Have you decided New year new you?
A lot of people make new years resolutions and try to stick to them. Some examples are they want to lose weight, they want to travel more, become more organised, learn something new, save more money, quit smoking, and spend more time with friends and family. All of these can be easily achieved if you’re in the right mindset.
Here is Sarah’s guide to sticking to those resolutions we mentioned.
Learn something new
Some people choose to learn a new skill or hobby other decide they want to go back to school and achieve a new qualification. If you are looking for a new hobby or skill, look at your local craft shops for ideas of things you can make, create, and develop.
If you are looking at taking yourself back to studying, look at college courses or even a university degree. These can be done part time to suit your lifestyle depending on what it is you wish to pursue.
Be more organised
Becoming more organised requires some organisation within itself. Sarah finds writing things down keeps her organised. For this a simple pen and paper to hand will help you.
Sarah starts her lists with what her main tasks are for the day and then lists out jobs what need to be done. This can be done for your home life as well as your work life. For example
- 7:00 – Wake up
- 7:30 – Breakfast
- 9:00 – Start work
- 11:30 – Snack Time
- 1:00 – Lunch Time
- 5:30 – Dinner Time
- 10:00 – Bed Time
This may seem simple but if you start here and schedule times it will keep you on track. You can then add in sections between times on things that you need to do like GP’s appointments, shopping to collect etc. Keep it listed and tick it off when you have done it can really help focus your mind. You will find that you become more organised and you will automatically start being more organised. You can even have a look online for a free printable planner or invest in a diary for the year.
Save more money
Some banks offer a saving scheme within your account where it rounds up what you are spending to the nearest pound and puts that money aside in a savings pot. This is an easy way to save without realising your saving. Pennies make pounds Sarah’s dad always says. Additionally, if you want to save more money quicker set up a savings account and set an affordable amount you wish to save each week/month via a standing order. This means you send that set amount across to your savings account as often as you wish without manually doing it.
If you are absolutely rubbish with money and do not trust yourself to not dip in to the savings pot, ask your parents/family members/people you trust if you can send them the amount each month and they keep it safe.
Recently Sarah has learnt about the envelope saving tip from her nan. Sarah’s nan does not trust banks so she saves money the way she always has done since she was a little girl. She gets envelopes and writes all the kids, grandkids and great grandkids names on each envelope and each time she gets some money she pops a bit in each envelope towards birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas’. This helps her budget and save as she wishes – she just needs to remember where she put the envelopes when the time comes to use them.
Lose weight
Loosing weight can be tricky. It takes time and dedication. You are not going to eat a salad and loose 10lb overnight so be realistic. There are many diets out there that say you can loose large amounts of weight in a short period by cutting out bread, diary, gluten etc. These are generally referred to as fad diets. They tend to work while you stick to it and then the moment you stop sticking to it the weight piles back on.
Sarah would advise a calorie counting diet as this has worked for her. There are calorie counting apps on the app stores and the NHS even have their own. You simply put your height and weight in then set a goal you wish to reach. The app will then calculate your daily calorie in take and all you must do is stick to it. You log the foods you eat through the app throughout the day and the app will then take the calories off your total so you know how much is left after each meal.
Additionally, this also helps when you are trying to be more organised as you will start to plan meals. This diet is not right for everyone so make sure you look in to others and see if you can make them work for you. Alternatively speak to your GP and see what they advise.
Travel more
Traveling does not have to mean to exotic locations or expensive. Have a look around the UK for beauty spots. Additionally, ask your friends and family for recommendations to places they have been.
There are many search engines that can create bundle packages for a nice price. It is worth looking at reviews on their pages and even look for Facebook groups for the hotels/B&B that are being suggested. It is also a good idea to look at hotels and travel separately as this can also save money. Shop around is the best advise but do not just shut off the UK there are some beautiful places like Cornwall, Wales, York, Bristol, Oxford the list goes on and on.
If you do want exotic locations again look around, do your research. There are some places people are drawn to like Paris, Rome, and Spain etc. Try looking just outside these popular areas for a cheaper accommodation and then see what the transport links are like to the desired locations for day trips. This way you could find cheaper accommodation just outside the popular area and save yourself some pennies which can then be spent while you are away.
Quit smoking
Smoking can be very difficult to quit. Many people make this a resolution and many succeed in kicking the habit, others not so lucky. We have had a look as the best ways to help kick it.
- Write a list of reasons to quit.
- Tell the people around you that you are quitting.
- If you have attempted to quit before try to remember what worked for you then.
- Use stop smoking aids like gums and patches.
- Have a plan if you are tempted to smoke.
- List your smoking triggers and how to avoid them
- Keep cravings at bay by keeping busy
- Exercise away the urge
For more information have a look at the NHS better health page additionally speak to your GP as they can advise which stop smoking tools to use.
Spend more time with friends and family
This resolution can be a simple one to fulfil but it all comes down to organisation again. You need to actively make time to spend time with people. Speak to the people you want to spend more time with and get dates arranged asap. Put these in your diary and look for things you can do on these days. Maybe you want to go shopping, watch a movie, or simply just have a roast dinner together. PLAN IT all and get it written down. The key is organisation.
Last but not least, if you would like any help with looking for graduate roles or even recruiting a graduate, please do contact us. Additionally, check out our LinkedIn for up to date job posts.
