As the New Year approached, I realized I had never, ever really set and maintained New Years resolutions for myself. As I began to think through a blog post I could write about resolutions, I took it a step further and realized that in my adult life, I never actually set goals for myself in general. To be honest, before moving to Los Angeles, I felt like I was in survival mode. I was living life day-to-day because simply, that’s all that I could handle. “What’s a job I can maintain and pay my rent,” “How can I get in a workout and still make it to events?” “Can I fit in two dates in one night so I don’t waste two week nights in a row?” There was just too much going on for me to think big picture. As I have begun to nestle into a comfortable, slower routine, I have found myself looking bigger and longer term. While I was thinking through these things and slowly defining what and who I want to be, there were patterns that continued to pop up that can help define those longer term goals. So while they feel monstrous and a little ominous, they have fortified themselves as my 2019 resolutions.
Find and maintain a morning routine
I have been listening to a ton of podcasts lately, mostly about entrepreneurs, founders and people I look up to in the industry. Most of them have a set, defined morning routine which has encouraged me to find my own. The past few weeks I have been consistent with one I am really enjoying. I will go into this deeper in a separate blog post but have started with: don’t look at my phone (text/IG/email) for at least 30 minutes, wash face with cold water, drink a large glass of either cold or hot lemon water, 10 minutes meditation and breathing, listen to a podcast that makes me feel happy/inspired, get to work at least an hour/hour and a half before anyone else to set my plan for the day.
Be active for at least 40 minutes a day
While my workout routine has become a lot more consistent since I moved to LA, I found that I move so much less. In New York, I was walking around 4 miles a day (minimum) just because of commuting, walking to do errands, etc. On days that I can’t get to the gym, I have made it a priority to move/walk at least 40 minutes a day. Whether that means walking around outside while on a conference call, taking a midday break to do some yoga or just walking to do my errands after work, it’s important for me that I just keep moving! Walking in New York was one of my favorite things and I am lucky that I live in a neighborhood where it can still be my main form of transportation.
Work on Consistency
I have my good days and my bad days. But at this point in my life, I know what creates those bad days. I thrive off routine – I love it – it makes me tick. If something throws me off, it can turn into a bad day very quickly. I am trying to be consistent in many things in my life so I don’t have those really high, highs and low, lows. I’m working on consistency on a lot of different aspects in my life but specifically with eating habits, working out and communication.
Work on Personal Finances + Don’t Let Things Pile Up
I hate numbers. I hate everything about them. They piss me off (oh wait i’m trying to change my mindset about them). I am so weird when it comes to money. I pride myself on my ability to save, I don’t spend money on designer clothes or lavish beauty treatments – I enjoy saving my money. But when it comes to being smarter about bills, payments, expenses, investing – it’s something I am really trying to work on this year. If anyone has any systems (investment apps?) that has worked for them, would love to hear your recommendations!
Maintain a Positive Outlook
I have always been a really positive person. I don’t like thinking about things through a negative light because it just brings me down. I have never, ever liked talking about other people, or gossiping or bringing down the group – I think it’s a waste of energy. It’s important for me to continue to surround myself with people who think this same way. Instead of putting other people down or make themselves the victim, to continue to look at life through a positive lense.
Carve Out Time for Things That Make Me Happy
Things that make me happy: painting, singing, laughing, expression, connection. These may sound kinda of “la la la” but I was listening to a podcast the other day about how to build and maintain your happiness, it may sound simple but they said to just list out things that make you happy and these were the first things that came to my mind. Getting back into my hobbies like painting and singing is important to me now that I have more time in my life. But I also crave laughing, expression (performing) and connection (connecting with people on an intimate level). When I look back on the happiest and most post times in my life, these were consistent patterns.
These seem big, they seem easy to mess up, they make me nervous. Sure I may fail from time to time but simply not setting goals is not the answer to growing and becoming who you want to be.
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