This past year was full of learning lessons, first accomplishments, and good and bad experiences. Even with the good and the bad, 2018 was a great year and I know 2019 will be even better! I wanted to share some of the new habits and goals I’m starting for the new year. I hope that you guys can find this post helpful and set some goals of your own! Let’s own this year guys!

Make A Fitness Goal

The New Year gives us a chance to press the reset button and start new, healthy habits. One of the healthiest habits to start is exercising! Exercising is different for everyone so it’s important to set realistic goals for yourself but still push yourself a little 😉 My goal is to work out at least 5 days a week. I work from home and I don’t have a gym membership so I workout in my living room to YouTube videos. I love to do Hiit workouts on cardio days because they really push me! On other days I’ll do ab, arm, and thigh videos. I also try to set aside time each to do yoga or just some simple stretching. My body feels so much better afterwards!

Use A Planner

Planners are such a great way of staying organized! I use a planner to keep track of deadlines for my posts, upcoming trips, and events/get togethers with friends. I had a few slip ups earlier this year when I forgot that I was supposed to meet a friend and it’s the worst feeling! As soon as I set something, I’ll write it in my planner so that I won’t forget. It’s also a really easy way to reference deadlines for work. I try to take a look at my planner every morning to make sure I’m on track.

Make Time For Yourself

2018 was my first year of working for myself as a full time blogger/content creator. I really struggled this year with making time for myself. I kept thinking, I can meet my goals so much faster if I just keep working. Some days I was starting work at 8 in the morning and not quitting until 11 pm. It can be tough when you work from home because there is a lot of flexibility so during the day I might be meeting a friend for coffee, running errands, etc., which eat into the work day. So to make up for this, I would end up working late.

During the middle of the year, I was having constant headaches and just feeling so stressed and burnt out. I finally told myself that I needed to stop working so much for my own mental health. It’s ok to put the phone down and read a book instead or take a bath! By continually telling myself this and making a point to put the laptop and phone aside, I’ve started to feel so much better and less stressed.

Eat Healthier

Eating healthy is also different for everyone. For me, eating healthy means avoiding fast food and making myself meals from scratch. That way I know exactly what’s in the food that I’m eating. I try to avoid using oils to fry foods and I make sure that I’m eating fruits and vegetables every day. A really simple way of making sure that you’re getting the right amount of greens every day is to add ORAC Energy Greens capsules into your vitamin regimen.

Take Your Vitamins

You guys know that I love my vitamins and supplements! I always feel like I’m doing something really good for myself when I take my vitamins. One of my new favorite supplements is the Neocell collagen powder.

You can read all about the benefits of collagen powder here. In this blog post, I share all of the vitamins and supplements that I take.

Start A New Hobby

Start a new hobby today! Do something that you’ve always wanted to try and don’t set it aside. I used to love reading but then life happened and I stopped reading because of work and school demands. One day it hit me that I hadn’t actually read a book for fun for almost 4 years! This made me really sad so I made it a point a few months ago to start reading books more. I try to set aside 15-30 min each night before I go to bed to read instead of watching TV which is what I was doing. It’s amazing how big of a difference it makes! I feel so much happier getting away from a screen for that last part of the day and it’s been helping me fall asleep faster. I’ve also picked up the guitar again which I hadn’t touched in two years.

Go On Walks Or Get Out In Nature

During the middle of this year, I noticed that I was gaining a little bit of weight even though I workout consistently. I realized that because I work from home, I’m not having to walk around as much as I did when I had my old job. On average, you’re supposed to get 10,000 steps a day. My sister pointed this out to me so I checked to see how many steps I was getting and some days it was as low as 1,200 steps! I decided to make a change so now Schyler and I will go on a walk everyday, some days longer then others but the point is to get outside and get some simple exercise while enjoying fresh air! This alone can make a huge impact on your mental health! I also try to walk around my apartment while I work on my phone. I’ve noticed that since I started this habit, I’ve been staying slimmer and my back pain from sitting at my desk all day has started diminishing a little bit.

Get Rid Of Old Clothes/Clutter

Old clothes and clutter can weight us down. I feel so much better when I purge my closet and apartment of things I don’t wear or use anymore. I like to take these pieces to thrift stores or sell them on re-sell apps to make a few extra bucks. Minimizing the clutter in your life has tons of positive impacts.

XOXO