How to Make 2018 Your Best Year

So it is officially the first day on 2018, meaning most of us have made some sort of a New Year Resolution. We all plan to stick to it for the duration of the year but honestly, the majority of us fail and don’t accomplish our yearly resolutions. No one makes these goals and resolutions to fail at them. Don’t set yourself up for failure this year. Nobody makes goals to plan to fail at them, that just isn’t how it works. Here are some ways to make this your best year yet! 

Take Time for Yourself

This isn’t the easiest thing to accomplish but it definitely is important. We all get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life or keep ourselves working constant 40 hours a week, or more! So be sure to set aside some time, even just 5-10 minutes each day to relax and do something you enjoy. This can be anything from sitting outside with a cup of tea or coffee, reading a book, or going for a walk.

I am a stay at home mum and many people think I have ample time to myself. This isn’t true mainly because I’m raising a toddler and I’m pregnant so I know this year it’ll be important for me to take some time to myself to relax and recharge. Along with that, I also have 3 dogs and I run my own at home business which is dog related. If your significant other can come home and take time to himself after a day at work, you deserve the same.

I started doing this recently at the end of 2017 and it’s been quite helpful for me not going crazy. It also helps me from getting overly stressed and burnt out with the daily routine of life.

Turn off the TV

Let me begin with that I typically am that person who turns the TV on just for background noise. Honestly, it’s not needed and keeping the TV off allows for more communication with those you live with. Live on your own? Keep it off so you can enjoy the little things that life has to offer. Experience new things instead of being so attached to technology.

My house has two TVs, one in the living quarters where my family spends about 90% of our day and the other in our bedroom. Our other two bedrooms have no need for a TV and therefor we have no intentions of putting TVs in there.

This goal was given to me by friends as they know my TV is typically on but not usually watched. I’m always wanting to interact with my son and not have him grow up glued to the screen of TVs. So to make this year different from past years, I set this goal and I plan to achieve it. If you need an easier to achieve this, put it in a room that isn’t often used.

Read More Books

I’m a total bookworm so each year I make myself a list of 2-4 books that I’d like to read. Ideally, I would like to create a longer list but I like to keep it small and achievable. I’m an avid Stephen King reader so typically those are on my reading list. I do find similar authors though to read as well.

These are my current books to read for 2018. I decided to of course reread a Stephen King book. I wanna get better at cooking so I chose a cookbook. Another goal of mine is to declutter the house, although that’s a forever goal because I grew up hanging onto everything. Check out more great book options from this book store!

Budgeting

To help myself and my family make this the best year  or at least better than previous years, I’m planning to budget. I began budgeting mid 2017 when I realized how much I disliked living paycheck to paycheck. It just isn’t fun to do and it’s a constant struggle. If an emergency arises, I want my family to be able to handle it without stress. Here’s a great blog on learning to budget. If you’re like me, you also want to have a plan to save money more than just having your budget. Another blog you can read is this one that I wrote on how to save $1000 in less than a year. I recently wrote it and I will be doing it this year.

Budgeting isn’t quite as hard as you might think it is. You can achieve it with simple steps and keeping track of your expenses. There’s different ways to budget and each of us will have a way that’s easiest for us. Some people, myself included, constantly check the bank account to see who is spending what and where it is going. I know people who prefer using the cash envelope method. I may try that out this year if I have issues sticking to my budget but I’ve been quite well since starting my budget that I haven’t tried it yet.

Learn Something New

Learning something new is beneficial. It can be anything you want it to be. You can learn to draw or even learn a new language. You can even take something off this list that you don’t do or aren’t good at and learn it. Budgeting is something great to learn. I’d aim to learn one new thing a year, but if you learn it in 3-6 months, pick something else to learn.

Decided what you want to learn for 2018? Create a plan on how you will achieve it and let the fun times begin!

My “learn something new” for the year is to learn to cook. I don’t really enjoy cooking, but I want to learn to make more elaborate dishes instead of just the usual boxed macaroni and cheese or frozen pizzas. I’m truly dependent on my husband to cook for the family and when he is to exhausted to do so, it’s up to me to cook.

Surround Yourself with Positive People

Nobody deserves negativity in their life. You can get rid of it starting with the people who decide to hang around with. Of course you can’t control who you work with but you can opt to not see them outside the workplace. Who do you spend the most time with? Do they encourage you to reach for your goals and/or make you happy? If they don’t then you shouldn’t hang out with them as often or at all.

If you don’t feel happy or energized when they are around then you probably shouldn’t be around them. If they do build you up and are positive then they are the people you should keep in your life and surround yourself with. Being around like minded people is important to staying happy and reaching goals as they build you up instead of tearing you down.

Feel free to tell me about your own New Year Resolutions in the comments below.