New Year, Same You- Simple Ways to better your life personally and professionally
Whether you are starting your work year fresh, looking for a new job or simply reinventing yourself, there is nothing as clean and fresh as the new calendar you put up on the wall. I love to calendar. And as I enter 2024, I am working toward filling that calendar not only with appointments but with more of a solid routine filled with healthy habits that will surely make me better at everything I do. Right?
Who is to say what you can do with your resolutions, but I do think adding these things to your month ahead are going to help. Here are the things I try, and do as I enter a new year, that I hope will be helpful to some of you out there and some creators who can help.
Clean up your space- I like to start the new year with clean sheets and a vacuumed floor. And though my home was not spotless on New Year’s Eve but I’m making progress toward having a functional space for my family thanks to the inspiration of Kc Davis and her book, “How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing”. Get the audio version and listen while cleaning. She also has a podcast and is great on TikTok as @domesticblisters . She’s real about it all and home much housework can suck. Worth checking out if you sometimes feel overwhelmed with the domestic side of your life.
Rethink your Resume, LinkedIn, and Website (if you have one)- I have been helping lots of people find new jobs lately. If you are ever laid off, you are overwhelmed enough without being forced to update your resume. So, update it now. Even if you aren’t looking for a new career, know people may be looking to you. Take a Sunday afternoon and update your resume or at the very least update your LinkedIn profile. Welcome to the gig economy where an opportunity is around every browser. And if you’re a creator or business owner, evaluate your website and your social media to put your best foot forward. I have loads to update with a goal of a new look and feel by February.
Get Your Money Right- It’s arduous but necessary. Get your 2023 books in order and build out a budget for yourself. Look at your 401K. Understand if your insurance rates are going up. For the bigger picture, I’m about to reread “Financial Feminist” by Tori Dunlap. If you haven’t heard her podcast and felt her energy and enthusiasm, get on it. She makes finance fun. I have learned more about investments in the past year than I ever thought possible.
Reach out to a few friends to reconnect- Life is not purely about your family and career. This past year my friendships have certainly suffered and in 2024 I am trying to spend time with the people who make me happy. Think of someone you have meant to see for a while and drop them a note or a text right now. I’ll wait…There, don’t you feel a little lighter now? And once you meet for that walk or that dinner or that drink, you’ll leave that person and that moment and be better off.
Build one new routine- Last year, I became obsessed with James Clear’s “Atomic Habits” and The Mel Robbins podcast (read and listen to both if you don’t already). I created a morning routine where I made a list of a few things I needed to do and made that list the habits I go through every morning. I wake up, I let out the dog, I take my vitamin and drink a glass of water while I wait for my dog to come in. There’s more after that, but just those few things I do every day make me feel so much better. In 2024, I am building a nighttime routine with my son, Finn. We wind down, put on jammies, brush our teeth, a meditate together for ten minutes. It sounds so simple, but we have not mastered this yet. But when we do it, I tend to sleep longer and more soundly.
Pick three ways to take care of you- I lost over 85 pounds in 2023 and for the first time, I am not starting off the New Year pushing myself to lose weight and it is life changing. Yes, there’s more work to do but I am stepping away from a scale and starting this year asking myself to do three things:
1) Make time every weekend to pamper myself for one hour. Get my nails/hair/eyelashes done or get a massage. These little things made me feel more put together and self-confident. I do it for me. No one else. And it feels great.
2) Find an exercise I enjoy and will keep doing- wish me luck on this one but it might simply be walking more. But the year is young, and I have a score to settle with a promise to myself to learn to tap dance or enter a weightlifting competition or run a marathon- so we will see which one wins.
3) Read more- I spend so much time looking at a screen that reading a book in bed sounds luxurious. Plus, I love learning, so maybe books can feed that desire.
Whatever you decide to do, get ready for a year of greatness for all that is ahead. Get out there and make the most of the new year and every new day ahead.
Vic Cairl is the founder and CEO of Table 7 Strategy, a live entertainment Marketing and Partnership firm. She writes about women and work.