10 New Year’s Resolutions to Stick To

Kyle Lewis writes for Ask Deb, where you can find Olive Garden Coupons, Outback Steakhouse Coupons and tons of other great deals on your favorite eating and shopping establishments.

At the turn of each year you resolve to improve your life in a major way, and each holiday season you find that somewhere along the line you’ve reneged on the deal.  Unfortunately, the only person who suffers from these failures is you!  Check out this list of the ten best resolutions to stick to, and try to focus on just one.  You can save the rest for years to come.

1.     Eat right. This doesn’t mean you have to munch bran muffins day and night in order to stave off diabetes and heart disease.  Simply adjust your diet to include a variety of wonderful-tasting foods that will help you stay healthy for life.

2.     Exercise. Doctors recommend a minimum of 30 minutes a day 3-4 times a week (depending on your medical history, so check in with the doc before you start any exercise routine).  With a million different programs out there, you’re sure to find one or two you like.

3.     Make time for family. You’ve got to work to pay the bills.  There’s no getting around it.  But when you have the time to spend with your family, make sure it’s not wasted watching TV or Tweeting about watching TV.  Try ditching electronics in favor of old-school communication so that family time is quality time (even if it’s sparse).

4.     Make time for you. If you’re at the end of your rope every other day, you need to take a chill pill.  So leave all the obligations behind for a few hours and hit up the spa for some serious pampering.  When you’re happy and relaxed, your whole life will function more smoothly.

5.     Quit a vice. Whether you’re smoking, drinking, or watching Jersey Shore, make a commitment to give up something that does more harm than good.  Your life will improve as a result (and likely so will the lives of those around you).

6.     Take a class. If you’re beginning to feel the loss of intellectual pursuits due to a monotonous job and the never-changing routine of your home life, spice things up a bit by taking a class at a local community college.  Make ceramics, study the stars, or learn about ancient civilizations.  As a bonus, you’ll finally have something interesting to talk about with your spouse.

7.     Learn the three Rs. Reduce, reuse, and recycle.  Not only will the three Rs help you to save money around the house (for example, reduce trash by starting a compost heap, reuse furniture in a different room instead of buying new, and recycle plastic, glass, and aluminum for money), they will also protect the planet for future generations if you do your part now.

8.     Carpool. Another eco-friendly option is to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions by sharing a ride with coworkers.  Nobody’s asking you to buy a hybrid or ride the bus.  Simply reduce traffic and dangerous hydrocarbons in the air.  If everyone did this, traffic could potentially decrease by about 75% (if you figure four people per car).

9.     Manage your debt. This is the year to finally get your finances on track.  If you can’t do it alone, hire a financial planner to help.  Just find a way to set a workable budget and stick to it.

10.  Start a project (and finish it!). A garage full of half-made birdhouses and bins of scrap material for non-existent quilts speak to your inability to finish a project.  But try setting a schedule and you’ll be surprised how quickly you finish up old projects and move on to something new.