It is hard to believe it is already a New Year. It seems like each year goes by so fast, that we can hardly ever catch up. Even though we may feel like we are on the spinning wheels of life, it is important to cultivate healthy habits for the New Year. Sure, we should have healthy habits all year. However, the New Year does bring an opportunity and an opportunity fresh start that can be very helpful for many So, what can you do to create and cultivate healthy habits?

Get Yourself Organized

Having a dependable method of organization can be very key in ensuring that you have a good start to a new season in your life. Some people focus on perhaps just their office organization and cleanliness. However, here are some other areas of organization that will help you stay on top of your game this year.

• Workspace organization – Your office or designated workspace is a place where you spend over 50% of our time. Imagine the items that will make you feel the most productive and make sure that they are incorporated in your office space. How are you best creative? Make sure to have elements of inspiration like a wall hanging or a favorite quote displayed. It is important that your office space is also functional and tidy. Take some time out to make your office your home away from home.
• Technological organization – Many of us now work on cell phones, laptops, and tablets. With that said, it is important that you are organizing your work so that you are functional whether you are at your desk or on the go. All of the devices that we use to work should be able to be synced with each other so that we don’t miss a beat. Take some time to ensure that your digital file organization is tight. Do you need a better system of filing? Do you have enough space? Make sure that you are paying attention to how you work with technology.
• Daily Structural organization – How do you structure your workday? Do you just randomly walk into your office and turn on your laptop and respond to whoever is firing the canon at your first? If that is how you structure your day you may want to think twice about how you attack things this year. Take some time to start on the most important things first, so that you can feel better about where you end your day. Paying attention to all three of these areas can help put you on the right track for the new year. Make sure that your office is tidy and that you have ergonomically supportive furniture.

Engage in your community

The one disadvantage of technological advancements and social media is that we tend to forget the real people that exist around us. It is wonderful that we are a now globally aware species, but we must not forget the needs around us? Another healthy habit to have is engaging in your community.

Do you know your neighbors? Well, perhaps this year is the year to get to know them better. I’m not saying that you have to be BFF’s, but it can be fulfilling to be engaged in the world around you. Remember the days where everyone knows your name? There is a lot of value in community. Having a good community builds trust and safety. Those elements are essential to your overall well being. Sure, we are all one Facetime call away from seeing the people that we have relationships with, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t forge meaningful relationship with your community too.

If you haven’t engaged with your community and community partners and businesses, I would encourage you to find the value in those human connections. It certainly can make you healthier in your relationships and possibly even happier as well.

Get Moving and Eat Smart

We all know what we need to do to get moving but most times we never do it. Twenty minutes exercising about three times a day is the key to staying active. You can do more, go for it. Exercise and eating smart is the most important of the healthy habits to keep. Don’t deny yourself from the gift of staying active and having a healthy approach to your life.

How much we move and what we consume are very important to our happiness and longevity of life. Many times some of us only put importance on our physical health when health challenges occur. Don’t let this be you. Maintain your health by incorporating just one new healthy habit this year. This can be eliminating sweets, or not having a soda (yes I’m a Wisconsinite). Every day establish a plan to get a little cardio to ensure your heart stays healthy.

Find Your Joy

As the years move forward, we seem to be constantly inundated with the panicked and harsh tones of dark headlines. Our days seem to move faster than we can pace with them. The world although now closer seems to be more at an imbalance than we have known it to be. Despite how this feels, we have to move forward and find our joy.

Joy doesn’t always need to mean that you are happy. However, joy can mean that you are more content with your circumstances because you know where you are headed. Having a very distinct vision for your life, why you do what you do, and the goals to get there, is necessary. This helps for us to know why we place one step in front of the other. It gives us joy in knowing that despite what our current circumstances may be, we have purpose and we will move forward.

Prioritize and Take Action

The last of the healthy habits is one that many overlook. In order to set forth any new habits or changes that you may want to do, you have to prioritize them and take action. We can have so many competing priorities that it can be very tough to figure out what should come first. Take the time to reflect on the items that you have to do, when you have to do them, and create a plan for action within your life.

If you haven’t already check out this post. This post goes through the process of what I call the 4 R’s of Balance. You will find that through this process you can figure out what is the most priority for you and your life. From there you will be able to create a plan in which prioritizes the most important items and set timelines for executing them.

Cheers!