10 Habits To Start In The New Year - Between Moon And Sun

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A new year has this special feeling of a new start. We open up to all the possibilities that lay in front of us.

It’s the time for reflecting on what went right or wrong the last year so that we can create better systems for the next.

First of all, it’s important to get clear about what it is we want to change or improve.

Are there habits you want to let go of? The best way to let them go is to replace them with habits that help you to live a life that feels meaningful to you.

In the long run, those small changes in our daily habits add up and have a huge impact on our overall wellbeing. We feel more balanced and healthy.

I recommend to look at the major areas of your life and choose one habit for each of them and slowly integrate them into your life.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself by going for all the habits at once.

Pick what makes the most difference in regards to your goals for the year. When you integrated one you can slowly start to go for the next habit.

Here you can find some inspiration for healthy habits to establish in the new year. Experiment with them, try out which ones work for you.

Read a chapter every day

Having all the knowledge authors spent years of researching on in one compact book is just simply amazing. We can learn from their mistakes, their findings, their expertise just by reading a few pages every day.

The actual art is to implement the action steps of the books we’re reading. Otherwise, we will soon forget about the important messages we’ve learned.

My solution was to create a template in Notion where I write down my purpose for reading the book, key takeaways from every chapter, and a table with action steps for each chapter. Of course, you can use your preferred organization tool or use a journal.

Establish a list of healthy go-to meals

Gone are the days where we can hide behind the excuse that it’s complicated to prepare healthy meals.

There are tons of quick recipes out there that consider your eating preferences.

Create a list with go-to quick but healthy meals you can always fall back on when you “don’t know what to eat today”. This way you don’t go for not so healthy options.

Make the ingredients of your favorite recipes essentials of your pantry. Something you always put in your shopping cart.

Improve your skill set

For everything you want to learn about there’s information online or in books.

Get clear on which skills you want to focus on for the next year and dive deep into the topic.

Search for experts in that niche and learn from them. This ensures that you get high-quality information right away and don’t need to deal with half-knowledge provided in other sources.

You can use Online learning platforms like Skillshare or find some established accounts on YouTube.

The best way to learn is from someone we resonate with. So, if you don’t feel like they carry the topic well search for someone else with who you feel more aligned.

Connect with friends and family often

Especially 2020 showed us how important it is to not take the time we have with our loved ones for granted.

Think of the people you want to build better relationships with in the next year.

A set time each week for a phone call or a zoom meet-up is still the go-to option for now.

You can still be there for each other even when you can’t be with them in person.

Find a hobby just for the fun of it

Oftentimes we only do something that needs to be productive and have a practical purpose.

Back when we were children, we had so many hobbies that we did for the sole reason of fun. We enjoyed the activity so much that we did it every day without getting tired of it.

Try to incorporate some playtime in your current life as well. Do you enjoy drawing, crochet, singing, dancing, puzzles, coloring books, playing an instrument,…?

Training your creativity is productive!

Choose at least one day per month where you lose yourself in a playful activity.

Mindful consumerism

Make it a habit to question every purchase you make.

Does it add value to your life? Is it aligned with the life you want to create? Do you buy it with positive feelings or out of the fear of missing out? Are your intentions fear-based?

This way you don’t end up with clutter and you help the environment by buying less and with more intention.

Donating and selling stuff you don’t want to have around anymore can give these things a second life and further help to reduce the huge consumerism mindset.

Go Outside/Get enough sunlight

Going outside, soaking in the sunlight, and being surrounded by nature calms the busy mind.

Solutions to problems we worry about for hours (or days) present themselves naturally.

Getting out of the usual environment gives the mind the needed space to expand and go from fearful thoughts to more peaceful ones.

After a walk, the head and our whole being feel at least a bit lighter.

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Journaling

There are many ways to start a journal practice. You could try a gratitude journal where you write down every night what you’re are grateful for about things that happened throughout the day.

Or you use it to express emotions that you’ve pushed away because it was not the right timing. This is a powerful healing technique because piece by piece you let go of all the negativity that is stored inside of you.

You could also journal about your goals for the next year -> baby steps you schedule in your daily planner to keep track of your progress. This ensures that you constantly reflect on your goals and make adjustments.

Find An Organization tool that works for you

Whether it’s digitally or in a journal, find a place where you can write down all your goals, to-dos, dreams, and notes.

A bullet journal gives the freedom to create spreads that fit your needs perfectly. But of course, it’s not as effortless as digital options.

Bullet journaling itself can be a creative outlet and even meditative to some. So, if you love to make the process of organizing your life very personal and unique a bullet journal might be the right thing for you to try.

Digital options such as google calendar, Asana, Trello, or Notion are a guarantee for an easy flow as you can often synchronize them with all your devices.

Also, the digital options give you a lot of freedom to create templates that further help you to organize every little detail of your life.