The new year has arrived. After the rollercoaster of 2020, you’re probably more than excited for the hope that 2021 brings with it. The time has come for a fresh start, new beginnings, a brighter perspective, and good old resolutions.
It’s true that things in 2020 were just plain dismal. Gatherings and events were non-existent. Everything you had planned went up in flames. Whatever resolutions you made as last year began, fizzled out in just a few months when lockdowns sprung up all over the world.
While you may not know what 2021 is going to bring, it’s still time to wash last year away and start fresh. Pick yourself up, have a positive perspective, and ready yourself to make change, make progress, and grow in the new year.
It may not yet be the time to resolve to travel or attend concerts, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a number of things you can do in your space, in your life, with what you have, in order to better yourself.
Here are 10 New Year’s Resolutions you may want to make for 2021:
1. Create (and stick to) a budget
Get your financial life in order by creating a doable budget. Life is easier without overwhelming debt and without the stress of not having enough. This has become especially important during a time of economic uncertainty.
Budgeting for spending, paying debt, and saving will be one of the best things you do in 2021. There are many apps you can use to help you create a budget that you can actually stick to.
2. Handwrite letters
If there’s one thing people realized in 2020, it’s the need for tangible connection. Small, personalized touches have bolstered relationships and aided mental health.
People need one another. They need to feel valued, wanted, and appreciated. Simple things like handwritten letters have a depth to them that benefit the recipient and the sender.
While email and social media may be a more convenient way to connect with others, handwritten letters are a special, personal way. Take the time to write and send letters to people each month.
3. Focus on your health by eating better and taking supplements
Good health is essential. That’s why one of the most common New Years’ resolutions to make (and for most people, to break) has to do with diet. However, keeping yourself healthy, especially during a pandemic, needs to be a top priority.
Resolve to eat better, follow a healthy eating plan, drink more water, and take supplements. One of the best supplements you can take is HealthImpaq Natural Turmeric Curcumin with Ginger Extract. This incredible antioxidant is a top choice for your overall health, as it aids in digestive health, improves metabolism, and enhances brain functions.
With a new diet and high-quality supplements, you can ensure a healthy you in 2021.
4. Expand your skills- one new thing a month
Better yourself by learning new skills. Even if you can’t go out into your community and take classes, you can use the internet and take online courses or utilize YouTube to teach yourself.
Choose skills that you’ve always wanted to learn but haven’t gotten around to. Knitting, crocheting, painting, building, yoga, pilates, gardening, guitar, pottery, the possibilities are endless. Pick one skill for each month. At the end of the year, you’ll know how to do 12 new things!
5. Support your local community- get takeout from new restaurants
2020 reminded people of the importance of supporting the local community and small businesses. One of the best ways to offer support to your community is by getting takeout from local restaurants.
As often as your new budget allows, order from restaurants in your community. If you’re unable to eat out often, take the time to post about your local restaurants on social media and tag them in order to help them get more business.
6. Cook one new recipe a week
This year, while you’re eating healthier, increase your skill in the kitchen by learning new recipes. When you’re not eating out at your local restaurants, make sure you’re cooking healthy meals from scratch.
Make a point of finding and cooking at least one new recipe each week. This will help your cooking skills improve and will help you find new healthy foods that you love.
7. Make a playlist for every month of the year
A fun way to document each month of the year, as well as to make sure and save any new music you discover, is to make monthly playlists. The music you choose will be personalized and unique. It will probably be a combination of songs that are new to you, songs that spoke to you that month, and songs that illustrated your life.
At the end of the year you’ll have a playlist for each month. Listening back will be a special, emotional journey through your year.
8. Read a book a month
Reading is a top activity for the brain, but many people avoid it like the plague. Let 2021 be your reading year! Make a list of 12 books you’ve always wanted to read and divide them up by the months.
Make reading a daily priority in order to get through your booklist and meet your goal of finishing a book each month. You can even set up an account on Goodreads to track your reading, participate in reading challenges, and gather book recommendations.
9. Create (and implement) a house cleaning plan
You want a clean house. Everyone does. However, wanting one and making it happen are two different things. It can be especially difficult for busy people to clean their house on a daily basis in order to keep it in the condition they want.
This year, create a house cleaning plan that you can actually do. If you overdo the schedule you’ll overwhelm yourself and it won’t get done. Choose a few things you can do each day and the time of day you’ll be able to do them. Write out a schedule and post it somewhere that you’re going to see every day.
10. Walk (or run or hike) a mile every day
Exercise is essential but it can be extremely difficult to build the habit to get it done regularly. That’s what makes it such a common New Years’ resolution. People think if they start fresh on day one, they’ll be more likely to keep going. As easy as it is to make the resolution, it’s just as hard to keep it.
Instead of simply deciding to exercise daily, choose a specific, doable exercise that you can easily make happen every day. Resolve to walk, run, or hike, a mile every day. Some days you’ll be able to find a nice hike to take, while other days you’ll take a stroll around your neighborhood. Some days you’ll just monitor your steps through a Watch or FitBit as you walk at the store, the park, or around town.
Apps make it easy to monitor the distance you walk each day. Just make sure you’re getting in a mile a day and you’ll reach your exercise goals.