Stepping It Up in 2016: 15 Areas I’m Focusing On
I know. I know. You’re probably sick of reading about New Year’s resolutions by now. How many of you have already given up, or not even started on the things you’re vowing to do in 2016?
I get it. The world we live in is a busy one, and it’s hard to suddenly revamp multiple areas of your life at once, let alone continue to do it on an ongoing basis. That being said, I believe that developing positive habits is key to a successful life. If you want to be a well rounded, happy person, you need to constantly put in the time and effort to improve yourself. While it’s important to get inspiration from the habits of other successful men and women you admire, the areas of your life you choose to improve are ultimately up to you. After all, you know yourself the best, and it’s okay to be selfish in choosing yourself for success. No one else will.
Below is a list of areas of my life that I’m trying to work on in 2016:
1. READING BOOKS
Over the past couple of years, I’ve been a huge proponent of consuming books. I love how for such a small investment of money you can learn so much, regardless of genre. My book shelf is quite full these days with a lot of books I’ve read and even more that I’ve yet to read.
I’m rather happy with my reading habit, but I know I can be doing better. While I try to squeeze in at least 10 minutes of reading time every morning before work, I’m not always consistent with it. In addition, I can be doing a better job of reading during small breaks throughout the day and after work. Perhaps reducing social media and TV consumption will free up some time :) In terms of genre, I already consume a lot of nonfiction, so I’d like to make an effort to consume more fiction, as there are a lot of important works out there that I haven’t read, and there are always lessons to be learned from great storytelling. Let me know if you have any recommendations!
2. WRITING
As you probably know by now, I’ve been really trying to step up my writing efforts over the past couple of months after an inspiring meeting with Gary Vaynerchuk. As this year gets underway, I want to continue the momentum of writing every single day so I can improve my skills and publish more and more content (#nodaysoff). I want to keep better track of my daily word output and establish a more consistent writing time that my body can get used to so it becomes automatic. When it comes to publishing, I want to extend my efforts beyond my existing social networks so I can expose myself to new audiences across the web. For example, I’d like to submit more posts to Thought Catalog and other websites / blogs that accept guest content. On a more ambitious note, I hope to publish an e-book that is based on the content I’m continuing to pump out / the learnings I’m taking away from all the books I’ve consumed.
3. EXERCISE
As an active 25 year old, my fitness goals have mainly consisted of working out at the gym at least two times per week. While I did have some consistency doing that in 2015, it was hard to keep up with, mostly due to the demands of my job, my sheer laziness, and occasional sickness.
I’m hoping 2016 will be different. For the first 3 months of the year, I’m participating in a Shame Scale program with my coworkers focused on achieving our individual fitness goals through a team competition. In 2015, there was really nothing at stake if I didn’t go to the gym twice per week beyond my personal disappointment. With this new competition, I hope to be inspired by my teammates and competitors as well as my will to win. So far, I’m confident this will propel my gym visits to at least twice per week and maybe even additional exercise outdoors or at home.
4. IDEA GENERATION
This one might seem like a wildcard to you, but I’ve become a big believer that ideas are the currency of the 21st century thanks to author James Altucher. He recommends generating a list of 10 ideas every day to keep your mind sharp and creative. The list can really be about anything, as long as you complete it and make your brain sweat a little.
I was definitely proud of my ability to make these lists on a somewhat consistent basis in 2015, but I’m striving to make it a daily habit it in 2016. So far, I’ve made the idea list a key component of my morning ritual, along with reading and writing. As the year progresses and 10 ideas becomes even more of an automatic practice, my hope is to start coming up with detailed lists of ideas to help others with their businesses and life. For example, I’d like to generate a list of ideas that’s very tailored to an author that I follow so I can send them to him and start a relationship beyond the occasional acknowledgement on social media.
5. NUTRITION
Similar to being more consistent with exercising, I’d also like to strive for a better diet this year. In general, I feel like I eat pretty healthy, but I definitely have a sweet tooth and like to snack on junk food. Aside from cutting back on sweets and snacks, I’d like to specifically cook at home more (2–3 times per week) and consume more fruits and vegetables.
6. SLEEP
This one’s a tough one for me. I feel like my habit of staying up late in college has stayed with me to some degree post-graduation. Most nights I fall asleep between 12 am and 1 am. When I get home from work (~ 7:30 pm / 8 pm), the time really flies. Whether I’m figuring out what to eat for dinner, going to the gym, finishing up a work assignment or maintaining my personal life, I keep myself pretty busy. Before I go to bed, I also like to chat with my girlfriend, read, and watch a few minutes of TV. In terms of getting up, I typically wake up around 6:40 am, which gives me roughly 6 hours of sleep each night.
In 2016, I’d really like to get at least 7 hours, which means I’ll have to fall asleep around 11:30 pm each night. It sounds doable as I’m writing this, but I know I’ll have to eliminate / reduce the time on some of the activities I do after work and discipline myself to begin my pre-bed routine even earlier.
7. MOVIES
I really love movies. There’s nothing like escaping reality for a couple of hours and getting lost in a good story. While I feel like I’ve seen my fair share of films over the years, I’d like to make a habit of watching them more intentionally, given the positive impact they’ve had on my life. I think I should start by at least figuring out a consistent time each week where I’ll watch one. In terms of what I’ll watch, I’d like it to be a combination of crossing off titles on the list of recommendations I keep on my iPhone, going out to see new movies, and discovering something on the various on-demand streaming services. Let me know if there’s something I should definitely check out :)
8. NETWORKING
I used to be more into networking during college when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Since then, I haven’t been as proactive about connecting with people, whether they’re part of my current network or completely new relationships. While I was involved with Georgetown’s NYC alumni club and have attended the occasional industry event, I know I can be doing more.
In 2016, I hope to audit my current connections inside and outside of work and invest more in the relationships I want to be involved in. As for meeting new people, I’d like to convert some of my online connections to offline ones, where I actually meet the people who interact with me on social media, but I’ve never actually gotten to know in person.
9. TRAVEL
2015 was a big travel year for me both professionally and personally (Park City, Columbus, Pebble Beach, Aspen, LA, and Boston). As much as I love NYC and Long Island, it’s been great to get away from the busyness and routine to explore new cities with new people and those I care about. As I continue to get more experience on my Account team at Vayner, I hope the travel opportunities continue to present themselves. Personally, I want to travel abroad with my girlfriend and take more weekend trips. When it comes to flying, I think it’s time I choose an airline and start racking up some miles, too.
10. JOURNALING / GRATITUDE
I gave journaling a shot in 2015 and was consistent with it for a few months. I tried to adopt artist Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages” ritual, which has been recommended by influencers I follow, including author Tim Ferriss and screenwriter Brian Koppelman. The technique involves writing 3 pages of stream of conscious thought each morning (approximately 30 mins for me). While I enjoyed doing it and definitely became more reflective, it often became a time burden and wasn’t inspiring me to write more content as I had hoped. That being said, I’d like to get back into it to some degree in 2016 as it’s important to have a conversation with yourself and chart your progress on the big things that are happening in your life. I’ve heard good things about The Five Minute Journal, so maybe I’ll check that out.
As for gratitude, I used to have a good daily habit where I’d take a few minutes each day to think of 3–5 things I was grateful for. As someone who comes from a generation that’s pretty entitled, I know that it’s so easy to get caught up with the things that aren’t working out in life vs. being thankful for all the amazing things that are. I hope to incorporate this practice into my journaling so I can kill two birds with one stone while I’m reflecting.
11. MEDITATION
Of all the habits I’ve listed, this one is newest to me. I used to think meditation was too spiritual and something I wouldn’t be interested in. However, over the past couple of years of podcast listening, I’ve discovered that it’s one of the most important success habits among the many inspiring men and women who have been interviewed, not to mention the podcasters I look up to a lot.
As 2016 gets under way, I’d like to devote at least 5–10 minutes per day to getting in touch with my breathing and becoming more present. I’ve heard great things about the free mobile app Headspace, so I’m going to give that a shot.
12. CLEANING
While I think that I’m generally a neat guy, I know I can be doing a better job of keeping my apartment in order. Whether it’s putting away all my clothes every day, cleaning out my closet at regular intervals or not leaving dishes in the sink overnight, 2016 will be a year of neatness in the Riley apartment.
13. YOUTUBE INSPIRATION
Towards the end of 2015, I got into YouTube a lot more. Instead of watching silly videos, I turned to channels and content that featured the inspiring men and women I admire. For example, I’ve started to watch filmmaker Casey Neistat’s daily vlog, which showcases his interesting life in NYC and is packed with a lot of nuggets of wisdom about being an artist and businessman. In 2016, I hope to step up my consumption of motivational video content, especially during the time right before bed, thanks to my new Smart TV.
14. SHARING MORE
As I’ve gotten more serious about writing in the past few months, I’ve noticed the power of sharing more and what it can do for building up a following. While publishing blog posts across my social networks will be a staple in 2016, I’d also like to step my game up across other mediums.
On Twitter, I want to continue to tweet several times each day, whether it’s sharing my own thoughts, quotes or articles I come across, or retweeting / hearting others’ content. On Instagram, I want to share a photo every 1–2 days, whether image quotes, behind-the-scenes pics, or things I come across in NYC that are visually interesting to me. On Snapchat, I want to start publishing stories to give people a sense of my day-to-day and so I can become more comfortable on camera as the chief spokesperson for my brand. Outside of social, an email newsletter is a must in 2016. Instead of sharing my blog posts and motivational content on my social feeds and hoping that some of my audience will see it, I plan to have a more direct connection with people who are interested in me via a weekly email communication. Getting 500–1,000 subscribers by the end of the year would be awesome.
15. DRINK TEA
Last but not least, I’d like to get more into tea in 2016 to supplement my coffee drinking. I continue to hear good things about tea’s health benefits and want to give it a proper shot. I can really see myself sitting down to a cup shortly before bed time as I unwind and get ready for the next day.
CONCLUSION
While it’s ambitious to improve in 15 different areas in 2016, I’m confident I can make progress in each one. As next steps, I plan to set concrete, measurable goals and stakes as well as find an accountability partner to be keep me honest on my progress. As always, let me know if you have any recommendations on any of the above.
What areas of life are you trying to improve in 2016 and why?
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