Bruce Law Firm - January 2021

New Year’s Resolutions: Let’s Get Started

Creating new goals for the new year can be harder than people realize. Of all the resolutions out there, which one is best? If you’re struggling to come up with a goal for 2021, here are a few ideas to help get you started! CREATE A BUDGET Keeping track of where money is going, as well as how much is coming in, can help people monitor their spending and increase their savings. This year, set a goal to create and maintain a budget that works for you. To do this, create a plan to help you stick with your budget. To help track your finances consider working with a budgeting app, such as Mint. READ MORE BOOKS Unfortunately, a busy schedule usually means less time to read, which is why so many people strive to read more in their New Year’s resolutions. To help keep you motivated in this goal, try downloading Goodreads, which will help track, share, and find recommendations of hundreds of books. Another great app to consider is Audible. Although this catalog is more audio based, it can still give you the opportunity to experience new books if you’re unable to find the time to sit down and read. QUIT SMOKING This can be quite a goal as smoking can be one of the more difficult bad habits to break. Luckily, many resources can help anyone who wishes to put down cigarettes for good. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a number of resources available, including a few tips, how to draw up a quit plan, learning about quit-smoking medicines, and how to manage cravings. Visit them at CDC.gov/tobacco to learn more. PRACTICE MEDITATION One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to increase physical health, but our mental health is also important. Meditation can improve moods, lessen anxiety, and reduce stress. This can, in turn, sharpen our focus, increase our positivity, and raise our self-awareness. Simply find a quiet place to sit for a few minutes and breathe. YouTube has many helpful videos that will take you through the steps of meditation: Check out Lavendaire “How to Meditate” on YouTube, which takes viewers through the benefits of meditations and offers a few useful tips to get started.

How Habit Tracking and Daily Resolutions Could Transform Your Life

Yearly resolutions are so last year … if they’re your only resolutions, that is.

Having long-term goals isn’t a bad thing, but do you have a daily plan to reach them? The huge boost of motivation in January isn’t always enough to sustain you all year long. That’s why there are major benefits to starting new healthy habits, whether you increase your weekly exercise time, eat healthier foods, or work on getting better or more sleep.

Luckily, sticking with these habits might be as easy as making daily resolutions to complement your yearly goals.

B.J. Fogg, a Stanford University professor and author of “Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything,” notes that tiny habits can make a new habit easy to implement into your daily ritual. For example, taking a short daily walk could lead to an exercise habit, or keeping an apple in your bag every day could encourage healthier snacking. It’s important that you stick with it because habits take a long time to create. One study published by the European Journal of Social Psychology asked people about a simple habit they wanted to form, like drinking water at lunch or taking a walk before dinner. They found that the average amount of time it took before the action became automatic was 66 days! Don’t be too hard on yourself if you miss a day, but know that sticking to a new habit is serious work, so starting small might help you out. Another important aspect of forming new daily habits is rewarding yourself. Bad habits, like smoking, have an inherent reward. However, healthy habits can have rewards, too! Try consuming a bit of dark chocolate after a workout or treating yourself to a fresh beverage or relaxing to a podcast after tackling an important task. Find ways to reward yourself, and you’ll be more likely to stick to your new habit. Certain daily resolutions don’t have to be related to exercise or diet to majorly improve your life. For example, having a gratitude journal might boost your long-term happiness by 10% and improve your blood pressure. Don’t hesitate to improve your quality of life! Just start small, and you’ll be amazed by how far you’ll go.

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