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In the closing months of 2018, it's natural to reflect on how your year has gone and ask yourself if you could do better next year. With a clean slate in front of you, what could you achieve? Have you really been living up to your abilities and your own expectations and making the life you want a reality? The ability to undergo transformation is a gift, and with each new dawn we truly can make our lives into want we want - with a little effort. So if you’re dreaming of living your best life, get your head out of the clouds and start doing. Make a concrete plan so that you can hit 2019 running and truly make it worth remembering.
Boost Your Career
Whether you’re just starting out in your chosen field, or you feel you’ve hit a bit of a plateau, examine whether you need to revisit your career plan next year. It can sometimes be easy to coast along without really paying attention and find that you haven’t been making progress. Set yourself some easy small career goals for the beginning of the year, and you can build upon and expand them further down the line. Start by making over your resume - update the information, making it snappy and showcase your achievements. Then upload it to LinkedIn, where you can join some professional groups, get networking, and get seen. Find a few events to go to for your own learning and development, and the chance to make fresh contacts as well. Set yourself a goal such as attending one per month and see where it takes you.
Sort Out Your Finances
What sort of shape were your finances in this year? Things such as our personal budgets can slowly creep out of shape without us fully realising, especially at Christmas, so take the chance to re-evaluate. A budgeting app can show you where that monthly salary is really going, and illuminate areas of overspending you may not have been aware of Then you can work out how to start saving money. Define what goals you have for the next 12 months - it could be to pay down debt or save up money to go travelling or begin on the deposit for your own place. Be clear about what you want to achieve and how much it costs, then break the amount down into a manageable monthly target. Set this amount to automatically transfer from your account the day after you get paid, so you can’t accidentally overspend. You can make your money work hard for you by using price comparison sites for everything from utilities and insurances to clothes shopping to make sure you always get the best deal - and pocket the difference!
Overhaul Your Lifestyle
If you’re feeling run down, it could be that you aren’t looking after yourself and prioritising your wellbeing. Remedy this for the New Year by doing a quick assessment of your lifestyle and health concerns. If you have low energy, excess weight or bad stamina, it could be time to turbo-charge your mornings with a quick 15 minute High Intensity Interval training session. Using body weight exercises, you can achieve great results for your fitness without needing an expensive gym membership or lots of spare time. Find a good playlist of YouTube workouts and follow along at home. Overhaul your diet by picking out 5 healthy delicious recipes and learning to cook them in rotation. If you’re short on time, set aside a couple of hours on a Sunday to batch cook, bag up and freeze your portions so they’re ready to go. Try to include a rainbow of fruit and veg to make sure you’re covering all the bases with different vitamins and minerals, or buy in a supergreens powder to add to your morning smoothie or glass of orange juice. The right nutrition will help you to be more productive and feel more energetic.
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