As the holiday season winds down and we welcome the New Year, it gives us an opportunity to hit the reset button. A New Year signals a new beginning, and many people use it to make improvements to their lives. According to Health.com, around one third of Americans make New Year's resolutions, but only around 46% are still on target six months later.
We think that percentage could be improved greatly by making your resolutions realistic, easy to achieve, and most importantly, well defined. While we would all love to run the New York Marathon in 2016, it is a huge commitment in time and energy, which might not be feasible for most people.
To help get you started, we have outlined 5 simple New Year's resolutions that won't require a drastic change in your lifestyle, but will most definitely yield positive results.
5 Positive and Easy-to-Keep Resolutions:
- Once a day, take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator to get daily exercise. Increasing your heart rate, even briefly, helps your cardiovascular fitness, reduces cholesterol and hypertension, and improves metabolism. Fitting exercise into your regular routine makes it easy to keep moving and avoid using a busy schedule as an excuse.
- Don’t use your cell phone during work meetings, social events, or dinner. We're all guilty of this. Having instant access to information has made us not appreciate the value of live interactions. Try to keep your phone in your pocket or your bag for the duration of a meeting and notice how much more information you absorb. Your interpersonal relations will certainly improve through this practice.
- Be more than punctual. Try to be at least 5 minutes early for all appointments. When you make someone wait, you're stealing the most precious resource any person has—time. By being punctual, you show others you respect them and value their time as much as they do.
- Make some time for yourself. It’s easy to get wrapped up by daily stressors and forget to make time for you. Set aside at least half hour to spend on yourself. Be sure to set aside your phone. Try reading a book, listening to some relaxing music, or meditating. Listening to classical music may even increase your IQ!
- Organize your personal workspace. This will make life much easier and far more efficient! Make sure you prioritize important jobs on a daily basis. Too much time is occupied by things that keep us busy, but are not a priority. Implementing simple organization tactics allows us to use our time in the most beneficial way (and to have more time for the things we enjoy).
What’s your New Year’s Resolution?
