Start your New Year off right, and you’ll be much happier, healthier, and more productive! The New Year is a time to take a look at your current habits and find ways to improve them. Easier said than done, I know, but that’s why we’ve come up with a list of tips to help you prepare yourself for better habits in the year ahead.

Plan Your Day

If you want to get as much done as possible, it’s important to plan what you’re going to accomplish. Take a few minutes each night to sit down and plan out the next day. When you wake up, there will be no question of what you have to do and when—it will already be planned out. You’ll get a lot more done because you have a plan to follow!

Get Up Earlier

Waking up even 30 minutes earlier can make a huge difference in your productivity! Not only will you wake up on “your time”, but you’ll be following a schedule that gives you 30 more minutes before the day starts to work out, meditate, reflect, plan, or spend time with your family. You’ll find you can get a lot done if you start working before the rest of the world is even awake.

Turn Off Your Phone

Not surprisingly, your phone is one of your biggest distractions. Between work life, home life, and social media, you can spend hours every day on your phone. Make it a habit this year to switch off your phone every day, at least first thing in the morning and last thing before bed. Switch it off during work hours so you can focus on what you’re doing, and consider switching it off during social engagements. The less time you spend on your phone, the more you can get done in real life.

Walk More

Walking does wonders for your creativity and inspiration! Even just a few minutes of walking around the block every day will give you a chance to think, meditate, and plan. Make sure to include 10 to 15 minutes of walking every day.

Cut Non-Essentials

How many small and mostly unimportant tasks do you spend time on every day? Things like checking Facebook five times a day or hitting up your local sports bar to watch the game can all be good for entertainment value, but they can stop you from getting important things done. If you want to accomplish big things this year, it may be time to cut the non-essentials.

Indulge Your Imagination

Creativity and imagination are muscles that need to be flexed in order to grow. This year, spend time letting your imagination run wild or bring out your creative side with some form of art—from painting to writing to drawing to coloring. Imagination doesn’t just help you be an artist; it’s a skill and ability that can come in handy in every area of your life. But it will take work and focus to develop it!

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