New Year Resolutions for 2021 (Part 1)

Do you start your year with resolutions? I have always had a love/hate relationship with them, but after the dumpster that was 2020, I figured having a few flexible plans to try to make the most out of this year might be good.

Start small

I want to ease into resolutions. I find when I try to jump into big plans, I get burned out and abandoned them. So with each resolution, I am going to try to build up until habits are formed. Then, month by month, I want to add on new intentions. With that in mind, I have only planned for the first half of the year. My thought is that I want to reevaluate at the midpoint and see if there are any I need to revisit. Or, if 2020 taught us anything, it was that life could be turned upside down at any point, and my plans may need to completely shift.

Here are my first 6 resolutions for 2021:

1. Dry January

My husband and I attempted this last year, but a little more than halfway through I had my company party. Now that COVID has cancelled events, I’m hoping that this year we will make it through the month. I love the idea of taking the first month out of the year to reset, and cutting out the booze definitely helps.

2. Fitness February

It is no secret that I love working out. As a Bar Method instructor I have found a strong community at the barre. With everything 2020 threw at us, my physical wellbeing took a major backseat to everything else in my life. I no longer made time for working out a priority. I noticed my mental health bore the brunt of my idleness.

In February, I want to commit to working out 2 times a week. That number pales in comparison to the 5-7 days I used to make time for myself, but it is a start. Hopefully once I begin to form a routine, I can build up to finding more space to take classes at home or in studio.

3. Mindful March

Full disclosure, I never intended for all the alliteration, but here we are.

In March I want to add meditation into my routine. I used to be very consistent with meditating daily, even if it was just a 10 minute mindful break on the Peloton app. Just like exercising, taking a few minutes out of my day to refocus helps improve my mood, productivity, and patience. In short, it makes me better.

I also hope to get back into using my guided journals. Spending just a few minutes at the end of the day to reflect and reconnect always made me sleep better.

4. Reading April

As an English major, books have been a huge part of my life. I have let that slip, claiming to not have any time to read (but magically I find the time to binge watch The Office for the 3,573 time). In April I want to read for 10 minutes a day. Share your book recommendations with me!

5. Money May

Who has a budget? And who sticks to it? There was a time when I was very active in our finances, using YNAB to track all of our spending. But, like every other thing on my list, I let this slip through the cracks at some point. I want to concentrate on meal planning and strategic grocery shopping for the month. Because our family is riddled with food allergies, our monthly grocery budget is pretty high. When I plan, though, I have been able to cut our normal spending in half (or more).

May is also Happy Little Chaos’ 6 month anniversary. I want to continue to build my brand and products. I have a lot of ideas in mind, and I hope to be able to expand on my craft offerings.

6. Clean June

Who doesn’t love a clean home? At my peak, I made a cleaning schedule that broke down my house by zone, with one zone focused on per day. Man, oh man, was it nice. Remember, this was back when people could be around each other, and it meant that when we had surprise visitors. I didn’t feel like I needed to do a panic pickup. Now that the kids are a bit older, they also like to help clean, so I have my own little crew here to help.

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In June I’ll go back and see how my year is going and how I can make it better. With so much uncertainty, it feels Iike I’m tempting fate by planning too much.

I would love to hear your resolutions! Please share what you want to focus on in the comments below.

Pass it on!