Nail Your New Year Resolutions with This One Tip 👏

Make 2021 the year you say, ‘New year, new me!’ and mean it with our bite-size NY resolutions.

People say, ‘old habits die hard’. What they forget to mention is that new habits are harder to make. Every January, we make grand resolutions to ourselves. Yet despite our best intentions, most are discarded on the figurative resolution rubbish heap before the month ends. The issue isn’t with our goals or ability, but with time.

Generally, packed schedules don’t facilitate big self-improvement plans. Everyone is busy, but instead of being realistic with our time and responsibilities, we set ourselves impractical expectations. When we inevitably fall at the first hurdle, we either give up or force ourselves to work harder. We never change our approach or expectations.

A New Year, a New Chance to Get it Right

If this is giving you failure flashbacks right now, then perhaps 2021 is the year to try bite-sized New Year resolutions. Instead of focusing on accomplishing a lofty goal, concentrate on what small effort or time you could spend on it regularly. Even if it’s only five minutes a day, or once a week, give that time your full attention. Consistently showing up for yourself will collectively help you achieve your aspirations. After all, five minutes each day over the course of a year will mean you have spent more time on your goals than a few half-hearted attempts at the beginning of January.

Bite-size resolutions can help you create healthy habits with minimal disruption to your daily life. By setting achievable targets we give ourselves realistic expectations. We’re kinder to ourselves if we slip back into our old ways because we know we can easily kickstart our good habits again.

The key to bite-size resolutions is to decide what one repetitive action will have the greatest impact, in the shortest space of time. If you’re not sure where to start, check out our suggestions for inspiration:

I want to…

1. …become more knowledgeable in my industry. Set up an account on Feedly and add your go-to websites. For many people, morning is the ideal time to spend 5–10 minutes reading the latest updates in their field.

2. …eat better. Most of us have bookshelves heaving with unread cookbooks. This year ditch the diet and try one healthy recipe from your books each week.

3. …exercise more. Block out 10–15 minutes in your day five times a week for exercise. It might not seem like much, but collectively it adds up. As you grow more fit, you’ll be able to pack more exercise in the same period.

4. …reduce my plastic consumption. Each month identify one item in your household and find an eco-friendly alternative. By the end of the year, you will have made 12 sustainable swaps! The turtles will thank you.

5. …read more. If you commute on public transport each day, read a book for the journey. Alternatively, aim to read one chapter a day or listen to audiobooks when doing chores.