You turned the calendar to January, and now you’ve got the opportunity for a fresh start to create a better year. Clean slate. Like a stretch of new fallen snow just waiting for you to make your mark. And I’ve got a different take on some big little strategies for a better year for you.

This is the time when we’re usually urged to THINK BIG! Make GRAND PLANS! Set MAJOR GOALS!

But chances are you just got hurled back into your busy life after the holidays. Work, school, house, kids, business, deadlines, bills. Who’s got the luxury of trying all kinds of new strategies? Who has the head space to figure out how to make a fresh start, let alone a huge shift?

The hard truth is grand gestures (like resolutions) rarely stick. But the good news is that little strategies can help add up to positive habits and a better life. YOUR version of a better life.

What if you could make your life just 5% better? Or 10%? With just some small mindset shifts?

Imagine being 5% happier, or having 5% more income, or losing that first 5% of your weight loss goal?

I’ll make it easy for you.

Here are 5 high impact, small effort strategies to create a better year. Maybe not the BEST. Let’s not hype ourselves up trying to be some imaginary ideal of happy or successful. Let’s shoot for just a little healthier and happier, a little sweeter, a little kinder.

Try these 5 Big Little Strategies For A Better Year

Strategy #1 Do It Differently

Pick something, literally ANYTHING, and do it differently. Take a new route to work, pull together a new outfit from what’s in your closet, try a new class at the gym. Keep the goal the same, but refresh your outlook and thought habits by shaking up HOW you do it.

Strategy #2 Do Less, With More Strategy

Ask yourself how you could do something — laundry, grocery shopping, getting ready in the morning — with less effort. Literally, in less time and with less steps to get it done. Can you do something on the way to something else, all on the same day? Can you get others to pitch in to get come thing done? These are all examples of thinking STRATEGICALLY to help you ultimately have to do less to get more done and achieve your goals more easily.

Strategy #3 Take Back Your Time

The single thing I work with both life coaching and business clients on is taking back their time. Learn to put boundaries on your own time wasters, like the social media rabbit hole and TV, or not staying true to yourself and getting caught up in FOMO (fear of missing out) or getting distracted by shiny object syndrome. And learn to say No to others, including your partner and kids. Start by reclaiming just 15 minutes per day. (Bonus points if you claim that time to do absolutely nothing productive (see #4).)

Strategy #4 Get Out Of Your Head

Try any of the following: Go outside. Move your body. Breathe. Color. Knit. Watch the scenery go by. Catch the sunset. Dig in the dirt. Play the harmonica. Completely listen to what the person who’s taking to you is saying. The point here is to try spending some time not figuring things out, but just noticing how things are.

Strategy #5 Embrace Consistency

Ever notice the damage a trickle of water can do? It can wear down a mountain. Try being like that trickle of water, instead of expecting yourself to be like a torrent all the time. Choose something, again, ANYTHING, and be totally consistent with it every day. Floss your teeth. Drink 8 glasses of water. Tell your child you love them. Practice consistency, the slow steady movement toward your goal.

This year, I wish you less. Less doing, pushing, and expecting. And I wish you more: time, consistency, strategic thinking, presence, and creative living. I hope you ease into your intentions, dreams, and goals for the coming year.

Wishing you all the best for 2018,

Share this post: on Twitter on Facebook on Google+