New Year Restart.

Hi there. It's been a while. But I wanted to pop on and share with you guys about my favorite time of year and how I make the most of the post Christmas months. Keep reading to check out my 5 must-dos for the new year.

So I always joke that my favorite holiday is the day after Christmas. There is less expectations, you have new little treasures, the stress of the holidays (for me at least) is over, and I can begin to focus on what January and the following year has to offer, or in better terms, what I can do for myself in 2019. I find rather than waiting for the year to give me things to do or to look forward to, but to create my own agenda for the year. Things to improve on. Things to get rid of. And with getting rid of I love a good restart. And for me this includes a few things.

1. Ditch the social media.
This is always my first step. Not to delete my accounts but just to delete the apps and all easy access to them and refrain from going on them, from anything from one single say, to a couple months. Focusing my attention on other things, like exercising, reading, or just being quiet and giving myself time to rest and stop checking in on everything. Because this time of year I catch myself on social media well into the early hours of the morning, and neglecting sleep and other important tasks (Laundry anyone?). 

2. Focus on Discipline.
So this can be customized to whatever you are struggling with in your life. Maybe it is doing homework on time, or waking up and giving yourself enough time to get ready in the morning. Or maybe its food and exercise. Or keeping a room clean, or not letting your car get below 20 miles to empty. (The other day I hit two miles to empty so maybe I am just talking to myself here) But whatever it may be, make a list of a few places you want to focus on discipling yourself to create better habits. 

3.Fresh sheets.
Start the new year with freshly cleaned sheets. Simple and effective, and I tend to sleep ten times better with clean sheets and freshly made bed rather than one I haven't made in well over a week.

4. New years Resolution list.
Now this one kind of goes along with 2 and maybe even 1 & 3 depending on who you are, but Im a big fan of taking time to regroup. I usually do this before the school year starts, and around new years. Check in with myself, and with the goals I had set for myself and see where I am at, and work on new goals. Now Im not saying make a resolution to lose a hundred pounds, or run a marathon necessarily (If you can, all power to you) but I like doing things as simple as making my bed more often. Limit phone time before bed, or even working on a few character traits. Always striving to improve you and the world around you.

5. New Planner
This one is tricky for me, because I go between getting a new planner for the school year, then the calendar year. But I love nothing more than to sit down with some new pens and a clean and blank planner and fill it all out. Plan the year ahead, put in some goals for myself, remind myself of the things to come. Ideally I would like a January planner than a September - December planner, but nothing beats a fresh planner in January.