10 Ways to Get Your Life Back on Track in 2021
One thing most people can agree with is that 2020 has been a different year. For some it has been a year of isolation and sadness while for others, it has been a year of incidental prosperity. Regardless of which side of the coin you lie on, there’s always room for growth.
Outlined below are 10 ways to start 2021 on the right track & achieve the year you dreamed of.
1. Start Every Day Distraction Free
Waking up before the influx of news, notifications, and chatter is critical to daily peace of mind. This is a proactive maneuver rather than the common reactive way of life. Living life reactively creates unneeded stress and hardship. A bad text, a missed alarm or a loud construction worker can throw the balance off for the day. Waking up 2–3 hours earlier creates space for other activities. For example, if you’re an individual that wakes up at 8am each day, consider moving that to 5am. This 3 hour time window can be used for exercise, mindfulness, or getting started on the hardest task of the day.
Consider waking up naturally, away from your phone and other electronics. If you still need an alarm, consider an old fashioned alarm clock. Waking up and checking your phone first is a reactive rather than proactive action. The night before each morning place your phone at least 6 feet away from the bed, preferably outside your bedroom to avoid unneeded temptation. After consistently waking up the distraction free route, you’ll be energized and ready to take on whatever the day has at hand. It’s no wonder that other successful people such Oprah and Tim Cook do this similar practice.
2. Take Accountability
This section is an important section and a harsh reality many do not want to accept: the current outcome of one’s adult life is a result of their own decisions. Yes, society does have an influence, yes your upbringing does have an influence, but at the end of the day you do have control over where your life can be. Every good and every bad decision has led you to where you are today. Compound the good decisions or bad decisions overtime and you’ll see radical differences. A common way to examine this compounding effect: if you double a penny each day by the 31st day you will have over 10 million dollars. Further reading of compounding decisions can be found in Darren Hardy’s book , The Compound Effect, or summarized in this article.
In 2021, it’s time to take back control of your life. Hold yourself accountable to create the life you want: no obstacle is insurmountable. Opportunity knocks on the door for those in the race, not those who wait on the sideline and choose not to participate.
3. Invest in Yourself
The third step to achieve the year you dreamed of is to invest in yourself. Investing in yourself has two components: resources to make life easier in the present, and resources to build skills for the future . If you’re someone who’s starting a new work-from-home job, this comes in the form of investing in a new laptop and workstation setup. If you’re someone who works in retail or the hospitality industry, this comes in the form of investing in equipment such as shoe pads or improving your store outfit appearance. Doing this investment early will make the workload lighter so that you can focus on what’s important at work. Outside of work, investing in yourself comes in the form of improving objects that affect your daily life. While a new car or bed is a major expense, starting small with seat or pillow enhancements goes a long way in improving comfort and productivity.
After investing in yourself during the present you’ll be an all around happier person. Your work performance will be great alongside your relationship with your loved ones. For future success, consider workshops or online classes in the areas you would like to improve. There’s several course sites but the most popular ones are: Coursera, EdX, Masterclass, or Udemy. Books, Audiobooks, or podcasts in your niche also work well.
For those who are unemployed or simply “stuck” , investing in yourself can take another form: bringing positive energy into your environment and removing negative energy.
4. Remove negative energy
This tip is on one the most critical on the list and if done correctly, you’ll see the most drastic changes. Frankly, if life has not cut you a break in a long time, there’s simply negative energy surrounding your daily environment. What’s negative energy in this context? It’s anything that is not conducive to productivity, righteousness, and long term happiness. Negative energy also comes in these forms: gossip, pessimism, laziness, deceit, stagnance, violence, drama, gluttony, and envy.
The first step in removing negative energy is to check the people in your inner circle and see if they exhibit any of these traits. Do not immediately block this person from your life but rather see what happens when you’re around this person less. If you see improvements in your overall happiness or productivity consider limiting time spent with these friends. After removing negative energy from your inner circle , remove it from your daily environment and media consumed. Unfollow all accounts that constantly post pessimistic news or discuss shortcomings of another person. Those who discuss the shortcomings of another are not concerned with building up themselves. Avoid people who deceitfully promote get rich quick scams of any sort. No true “entrepreneur” is actively recruiting more competitors; this would reduce their margins and market size. In regards to television and streaming services, watch those for entertainment or educational purposes only, avoid personally digesting that content. The more time spent personally digesting that content, the less time spent putting your life in the direction you need it to be.
5. Add Positive Energy
After removing the negative energy from your environment, it’s time to replace it with positive energy and people.Before engaging in a deeper friendship, ask yourself if a person is headed in the same direction you want to end up. Consider forming support groups of like minded positive people.
Another way to add positive energy to your life is to watch comedies. Laughter and a smiling go a long way to improving your happiness according to clinical researchers. Adding plants and eco friendly objects into your environment also contributes to a positive state of mind.
6. Maximize your Presence
Time is your most valuable asset, make sure it’s maximized on a daily basis. Why do 3 out of 5 remote workers enjoy it and want to continue working remotely post pandemic ? With remote work, one can hop from their 9–5 to an online workshop, to a yoga session without leaving their room. It’s also possible to spend more time with close family or friends. Consider limiting the amount of commute time in your daily life and maximizing the time you can get things done in one area. Build your daily todo list around this principle and you’ll have more time to spend freely.
7. Track your Time
Another way to maximize your time is to actively track it. If you ask yourself frequently where the time went or how nothing gets done, use a pen and small notepad to track your actions every 2 hours. Transcribe the overall activity you’re doing without too much detail. Do this form of time tracking for 3 days and you’ll quickly notice how much time is spent on activities that are unproductive. The majority of Americans spend more than 5.4 hours per day on their phones. This conscious note taking practice is a good way to see if you’re part of this group. Once you’re able to effectively track your time, trim down non essential activities to focus on what’s important.
8. Find Better Time Wasters
It’s natural if you find it difficult to trim down unproductive time. Modern day electronic devices and their software applications are designed to be addictive. They’re addictive in three common ways: uncertainty , infinite content, and reward systems. An effective way to overcome this roadblock is to replace these devices with similar but rudimentary “time wasters”. For example, if you find yourself spending considerable time on your phone browsing social media, replace your phone with a toy non electronic smart phone. A common one is a water pinball machine phone. Use that new device during idle or dead time. If your smartphone is out of sight , your brain will be able to associate this new device with idle time.
9. Put Your Goals in Your Daily Environment
Since it’s a new year with new goals, it’s crucial to optimize your environment to remind you of these goals. Have your desktop or phone wallpaper be the destination of where you want to end up. Create passwords that symbolize accomplishing your new tasks. For example, if one of your new year goals is to visit France for a vacation, create a password such as: IenjoyedFranceThisYear . This form of password creation will attract positive energy towards your objectives. If you type this in on a daily basis it will eventually materialize itself.
10. Start Small , Let it Snowball
Why do 80% of people fail their New Years’ resolution? It’s because these goals are too large and arduous. Yes, there will be motivation in the beginning but how will these goals stick? The best method to accomplish your new year goals is to start small, celebrate the small wins and let these small wins snowball into medium wins and eventually larger wins. If your goal for 2021 is to lose 50 pounds, avoid going to the gym 5 days a week and exerting yourself. Start small with a walk two times per week for the first week.Then upgrade that walk to three times a week for the second week. From there you can transition to doing light jogs at the gym. After the first 3 months, you’ll find intense workouts easy. The key is consistency and building that habit. Overtime you can add more difficulty to the habit you want to build. Remember it’s about progress not perfection.
