Here we are, once again-- making all the resolutions and hoping for the best.

I hope this year was great for you. Speaking for myself, it was a bit bumpy for me but I'm taking away some important life lessons from this year to the next. I know that counts as a good thing, and so I won't call this year a total bummer. What I learned this year is going to help me make the coming year better, and I'm really looking forward to it!

I'm sure you've decided on some of your resolutions that you're going to make (or already started with... Jeez I'm late to the party!). I've decided that this year my resolutions are going to be really basic. You know, sometimes it's better to go back to basics, and that's exactly what I'm doing this year. I want to bring about some basic changes in my habits.

This year I've decided my resolutions to be more health-focused, but not just physical but also mental health. I'm dedicating this year to PEACE. That's my theme for this year. So, if you've not thought of any resolutions or if you want to include some peace in your life then you can include some of my resolutions into yours. And trust me, if you are millennial, you need it!

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS FOR A BETTER LIFESTYLE

1. WATCH MY SLEEP CYCLE

A couple of months ago, one day I woke up and realized that I'm not sleeping very well. This really freaked me out. I never had any difficulties with sleep before, and knowing what lack of sleep can do to me in the long run (and how it felt on a daily basis), I realized that this is the first thing that I need to fix.

I am aiming to have longer sleep duration as well as better sleep quality. Apart from having a set bedtime and waking up time, I'll have to make some other lifestyle and behavioral changes, I believe. That's going to be a challenge!

I'm already ahead on this one. I've already started to implement some changes; like I've cut down my tea/coffee intake to half, and right now trying to break the screen-addiction. I'll figure out more things that support sleep but I guess this is enough to get started. I'll most likely share the things that I learn and experience in future posts.

It's going to take a lot of effort but I'm willing to make the changes because my sleep is precious! It's not acceptable for me to lose it over anything or anyone.

So, there goes resolution #1: Better sleep!

2. MEDITATION

So, this year I attempted meditation for the first time, and I quickly realized I suck at it. Forget about calming down my mind, whenever I would sit for meditation, for some reason all my worries and past events would circle in my mind. And by the end of the meditation, instead of finding myself at peace, I'd find myself anxious.

I'm just a beginner at meditation. Maybe that's how meditation works. I don't know. But thinking about all things negative is no fun. I don't like it, and it needs to be changed.

I will say this though, meditation really uncovered the fact that my thoughts have become quite negative in the past couple of years. The negative thinking existed but I acknowledged it when I started meditating. That's a good thing. I can take steps to change that now.

I need to figure out a way to have positive thoughts while meditating. I have some ideas on how to do that, and I have yet to attempt them, but let's see how it goes.

Readers! Do you meditate? Do you have any suggestions for me? Please do share them with me! I could use your help.

3. CUT DOWN SOCIAL MEDIA

I'm not a very heavy social media user, but even then I believe I'd like to cut down the exposure a little more. Recently I found myself wasting a lot of time on Facebook. Strange, because I don't even like Facebook that much. But it's the unending-loop of auto-playing videos that gets me every time! Plus everyone pretending that they've figured out everything in life (or me assuming that) was the even bigger problem. Glad that I'm at an age that I quickly realized its unhealthy pattern (and I'm pretty sure not true either, lol).

I already deactivated my personal Facebook, for now, to see how it goes. I already feel great! Now, I need to manage my timings on social media. Being a blogger, I can't completely go off social media. In fact, there IS a need to stay connected anyways, blogger or not. But it needs to be managed a little bit better and I've decided to take it to the extreme.

Are you addicted to social media? Which social media platform you use the most?

4. MORE FAMILY TIME

In late 2019 I started spending more time with my family in the evenings. Needless to say, it felt great. Just being with my family was such a great stress-reliever.

Spending time with your loved ones is crucial if you really want to be peaceful. We are, after all, social beings. We might try to deny it (I know I have), but we all need support from our loved ones-- even if it is just one person.

So, my recent experience proved that I really need to put my family and friends on my priority list if I really want to be peaceful. Making sure that we go out once in a while and spend some quality time together every day would be a great place to start.

5. POSITIVE PAGES

Last year I made a resolution of starting a gratitude journal, and I did! I was not writing in it every day but frequently enough to really see the benefit that it carries.

2018 and 2019 were not that peaceful for me and whenever I felt distraught during that time I would always go back and read my gratitude journal. I must say that reading through the simple things that I wrote incredibly supported me and boosted my morale. I would instantly gain my energy, confidence, and enthusiasm back. I could always feel the wave of positivity each time I would read my journal.

So this year I'm taking a step ahead and I'm also starting to write "positive pages". I would be writing some positive things first thing in the morning. It's something that I have been doing on and off for a few years now, and it really brings my mind to the positive zone. It's kind of like morning pages but is directed more towards positive thinking instead of just brain dumping. Think of writing a positive speech in the morning-- positive pages for me is somewhat like that.

Brain dumping (or morning pages) is another great way to de-stress. I brain dump only when I'm extremely stressed and need to put my thoughts together so that I can really understand the problem.

You can opt for any of the writing methods because all of them are great and will definitely serve you well. I know from first-hand experience that they work.

6. EXPAND SKILLS

This year is going to be a "me" year. I'm not prioritizing my work or any other thing. I'm prioritizing me. I've been actively working on my personal growth since the last couple of years but I didn't do much in terms of expanding my skills or learning a new one. This year I want to touch this area as well.

I'm looking at both professional as well as personal/creative skills. There are many online sites that provide great classes. On sites like coursera you can access the full courses of your choice for free. Udemy is another great site where you can learn a lot. It's not free, but it's pretty affordable, plus they frequently conduct sales. For creative learning, I don't think there's a better site than Skillshare. I love it! I'm quite active there but I would like to get more regular at it.

Apart from these sites, YouTube and a simple Google search will give you a lot of information as well.

So these are some sites that you can use if you are interested in online learning for expanding your skills.

This ends my 2020's resolutions. It's simple and sweet. Not too complicated, but this is exactly what I need right now. I'm not putting pressure on me this year and only seeking peace.

Lastly, I know how sticking to new year resolutions can be really difficult. Last year I shared how you can stick to your resolutions. You can read it here: How to Stick to New Year Resolutions

Hopefully, this will help you if you have difficulty sticking to or planning your resolutions.

Don't forget to share your resolutions with me down in the comments. You can also connect with me on social media:

Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram