Wow! 2018, already? I can’t believe another year has gone by. This is the perfect time to start fresh and make a bold entrance into the new year. Let’s get started!
Make a 2018 bucket list
This is the year to make a different kind of bucket list, the kind that focuses on personal goals that you will actually be able to attain if you really stick to it. Your bucket list can include academic, sport or even hobby goals. Need some inspiration? Look on Pinterest for “bucket list” to see some ideas. It’s important to really take time and think about this. It’s also helpful to review your list from last year (if you made one) to see how you did in 2017 and see what things you just didn’t get to, but you still find important. Just the act of thoughtfully going through this process and of actually writing your goals out will make it more likely you will be motivated to work on them.
NEW closet
It’s that time of the year again! I know…I don’t want to do it either, but we have to. Cleaning closets might be the worst, but after you do it you will feel so accomplished and satisfied (I promise)! I’m going to help you make a plan to make it a little easier. So that doesn’t take one long, awful, dreadful afternoon, I suggest you spread out cleaning the closet into three afternoons, one hour each day. For example, one day you work on PJs, sweatshirts, sweatpants, and socks. The next day, you power through the pants, shoes, and dresses. The third day you do any remaining items. For extra motivation, crank up the tunes and get movin’ and groovin’ (and CLEANING), and before you know it, you’ll be done. Having an uncluttered, organized closet with ONLY the things that fit you and ONLY the things you love will make getting dressed and out of the house so much easier. It will also help you to see your current wardrobe in a whole new light. Hopefully, you will be inspired to mix and match things and put together new outfits without stepping foot into a single store. Take pictures of your new combos and save them to your camera roll so you don’t forget what you put together.
NEW start
This is the time to start fresh with a clean slate of new possibilities. It is time to paint that mural on the blank wall, start really doing all those fun things you saw on social media, or start that new hobby. Start something new…anything…just START. Some areas to consider when you are deciding just where to actually ‘start’ are:
Health and Wellness
Start the juice cleanse or that yoga class you and your friends have been talking about. Now that I’m done with the Winter production of Annie at my local community theatre, I’m looking forward to committing to spin class twice a week at this cool, local studio, Grooveryde. GrooveRyde also has boxing, buti yoga, and a boot camp all in the coolest studio perfectly located between my home and school, with a Starbucks right across the street. It’s a great way to break up the school week and a refreshing way to wake up on a sleepy weekend morning.
Hobbies
Identify an activity you’ve always wanted to get better at and make a plan to really work on it. I’m trying to improve my photography skills. I just recently found, Emil Pakarklis (https://iphonephotographyschool.com/author/emil/), who doesvideos and sends emails explaining different photo tricks using an iPhone. It’s amazing what you can do. I’ll be making a point to work on this each weekend.
Personal routines/good habits
Good habits are hard to form, but really pay off when you got ‘em down. They say if you do something for 30 days in a row it becomes a habit. Where could you use a little improvement in your daily routines? Personally, I wanted to improve my morning routine making time to make a healthy breakfast every morning. I set my alarm a few minutes earlier and worked hard to wake right up and get myself together super fast so I would have extra time to get downstairs to make breakfast. On an average day, this takes me only 15 minutes and it didn’t take me long to make this a habit. Making little adjustments can make your day more productive.
Give back
It’s not always all about you, so plan a charity project in the new year. It could be as easy as giving your old clothes to a Goodwill or taking an afternoon to go to your city’s food bank to help. Last year I collected board games from my field hockey team and donated them to an early childhood center that needed them. It felt so good to see the look on the director’s face when I delivered these much-appreciated items. One way to find out about good volunteer opportunities is to go to the United Way website,https://www.unitedway.org/get-involved/volunteer/. This is a non-profit organization that benefits many different people in all kinds of ways. Also, in the next year, I will be starting a new project that I can’t wait to share more details about it with you soon!
Back to 2018, are you as excited as I am to start fresh?
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