If you've had your fair share of physical and mental health issues, some budgeting oopsie-woopsies, or just any goal that remained unachieved for the year, perhaps it's time to redesign your life plan and take concrete steps to make next year more likely to be smooth and seamless. Here are 9 ways to start your journey afresh for the upcoming year.
1) Wellness Check
Don't wait for the health scares to take you by surprise. Invest in your physical, mental, and emotional health now by taking the time, money, and energy to slowly integrate wellness practices in your daily routine. Activities that are too taxing on the body have to go, and eventually get replaced by healthier and more sustainable ones. This way, you can avoid burning out, feeling isolated, visiting the hospital frequently, or even getting serious inpatient care due to overworking and other detrimental habits. Simple practices like the Pomodoro technique for everyday productivity without burning out and a budget-friendly clean-eating meal plan for better meal choices than the usual high-sodium, high-cholesterol ones can help you achieve that much-needed balance in your life and keep your overall health in check everyday too.
2) Financial Literacy Check
While everyone seems fine and dandy on social media when it comes to the things they upload– IG reels of them traveling everywhere and having their holidays somewhere fancy, eating really bomb food at the trendiest places, driving around with their partners in their stories– most of them could actually be going over their budgets and won't eventually be able to sustain their lifestyles in the future. Don't be part of this crowd and instead exert the effort to have a budget plan. Tracking your expenses makes you anticipate expenditures, forces you to cut down on excessive purchases, and allot your budget mostly to the things that matter.
If you want to take this a step further, consult with a trusted financial advisor to know where it's best to invest in like stocks, mutual funds, or cryptocurrency, as well as what kinds of insurance to get, what bank should you put your money in (or if you should store some in your account at all), among other things. It's also wise to consider putting up a small online business (since physical stores aren't pandemic-proof) or get sources of passive income like affiliate marketing, especially if you have a considerable social media following.
3) Bucket Listing
If you have serious goals in life, like earning 8 figures, having your dream car or home, retiring early, or visiting exotic locations, then work your way towards these goals with concrete action. To begin, solidify your plans by making your own bucket list. Set realistic plans for your life, taking into account how much you're earning now, how much you'll need to reach your life goals, and approximately how long it'll take to achieve them. Work towards these by listing down the necessary steps to take for your plans to come into fruition. Don't forget to cross things out when you've accomplished them, so you feel a sense of achievement and get energized to grind and hustle again.
4) Practicing Catharsis
Grudges, bad blood, toxicity, and feelings of failure and losses from the past year shouldn't make it to your next one (and the years to come). It's okay to have gained and lost money, friends, relationships, businesses, properties, or anything that you hold dear within the year. However, you have to consciously heal from pain and choose not to stay with it. All the baggage from 2021 has to be let go of slowly. Some cathartic practices you can do are body movements (dancing, exercising, swimming) and progressive muscle relaxation. Whether you're inclined towards the arts, writing, sports, or whatever else, use these to purge yourself of the heavy and negative emotions that could weigh you down and prevent you from getting back up.
5) Getting Accountability Partners
While some friends make the same bad decisions as you do (like having impulse purchases or letting toxic people back in their lives), there are the responsible ones who are very much like the parents of your circle. It's high time you outgrew your bad-decision-making phase and follow these types of responsible peers. Take this a step further by having an actual accountability partner so you can hold each other responsible for your actions. Stay away from yes-people or those who only agree with everything you do or say, and instead have a reliable, true-blue friend who will call you out without making you feel awful about yourself.
6) Making Room For Mistakes
In statistics, there's the standard error which accounts for inaccuracy of the samples taken from a larger population. In science, scientific laws are separate from scientific theories to account for possible errors and make room for further testing. Likewise, you will have some hits and misses here and there for the following year. Don't make the mistake of being too idealistic and expecting things to go extra smoothly. Nothing anyone ever plans turns out exactly the way they envisioned it in their heads. It's okay to make a few mistakes, then just charge it to experience and be better next time.
7) Goal Commitment
People often find themselves switching goals or going back and forth with their targets. Avoid this by seeing to it that you actually make solid goals and stick to them through the years. If you've set goals for next year, it'd be best if you didn't change them unless there are emergencies in your situation i.e. financial problems or mental health issues. It's important to always keep track of your progress too and stay loyal to what you're passionate about in the first place.
8) Getting A Journal Or Planner
If you can't remember the tasks (and subtasks) in your day-to-day agenda, it'd be best to have a planner for the following year. Stick to it closely and watch as you accomplish more things and feel great after having done so. This is different from your bucket list, as this is more on your daily routine and the tasks that come with it. In light of feeling a sense of accomplishment, you may also keep a journal and fill it with photos, notes, or other memorabilia for your firsts, or just things you've achieved. You'll see how far you've come or how much you've done in a year just by doing this.
9) Property Investments
It's always wise to invest in properties that are going to benefit you in the long run i.e. real estate. While it can require a lot of money upfront, as well as maintenance costs, it can be a good source of passive income and can help you build wealth eventually. Whether you're a house, condo, or apartment type of person, consider making property investments for yourself. If you happen to be looking for properties, then PropertyAccess Philippines can be an excellent place to start.
Don't Forget To Have Fun!
Fun and leisure are actually what you're working hard for, so don't forget to hit the beach with friends, spend some time with family and eat good food, watch Netflix or Disney+ with the ones you love, and just enjoy yourself. Plan ahead and schedule your days off especially if you're anticipating a busier year. Cheers to the new year!