One Month Later: Easy Ways to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions All Year Long
February 6, 2010 | VReitano
It’s now the second month of the new year – and new decade – and perhaps you had a great track record in January for keeping your New Year’s Resolutions, and maybe you didn’t. Either way you can benefit from reading these tips to stay on track this month and all year long. I like to look at the first of the month as a positive clean-slate. It’s a time to reevaluate all my habits from the past month and see what needs to change and what can stay the same. These aren’t always life changing things; sometimes I just vow to do my laundry more often, or avoid “science projects” in my fridge, but each and every one of these requires determination and the ability to set goals. These are the things I hope this post can help you do – determine your goals and find ways to keep them this month and this whole year.
Many of my friends resolved to go to the gym more in 2010, and yet some of them still can’t find the time to do this regularly. We are all busy, and that’s fine, but as I like to tell them, exercise is so much more than sitting at the gym for an hour or two you just don’t have. If you are like them and don’t have the time to go to the gym, try exercising outside, or even popping in a yoga tape at least once a week. Yoga episodes can be found all over the Web, many as free podcasts. It’s even helpful to just practice the meditation associated with Yoga – it helps you stay centered and focus on what you need to do to make you happy, which leads me to resolution 2.
I resolved to be true to myself this year, and a good friend of mine did as well, and we’ve been checking the status of our progress. Ultimately it seems that we would do better to take our own advice instead of giving it to each other, but here’s something you can take away from that. Find a buddy – whether it’s a spirit check buddy or an exercise buddy, having someone to talk to, encourage, and rely on often helps you keep yourself going. For me, it’s great motivation to see a text when I wake up that says “Good Morning – HAVE A PRODUCTIVE DAY!” Then I can determine what exactly that means for any given day. It’s been really helpful for me and might just help you as well.
Another popular resolution in my circle is to budget money better. One friend has been saving each and every receipt for the entire month to see how much she spends and where she spends it. She’s recently cut back on going out to eat in an effort to curb her spending in that area. That’s also given her more time for her other resolutions – one of which is making more time for school – and it has ultimately made her a more balanced person.
Finally, the best way to keep a resolution is to write it down. Keep a notebook handy for writing down resolutions and crossing them off as you accomplish them. Don’t get ahead of yourself, we have a very long year ahead, and plenty of time for you to accomplish one small goal at a time. The notebook often keeps goals in perspective and should help you keep your resolutions in February and all year long!
Let me know if any of these seem to help you – and how! I’d love to incorporate some of your ideas into my monthly routine!
