There are scores of folks getting ready to join CrossFit, go vegan, or relocate in an attempt to make some drastic, life-altering changes in the New Year. That’s not what we’re doing here. We’re talking small. We’re talking manageable. We’re talking low commitment with BIG results. To finish out 2022, we’re talking about some things you can do to improve your life without getting a gym membership or a moving truck.
- Learn a Skill: Whether you want to up your game in your career with some basic coding skills, learn how to garden, or try your hand at improv, you have several options. SkillShare and International Open Academy have a wide range of classes for everything from graphic design to herbalism. MasterClass has the most recognizable instructors and the highest production value.
- Start a Hobby! In addition to being a therapeutic outlet, having a hobby can reap benefits in your career! While there are of course paid classes where you can dig deep to learn new skills, you can get the benefits of so many hobbies by simply taking to YouTube or getting a library book or two.
- Daily Gratitude Journal: You don’t need anything fancy here. You can simply use the notes app on your phone or write out a list of things you’re grateful for in a basic journal. If you want a little more structure or a daily reminder, there’s an app for that! There are many apps that will provide prompts and exercises to help you get to a grateful state of mind and there is cold, hard science to back up the benefits.
- Walk it Out: We’ve heard a lot about the benefits of getting into nature, getting exposed to sunlight, and exercising, so if you’re ready to commit to a regular practice of getting outside to do all of the above, then great! Still, you don’t even have to go outdoors to reap some of the benefits of walking regularly. You can just take a few laps around your office building or up and down the stairs. It’s a low-commitment way to get some of the benefits.
- Invest in Your Financial Literacy: Whether you want to get a better handle on your budget or just learn more about investing, these apps can help. In keeping with the “easy” theme, we’re not talking about putting yourself on an austerity budget or tracking where you spend every penny. While some of these apps can do that should you choose, you can also just take steps toward greater financial literacy by playing games. Easy, right?
The Bottom Line
Major New Year’s Resolutions have never worked for me. They’ve always turned into a source of frustration a few weeks (maybe even days) after a fired-up start. But small changes? I can do that. They’re much more sustainable and they can make a big difference. Sometimes they even snowball into bigger changes. Here’s to the coming year!
