Each and every year I swear to myself I’ll get my shit together and change my life.
Shit together: Is that an Aussie saying? APOLOGIES! It means getting your life in order or something to that effect!
That is, I will finally do what I’ve been putting off, get my life organised including my finances, a will, and other things, and fully change my life to become the woman I know I can be. The kind of woman who is put together, organised, knows her shit, is healthy and, best of all, content.
Let’s be honest though. I bomb out each year!
It’s not that I don’t try. It’s just that life gets in the way OR I kinda fail at saying NO and commit to doing things 300% until I burn out. *sigh*
This year WILL be different though. It really will!
How I hear you ask?
Well, I’ve started this year differently.
You see, I’m trying new things that actually work, I’m making lists and checking them weekly if not daily, am making my bed every day (winning!) and am a hell of a lot clearer about how I want to live my life and how to do it.
I’ve also got a mentor, have hooked up with people who are at the same stage of life and are wanting to make some changes – both personally and world-wide, and have opened myself up again after a year in which I shut down.
Here’s a list of 80 ways to change your life – including what I’ve done, what I’m trying, what’s working, what I’m planning, and more!
- Do a life audit – be clear about your values, priorities and goals, what is good for you and not so good, and who is good for you and not so good. Here’s a resource to help
- Create a vision board for the year
- Develop a side hustle
- Build your very own support team. Every successful person has a support team, a hairdresser, beautician, accountant, advisor, cheer squad…
- Declutter your living space – be ruthless
- Across a couple of weekends or months (I’d suggest a day minimum per room), go through every room in your home with a fine tooth comb. Discard what you don’t need, chuck out the rubbish, and reorganise where you need to
- Cull your wardrobe
- Make your bedroom your sanctuary. Invest in some new bed linen, make your bed every morning, put your clothes away, and minimise the clutter
- Hold a garage sale or haul your ‘good junk’ to a car-boot sale for a profit!
- Clear out your pantry and fridge. Buy yourself some new sealed containers and reorganise with labels according to usage and what goes with what!
- Have a regular play date with your kid/s
- Unplug 1 day a week – you can do it!
- Set yourself a tech curfew. Unplug no later than 7 pm each evening or at a minimum 2 hours before you go to bed each night
- Identify a go-to list of trusted people and numbers you can call on when in need
- Write daily, weekly and even monthly to-do lists
- Pack your bag and lay out your clothes the night before. If you are responsible for someone else, do the same for them
- Pull together a self-care or ‘feel good’ toolkit when you need it. Here are 64 ideas to help you nurture your self-care and mental health when life gets hard
- Get back to nature
- Prep your meals in advance, especially the meal you always struggle with. For me, that’s breakfast AND lunch!
- Buy fresh fruit and veggies, so your fridge is always stocked with healthy foods
- Have breakfast every day
- Drink more water
- Eat your meals at the dining table or breakfast bench – anything to get you away from the TV and offline
- Tell those you care about that you love them often
- Buy or pick a bunch of fresh flowers every month and place them somewhere in your house where you can see them as you walk around the house
- Practice gratitude daily
- Be sure to celebrate your birthday or the anniversary of [something] doing something you enjoy. I book the day of my birthday off of work EVERY year!
- Find yourself a mentor
- Pay someone to do something that is a time suck for you – hire a cleaner, pay someone to do your ironing, call in a gardener, shop for groceries online – ease some of the pressure on your busy self!
- End a bad relationship or friendship
- Take up a new hobby
- Enrol in a course or take some lessons
- Go on a regular date night with your partner. If you’re stuck for ideas, brainstorm a list of ‘date night’ ideas for the year
- Avoid highly processed foods
- Change jobs or careers, or start paving the road to do so
- Kickstart your savings for the year and make sure you pay yourself first
- Sort out your filing cabinet and shred the pike of old papers you don’t need anymore
- Decrease your environmental footprint by minimising your use of plastic
- Book an actual holiday – even if it’s a staycation
- Get your skin checked by a qualified professional – particularly if you have a swathe of freckles and bumps like me
- Pay it forward. Mentor or teach someone for free
- Get crafty and creative – sew, knit, crochet or quilt. Try scrapbooking, origami, drawing, painting or colouring. Use Pinterest for inspiration and tutorials. You never know – a money earner could develop out of it!
- Pamper yourself often
- Get moving more often
- Stretch or do yoga
- Aim to make meditation a habit
- Go on retreat
- Write a list of places to visit, cafes and restaurants to try, and other things, and start working your way through the list!
- Become a tourist in your own town or city and get out and about with your camera
- Travel. Where have you always wanted to go? This could be the year!
- Create a chore roster to take the load off of yourself
- Go see the optometrist or dentist or doctor – get that check-up you’ve been postponing
- Read for fun
- Make it your mission to make someone smile, laugh or compliment someone ONCE A WEEK
- Buy fresh herbs in pots, use some for your meals, and plant the rest!
- Surround yourself with positivity and people who lift you up
- Learn to tune in and listen to your body
- Write or update your will
- Audit your finances
- Schedule fun activities throughout the year, so you have things to look forward to
- Join a mastermind group
- Revise your insurances, consolidate where you can or move to a better or cheaper provider
- Volunteer for a cause close to your heart
- See a counsellor. I’ve seen one for 6 months, which has helped immensely!
- Take time out to hang with your pet UNDISTRACTED. Dedicate 5-10 minutes a day to giving them a massage. Believe me – this will be good for you too!
- Quit smoking
- Decrease your coffee and alcohol intake
- Do one thing that scares you – it’s up to you if that means jumping out of a plane, public speaking, creating your own blog or …
- Get your car serviced…. mental note to self. On another note, get your water, brake fluid and oil checked regularly – or ask someone to do it for you (regularly)
- Keep a journal. There are so many styles! Bullet, travel, gratitude… explore what’s out there, buy yourself a beautiful notebook and pen, and get journaling!
- Banish the words busy, could and should from your vocab
- Learn to say NO! [BEST thing!]
- Explore the things that interested you as a child
- Get a makeover
- Identify how much sleep you need each night and prioritise getting it because you’re no good when you’re tired!
- Go sober for a month
- Send a handwritten letter to a loved one
- Use your good perfume, wear your nice clothes, crack out the nice china and just use it for the hell of it!
- Live authentically
- Plan and throw a celebration for something … c’mon, you seriously don’t need an excuse to celebrate. Just go ahead and do it!
My revamp list is going well, and I wish you luck in changing your life this year. I know you can do it – even if it’s only one thing! That, in itself, will be HUGE!
So, what are you gonna try? I’d love to hear about it!
Need an extra boost to help you change your life? Read this.
