2020 is here and January starts a new month, a new year and a new decade so there’s no better time to jumpstart all of those improvements you promised yourself than now. I don’t like to refer to them as resolutions because there’s a negative stigma with that word which insinuates it’s only a short term goal (usually lasting January to March). For now, we’ll call them “improvements” and they can be based on any aspect of your life — self improvements, life improvements, career improvements, etc. There is always room for personal growth and anything can be achieved with a plan. The goal is to turn these improvements to a lifestyle. With that said, I am going to share some of my improvements I plan on adopting this year and how I will achieve them.
Time Management - This is probably one of the biggest changes I intend to make this year. I realize not only is my time limited on this earth but so is the time of those around me. I want to get better at making use of my time as well as being on time. On a trip to Thailand last year, because of the time change, I realized how rewarding it was to wake up early and get ahead of your day. As much as I travel, I pretty much never make the 7am hotel breakfast on time but this trip was different, I was up and dressed for breakfast on the resort promptly by 7:10am each morning. Ever since, I’ve been trying to get an early jump start on my day as well as showing up to engagements on time. (I hate showing up places too early or being the first on there so this is probably where my issue stems from.) I’ve made a huge effort to use my time wisely instead of saying I will do something tomorrow. Instead, I’ve started writing things down in my planner with timestamps. Each task not only needs to be done by that day but also by that time and boy has it helped! I plan on continuing this in my daily routine in order to stay on top of my time this year.
Staying Focused/Consistency - Consistency and staying focused are also two things that I am so ready to work on. For one, I am easily distracted by notifications from my phone. For this reason I've made designated times throughout the day where I put my phone on do not disturb. These are my most productive times of the day where I can get a lot of things done without being distracted. This helps so much with focusing. We live in a world where we're constantly distracted by phone calls, text/email notifications, social media and everything just going on at once that sometimes you just have to tune everything out and get as much done as you can.
As far as consistency goes I have a couple websites and blogs that I’ve started but I'm not consistent with content and this year I plan to get on a schedule so that I'm constantly pumping out content and posts on my social channels on a regular basis. The easiest way to do so is to create an editorial/media calendar that plans out all of your posts and content throughout the year. You have your content queued up in advance so you’re not struggling to pull content for your subscribers.
Self Care - I have to get back into taking care of myself on a daily basis. That means adopting a skincare routine and sticking to it instead of being reactive once my skin gives me issues. The same goes for my hair, I’ve been very lazy with my hair health so I will plan on working on a new wash routine. I also want to adopt a style schedule, I have been so repetitive with wearing a bun. At least once a month, I will experiment with a new hairstyle.
Health - Without good health, none of these goals are possible. In addition to self care practices, (I know it’s so cliche` to say but…) I plan to make a gym routine and as well as getting better with food choices. I am cutting down on the takeout and eating out - there’s food at home!! In tune with time management, I want to get into the habit of starting my day early with a workout.
Income Streams - This is pretty important to me as well. While I do save, I also spend money like it’s going out of style! haha It’s time to bring in more passive income. I plan to do this by being consistent with my hobbies and learning how to monetize some of them. I will also be educating myself (I guess this is technically a hobby) on new skills that I can use to make money.
Again, the key to making improvements to your life that will stick is implementing them into your everyday routine to make them part of your lifestyle, right Kim?
