A Fresh Start to Your New Year with 6 Easy Tips

“I’ll start that on January 1st” I said to my husband. Who’s response was, “of course, why not just pick an arbitray day to start rather than picking the first of the year?”

But the truth is at the end of the year after all the rush of the holidays, the idea of starting something new is overwhelming and I would rather enjoy this week between holidays than rush into something else.  But…

There are a few small things I can do this week that will definitely make the transition into the new year a much smoother one.

6 Easy Tips for a Fresh Start to Your New Year

Purchase a New Planner

I can’t function without a calendar / planner for the new year. The other day I found myself attempting to make plans with a friend using my 2015 planner and realizing that there was no January 2016, I felt completely lost. Like seriously I couldn’t function. I need a planner it makes me feel organized and makes it a little less likely that I will forget whatever it is I have planned. I got  this planner
which also comes with a note book, I like the layout and that it comes in a variety of colors.

Unsubscribe to Email Lists

This is something I started doing last year and it felt so cathartic to unsubscribe from a ton of emails that I was too busy or disinterested to read. I started doing that again this year for a goal of inbox zero going into the New Year. Doing this not only made my inbox more manageable but it also allowed me to focus on the emails that actually mattered. And it also saved me money because when I’m not aware of the big sale at Kohls I’m less likely to spend money there and less likely to waste time scrolling the sale items.

Unfollow

Election season is already upon us and while I feel like I got a reprieve during the holidays, it’s bound to be back in full force come January. So lately the Unfollow button has been my friend when it comes to anyone posting entirely too much political nonsense or articles that can be proved  false on Snopes. I get we can all have different opinions but I’m much more likely to still be friends with you in real life if I hide some of your online nonsense. The same goes for people posting about Mark Zuckerberg giving away millions of dollars for sharing a status. And it goes double for oversharers and drama queens. The unfollow button is your friend and no one will ever know you did it. And if you even feel bad for a second give it a few days, search their name and you will be reminded why you unfollowed them to begin with.

Delete Facebook

While we are on the subject of Facebook, let me suggest that you start the New Year with a clean slate and delete the Facebook app off your phone. I did this at the beginning of last year and it felt great. Also it will stop you from being that person at social events who is checking their phone instead of interacting with the people around them. I know that I can sometimes be that person, especially if I’m bored or in an unfamiliar setting but I really hate being that person. And some of the best events I’ve been to lately are those where I tend to forget I even have a phone. And as much as the blogger in me hates to admit it not every event requires a photo, status update and check in. You can have fun even if no one on Facebook see’s it.

Delete TimeHop

While we are on the subject of deleting, might I suggest deleting the Time Hop App. I deleted it from my phone nearly 2 months ago and I’m so happy that I did. At first Time Hop made me happy with it’s little trips down memory lane. But then I found that the more I used it the more I was reminded of how much had changed. And that started to make me sad. And who needs an app that makes them feel sad or reminds them of things they don’t necessarily want to remember.

Clean Your Phone

I just got a new Iphone but with my old phone I was constantly running out of room from all the music / pictures / apps that I had on my phone. This year I’m starting with a clean slate and I’m going to make sure to only have apps that I use on my phone, music that I love and to make sure to get my pictures off my phone and backed up at least once a month. So before the New Year starts and you pour some champagne and snap 20 selfies, clean up your phone and while you’re at it take the cover off your phone and clean the actual phone too.

Before you resolve to do anything, start with these simple tasks and I can guarantee that you will wake up a little bit happier on January 1st knowing that your crazy cousin Barb is no longer taking up your Facebook newsfeed, that your inbox is at zero and that your new planner is a blank space waiting to be filled.