New Years Resolutions for Your Personal Calendar

Monday, January 30, 2023

There is no time like the start of a new year to make your first to-do list. The one that is always at the forefront in January is, of course, the often made and infrequently carried out New Year’s resolutions. As people close out the previous year and look forward to the next 12 months, it is almost second nature to make promises to ourselves to improve the quality of our lives.    

We all know the usual suspects- nutrition, exercise, and finances. But rather than default to the typical resolutions we make every year let’s put a little more thought and a little more effort into defining our resolutions and creating a plan for success. And the first step is to open the pages of your brand-new calendar planner and get to work. 

Why Do We Make Resolutions? 

The short answer is that nothing beats the clean slate of a new year to make decisions about improving the quality of life. Many of us want to eat better, exercise more, save money, and become more organized. Those are all positive things to which to aspire, but maybe society looks at each area with a rather skewed lens.  

Instead of focusing on what is wrong and trying to fix what may seem overwhelming and broken, a more realistic and therefore achievable approach may be to address a few things at a time. Turn the giant buffet of what we perceive as shortcomings and divert that attention into a few, bite-size nuggets. Setting a few goals and entering them into our daily, weekly, or monthly planners will reinforce our awareness of what we want to achieve. 

Let’s Make a Resolution To-Do List 

Eating better. This doesn’t mean kale must appear at every meal, and pizza becomes a distant memory. Think baby steps. Add a new veggie or fruit every week. Try participating in “Meatless Monday” with a unique vegetarian entrée. Reduce sugary drinks by substituting water infused with citrus. Taking an all-or-nothing approach in attempting to adopt a more nutritious diet does not often work. Making small yet intentional changes can transform this resolution into consistent habits. Add grocery lists and meal plans to your daily planner as reminders that you are making healthy food choices. 

Exercise more. Again, baby steps are just fine. This resolution should not be defined as requiring you to become a CrossFit champion. Rather than dread increasing physical activity, try to address this resolution by adding enjoyable exercise options. Explore your neighborhood by taking long walks. Take a dance class with your best friend. Fly a colorful kite on a windy day. Use your daily, weekly, or monthly planner to block out exercise time, schedule classes, and list goals to achieve throughout the year.  

Save money. Many of us would love to tuck away a little more cash to save for an emergency fund or major purchase. Remember those baby steps? They apply to this resolution too. It is important to set a budget for all your expenses to gauge a percentage or fixed amount of your income that can be designated for savings. If there is not much left over after paying all the bills for the month it would be wise to find ways to cut back or eliminate a few expenses. Eating out, fancy coffees, and expensive entertainment are good places to start.  

Once you know you have an increase in funds to sock away then saving will become easier and less of a strain on your pocketbook. Note in your monthly planner each payday and indicate that this is the day to add something to your savings account. Make a handy to-do list in your planner to identify side hustles to add more money to your accounts. Set a few financial goals as well like saving a certain amount by a certain date. Make entries in your daily calendar to track those goals and the amount of money that has so far been saved.  

Become more organized. What does this mean in terms of your daily planner? It defines the when, where, who, and why of every hour of every day. Knowing the answers to these questions allows you to plan your days as you assess your commitments. Methodically entering important dates, appointments, meetings, and deadlines as well as checking your calendar pages to reinforce what you have in store for the day, week, or month ramps up productivity and reduces stress. And becoming more organized can positively impact the other New Year’s resolutions discussed.      

Take some time to assess your resolutions for the new year. Whether they are small goals or big achievements, baby steps or giant leaps, there is a calendar planner mapped out for every day of the year to help you attain the objectives you want to reach for a healthier, more balanced lifestyle. 

Organizational tools like the daily, weekly, and monthly planners at The House of Doolittle are perfect for sticking to those goals you have set. Select a new one today and get started on those resolutions!