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3 Ways to Start The New Year Right

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3 Ways to Start the Year Right

January brings all the feels of new opportunities, new goals, new investments…just everything brand new!

 

Sometimes, it can get a little overwhelming to choose new goals.

 

For a more in-depth look at goal planning, check out my post on why 2020 is going to be your best year!

 

Too often, we are looking to dramatically change our lifestyle with multiple big goals on January 1st and expect the results to be immediate. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.

 

When goal planning, you want to set yourself up for success. Don’t do yourself a disservice by tacking on too many new lifestyle changes all at once. Likewise, don’t give up if you don’t see results as quickly as you think you should.

 

It’s all about trusting the process, tracking your progress, and knowing that you are still putting in the work and making positive changes in your life.

 

To help you start the new year right, I’m sharing with you three simple ways to help you feel more organized, productive, healthy and happy in 2020.

 

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I’ve also included an Insta Stories template I created and sent to my email subscribers last Friday. I wanted to share it with all of you, so stay tuned to the end of the post, and you’ll find your freebie there with instructions!

 

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Start the New Year Off Right

 

1. Declutter

 

Life can be overwhelming at times, especially when we are stressed to the max or going through difficult issues that are often out of our control. To start off the year right, focus on decluttering in early January.

 

Decluttering is so much more than picking up random receipts around your apartment or going through your closet and donating what you no longer wear! Not only do you need to declutter your home, but you also need to declutter your mind as well as life in general.

 

I have written some in-depth posts on how to declutter your life, declutter your mind, and declutter your home. Check them out if you want more info!

 

I understand it can be a difficult process to declutter, but there are so many fantastic results. My advice to you is to just start! It doesn’t have to be perfect. If you’re looking at decluttering your home, just choose one room and focus on making some progress on it each day. That progress will add up and you’re going to feel a ton better afterwards!

 

Declutter your email!

 

Ashlee from Maybe After Brunch has a fantastic post entirely dedicated to cleaning out your inbox and she inspired me to clean out my inbox. This is super easy and you’re going to feel so much more organized after you do it!

 

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2. Be Mindful of Your Spending

 

Just after Christmas, we start realizing how much we actually spent during the holidays. Sometimes, that number can induce panic (it did for me!). You may even go over your spending for the previous year, just to see where most of your money is going. With all the chaos during our day-to-day lives, it can be easy to swipe our cards and move on.

 

Since I’m keeping this post super simple, I won’t go into budgeting at the moment – it’s a great idea though if you aren’t already utilizing one. The main thing that I want to share with you is to just be mindful of your spending this month.

 

Carefully consider if what you’re buying is something you need or something you want, and if the money you’re about to spend on the item could be more beneficial on something else.

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3. Create a Healthier Lifestyle

 

When the new year rolls around, you’ll see a ton of diets and weight-loss supplement commercials for the entire month of January. Getting fit and/or weight loss seems to be at the top of many “New Years Resolutions.”

 

If you’re focused on making better food choices and incorporating fitness into your week, those are two huge successes!

 

It is important, however, to make sure your goals are specific. For me this year, creating a healthier lifestyle means specifically that I will be working out at the gym at least 3x per week and I will be meal planning and making most (at least 5x per week) of my food at home.

 

I like to keep my goals in my planner so that I can stay organized and on track. Plus, I’ve created little habit trackers in my planner so I can check off each day I’m accomplishing these goals. If you’re someone who loves ticking off items on your to-do list, I think you’ll like this idea!

 

Remember to give yourself grace, friends.

 

Progress is progress and forward is forward. Give yourself credit for all that you accomplish each day. Celebrate your victories, both big and small.

 

Getting back into the gym or starting to work out at home, and eating healthier foods and meal prepping does not have to be dreadful. It is truly all about your perspective.

 

You can begin to create a healthier lifestyle just by…

  • Making small changes each day about your choice of foods and drinks
  • Making time for fitness each week will help you create a healthier lifestyle.

 

These are new habits you’ll be forming to not just start the new year right, but to continue those habits for years to come.

 

3 Ways to Start The New Year Right

 

I’m wishing you the very best for 2020! Let’s keep this magical feeling all year long and start the new year right!

 

You can create a life you love, on step at a time!

 

 

To celebrate this brand new year, I’m sharing with you an Instagram Stories template that showcases your goals for 2020, made in Canva. šŸ™‚

 

When you click on the picture below, please remember to do the following to ensure you get your copy of the template!

 

Grab Your Insta Stories Freebie Ad

 

  1. After opening your freebie link, click “File” in Canva
  2. Select “Make a Copy” and be sure to edit and save that file
  3. Enjoy!

 

P.S. If you don’t typically use Instagram Stories, you can totally save this template for other uses! You can keep it on your phone to remember your goals. You could even print it out and keep it in your planner or on your desk!

 

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Let’s Chat!

What is one of your goals for this year?
Do you think you’ll try doing any of these goals?
How do you set yourself up for success?

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Thank you so much, Julia!! šŸ™‚ That’s a fantastic! The habit trackers are so helpful. I’m going to probably create a post on it in the near future. It’s really helped me become more productive.

      Reply

  5. Diana says

    Decluttering is a huge one for me this year! I always have so many things in my space that I don’t need. Good luck with your New Years goals!

    Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Totally understandable! Iā€™m going to tackle our spare room soon, itā€™s sort of where everything goes to get out of the way. šŸ˜‚ Thank you so much, Diana!! Wishing you the very same!

      Reply

  9. Simone says

    Declutter is a great way to start fresh into the new year. I have so many things that are old or I just don’t use it anymore. I sell a lot of stuff through second hand and gain new money to buy something new.

    xx Simone
    Little Glittery Box

    Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Thank you, Tiffany!! šŸ˜Š Youā€™ve got this! Just taking small steps to get started is a great way to make it all happen.

      Reply

  11. Valentina says

    I love this post so much! These are all such great things to do at the beginning of the new year.
    Creating a healthier lifestyle doesn’t have to be hard, it’s not an all or nothing kind of thing. It’s best to start slowly and add new things along the way. And that thing you said about specific goals is so true, if you know exactly what your goals are, it’s so much easier to stick with them

    Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Thank you very much, Nina! I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you’ve having the best start to your new year!! šŸ™‚

      Reply

  15. Tiziana says

    YES YES YES!!
    I love those tips! And especially decluttering is so much more helpful than so many people think!
    Hope you had a great start in the new year šŸ™‚
    lots of love,
    Tiziana

    Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Thank you SO much, Tiziana!! šŸ™‚ I completely agree with you, it’s almost therapeutic. I hope you had a wonderful start to the new year, as well!

      Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Thanks so much for dropping by, Kinga! šŸ™‚ Going to the gym and meal prepping has been so wonderful this month, I wish I had started sooner!

      Reply

  19. Lacey says

    One of the ways we changed was breaking down our budget further. We took our big yearly goal broke it down by month, then by week. The elephant is a whole lot easier to eat bite by bite, Ewwww that saying has always been so gross to me. It is true though. Usually we write down this huge impossible number and give up before we start. It took a little fighting with the numbers, but we did it. Christmas, Birthdays, Tires, every little thing has an envelope. We plan on putting whatever amount we figured for each week. We have done it for 2 weeks straight and it seems to be working. Really great post, thank you so much!
    Thexglitterbox
    @thexglitterbox
    http://thexglitterbox.com/

    Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Haha, I’ve never heard that phrase before, but it is true!! That is such a well thought-out, comprehensive plan for the year! I think it’s beyond amazing!! Thank you so much for stopping by and reading, I appreciate it so much!! šŸ™‚

      Reply

  22. Mica says

    These are great tips! We did a big declutter before Christmas and another one afterwards too – it’s nice to make some more room in the house, I just have to remember not to buy more to fill up the spaces, haha! I’ve already spent quite a bit this month, eek!

    Hope you have a fun weekend planned! We have a birthday party to go to today šŸ™‚

    Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Thank you so much, Mica! That’s wonderful, you’re doing awesome on the decluttering! Haha, that’s the same with me, I’m good at finding other things to take up space! šŸ˜‰ I hope you’ve had a great weekend so far and enjoyed the birthday party yesterday! My weekend has been great so far, no big plans, but just enjoying some downtime.

      Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Thank you very much, Leonie! šŸ™‚ I appreciate you stopping by! I totally understand where you’re coming from. For me, making it successful this month, it’s all about meal prepping on Sundays so that I have all of my food ready for the week. Grab and go is my friend, haha. Working out in the mornings seems to help me so that when I’m finished with my day, I know it’s already finished.

      Reply

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