How long do your New Year’s resolutions last? Many of us start the year with the best intentions to improve our lives in one way or another, only to revert to old habits within a few weeks. Now that we’re more than halfway through January, chances are your resolution is already slipping.
Forming new habits takes work and commitment. But here’s a trick – make it as easy as possible for yourself by removing barriers. When you remove the barriers, it becomes harder to find excuses. Often, small changes in your home environment can be the difference between New year’s resolution success or failure.
Let’s take a look at four of the most common New Year resolutions and how we can set ourselves up for success at home.
Move More
Create a simple exercise space, suitable for all weather conditions, that you will see when you first get up in the morning. Your exercise area does not need to be huge or complicated. All you need is enough room for a yoga mat and some hand weights.
Leaving your exercise clothes out the night before is another way to help establish your exercise routine. It makes it easy to wake up, roll out of bed, get your gear on and go without having to think.
Eat More Greens
Many of us start the year with great intentions to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, only to slip back into our old ways come February. One of the best ways to stick to your resolution is to always have a selection of delicious vegetables available. Nothing tastes better than homegrown, so why not grow your own?
Start small with a few potted herbs. Make sure they are positioned near the kitchen so they are easy to get to and you don’t forget about them. Once you’ve mastered the art of growing herbs, you can expand into raised beds planted with a variety of leafy greens, beans, mini cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, just to name a few. Then, as we head into the autumn months, try planting some carrots, beetroot and silverbeet ready for winter.
Save, Don’t Spend
With interest rates on the up, many of us will be feeling the squeeze this year and looking for ways to be more thrifty. There are a few things you can do around the house to reduce unnecessary spending and boost those savings.
Growing your own vegetables is a great place to start (see above), and cutting down on energy use is another big saving opportunity. Start by getting out your last electricity bill and checking your usage, then set a goal. Replacing all your light bulbs with LED bulbs is a simple, cost-effective way to make a dent in your energy bills. As well as turning off lights and appliances you’re not using, thinking twice about turning on the tumble dryer, taking shorter showers and committing to less screen time.
The good old-fashioned swear jar is a tried and true method of saving some extra dollars. Even if it is only enough to treat yourself to a meal out occasionally, it helps to develop a conscious habit. You could even make it an ‘unnecessary use of energy jar’ to reinforce your energy-saving habits.
Less Screen Time
Spending less time in front of screens is becoming a popular new year’s resolution for people of all ages. With more of us working from home more often, it can become very easy to find yourself looking at a screen of some description for large amounts of time throughout the day.
It’s important for our physical and mental health to have time away from screens. Spending too much time sitting is bad for our posture, and our eyes suffer when they are fixed on a screen all day and night.
The most effective way to get off the screens is by getting outside. This is another great reason to have a vegetable garden. Tending to your garden will get you up and out of the chair, moving in a way that benefits your body while soaking up some vitamin D and fresh air. Plus, if you spend an hour a day in your garden, you will grow some fantastic vegetables.
Alternatively, make a list of things that need doing around the house and garden and set aside an hour a day to do those things. This is a win-win because you will spend less time on screens and your home and garden will be super organised and tidy.
Establishing new habits is all about the small things – making a plan, removing barriers, setting achievable goals and celebrating the milestones along the way. So whatever your new year’s resolution is this year, you got this!