat down to a certain percentage? What about that vacation you are planning for the summer and want to feel confident? It doesn’t necessarily have to be how you look or weigh…focus on how you want to feel and love your body at the same time. The key is to be as specific as possible and hold yourself accountable!

5. Read More

Did you know that the amount someone spends reading is correlated to how intelligent they are and it can help with both writing and critical thinking skills? Spend more time this year picking up a book, newspaper or magazine even, to read. There are so many different topics out there these days that there is bound to be one for you. We all commute somewhere, which is the perfect time to read! And if you commute by driving or don’t like the act of actually reading or don’t want to carry around books, invest in apps/services like Audible where you can listen to the books.

6. Eat Out Less Often

The average American eats out 4-5 times a week! And most of the time it is based on people just being lazy. Meals prepared in restaurants are often times less healthy since making dishes extra yummy = extra seasoning such as salt. Eating out less means more money in your pocket and being healthier! If you are someone who eats out really often, start slow and try cutting it down to half the times. 

7. Eat Healthier

Another cliche new year’s resolutions, but one that is nonetheless important. Regardless of age, we should all start thinking about health and how we can better our bodies. I love the phrase “everything in moderation”, meaning eat healthy but also indulge in the junk once in a while to keep yourself sane. I wouldn’t recommend to go on all those fad diets because you will eventually tire yourself out, but rather focus on the 80/20 rule; eat healthy 80% of the time and the other 20%, go for all the treats!

8. Drink more Water

The most popular criticism from my mom when I go home is “you don’t drink enough water”. Something sooo simple yet we often forget to do it all the time! It’s recommended that the average person should drink 60-70 ounces of water a day….yes, that scares me, too! But let’s make a conscious effort to hydrate! Start small and build up the amount! Drinking water has sooo many benefits like bettering our skin, mood and curing our hunger when in actuality we aren’t hungry!

9. Cut back on Screen Time

Try to put down the phone, shut off the TV and exit out of your bowsers! It makes me so sad sometimes to see how much time people spend on their screens, even though I do the same at times. Make an effort to cut back! This past year, I have began to do that and it was so helpful in helping me concentrate on other areas of my life. Maybe for an hour (if you are really addicted) or a day where you just keep yourself busy or relax with something other than a screen. Go outside and enjoy nature, read, or cook!

10. Call your parents once a week

Your parents have been there for you your entire life…calling them once a week is the least you can do. Make a conscious effort to schedule time in your schedule to call them and talk – I know every parent looks forward to their kids calling. I try to call my parents as much as possible! Building a close relationship with your parents is something you will never regret.

11. Clean

I cleaned up my apartment Saturday and it just made the entire place feel soo better and look bigger. Keep your living space cleaner this year by making a point to put back things right after you finish or designate one day to clean up and put things back. A cleaner place also affects your productivity! Cleaner = more productive!

12. Sleep schedule

Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule is the foundation of how everything else runs in your life. Getting a good night sleep can determine your mood and productivity the next day! You don’t have to force yourself for be a morning person since I know plenty of night owls who are just as productive. Rather it’s about having a consistent schedule for your body to get use to so your mood isn’t all over the place.

13. Start a budget plan

It’s never too early to start budgeting and understating how to budget. Find ways how you can spend money smarter and how to save/invest. Putting small amounts of money away for when you really need it is so important and cutting back on unnecessary purchases can really benefit you in the long run. Print out simple templates from Google to help you divide up your budget into necessities and pleasures. Or you can check out my January bullet journal setup to see how I track my expenses.

14. Find a hobby

Try to find something else to excite you from the normal cycle of your life. Find a hobby that makes you excited. It can be downloading a language learning app that you can spend 15-30 minutes one a day, starting a bullet journal to tap into your creativity or something physical like biking! For me, I want to use this year to learn calligraphy!

15. Drink Less Alcohol/Caffeine

How much money do you spend on alcohol and caffeine? The answer is almost always “too much!” Like everything else, it’s about moderation! Learn to make coffee/tea at home, which can easily save you hundreds year! Invest in a nice coffee machine, the money that you save from not buying those $5 lattes from fancy cafes will end up saving up. And for alcohol, try to cut down by only drinking on special occasions – you don’t need a drink every time you go out!

A million and one thanks for reading — until my next lil’ thought then!

xx jen