6 Tips for Success in the New Year
I am a creature of routine. In the nearly five decades I’ve been ALIVE on this Earth, I’ve learned a lot about myself and know that I thrive when I have a regular, reliable pattern to my days and weeks. My sleep, digestion, energy, and moods tend to fire on all cylinders with daily habit.
As I feel out 2025, I’m solidifying my intentions and goals for the new year. I’ve explored what I want to STOP, START, and CONTINUE. I’m setting new daily routines and habits that are intentional action steps towards my goals for better physical health, personal and professional development, and greater human connection.
I’ve come up with a list of several ideas for success on the path to sustainable growth in this fresh start of a new year. See what resonates with you:
Schedule with grace. I’ve learned that in order to make my goals happen, especially around a solid weekly work schedule, I need to drop those activities or appointments onto my calendar as early in the year as possible and then guard that schedule…with grace. For example, I want to keep weekly office hours and food prep. time; play pickleball and lap swim, take two vocal lessons per month, return to hot yoga, attend an Acroyoga Jam, get a massage, and attend a Milwaukee Film event each once per month; volunteer bi-monthly; and float every other month. So I drop those events onto my calendar (color-coded with highlighter so I can see the balance between work and play)—some are scheduled, some are blocked off without an appointment. These things happen because they are on the calendar before other events of less priority are considered. Not because I want to be so rigid and rarely spontaneous, but because if I don’t reserve the time for these things that I’ve learned bring richness, health, and connection to my life then they are much less likely to happen. I know that if a friend wants to grab coffee or dinner, or if I just need a break, that I can shift or bail on any those events. I schedule with my wellness and aliveness in mind and allow myself to hold plans loosely as needed.
Create a routine/ritual. As a creature of habit, I know that when my body knows how to roll as soon as it rises then I am setting myself up for success. The aforementioned weekly, monthly, and bi-monthly routine help, but the daily routine is what truly keeps me on track. This year so far I’ve tried to make bedtime and rise time consistent on weekdays and allow myself wiggle room on the weekends when I travel or want/need to rest more deeply. I wake up with the alarm (no snoozing), try to keep phone use to a minimum for the first hour at least, write in my AM/PM prompted journal, head downstairs to the kitchen for my wellness board (a beautiful bamboo platter I’ve set out the night before with 3 Brazil nuts, green tea, elderberry shot, kimchi, kombucha, my jade roller, and sometimes sesame oil for “oil pulling.”) Within a few minutes I select my workout for the day online and head to the upstairs studio with my laptop for yoga, weight training, and flexibility conditioning. If the morning allows, I will take a walk or read before I start work or rehearsals. This routine, which is partially set up the night before, sets my tone for the day and brings me relief as my formal workout is done. In past years I was cramming my workout in before bed which resulted in skimping on how I wanted to care for my physical health.
Start in the morning. I can be an early bird or a night owl; I just can’t do those two things on the same day too often. But I truly love mornings! Whether it was the AM coffeewalk first thing to start with movement or a dip in the lake to start with peace, solitude, or “I can do hard things,” setting the tone out of the blocks brings positivity to my day. (NOTE: before the beach renovation, I was stepping out first thing in the AM to cold plunge into Lake Michigan, but that is on hold until the ice melts and the backhoes leave. I welcome that freshness first thing when it’s right again.)
Be a tracker. Tracking may not be for everyone, but if you are visually or timeline motivated, seeing yourself hit certain marks may be a way to stay on the rails steadily moving ahead towards your goals. For the last 2+ years I’ve been using a white board in my studio to track my daily workouts. I have daily, weekly, and monthly goals outlined in the margins. They are guidelines for what I hope to accomplish, but NOT requirements that if they go unmet, I feel like a failure. The visual of the color-coded daily “done” and check-marked weekly and monthly “completed” help me celebrate what I HAVE finished and stay motivated to keep it up. I’ve also used “100 Day Challenge” worksheets for conditioning goals and this year I have a yearlong Habit Tracker log to note when I offer myself a personal yoga practice. Again, the sheet is not there to make me feel bad for what spots are blank, but to help me celebrate what squares are full; this pumps me up to keep going.
Move daily and early (see #3). One thing I’ve learned from my older adult students and through the “down time” of the pandemic is that daily movement is key to staying flexible, agile, and mentally stable. Even in my mid-40s I’ve learned that a few days away from a regular stretch or yoga practice leaves me feeling stiff. Small movements daily (and as early in the day as you can set the tone) can offer a big relief and help you maintain your gains. When I was rehabilitating from a life-changing injury in 2016 I quickly learned that even 5 minutes a day in the same space, around the same time was enough to build motivation. We don’t have to have huge swaths of time available to move. I also believe in building it into your daily routine to make it a lifestyle. The old recommendation to take the stairs or park farther away in the lot are all good ideas. I’ve become known for my “Annie parking spots” a million miles away from my destination. And I’ve also known for walking to work 6 times a week or walking errands. However you can build movement into your day is a win.
Clean your fridge! I’ve talked mostly about movement and self-care (time to rest and rejuvenate), but I’d be remiss if I didn’t address the healthy eating aspect of a successful new year. I am that oddball who loves to organize, vacuum, pull weeds, and clean my fridge. Cleaning my fridge is not only cathartic from a cleanliness standpoint, but it allows me to see what is lingering so that I can plan meals around what I have and not waste food or money. My cooking classes and lifestyle tend to be centered on “low-waste, no-waste.” I teach classes about how to use all edible parts of fruits and vegetables, I use meat and poultry bones, I compost, and I reinvent leftovers. My life is not about making all the millions of dollars so I can afford to waste things, but about being wise with the money I DO have so that little is thrown out. I tend to live “lower on the food chain” in many ways, not just in the kitchen. When I clean my fridge I go shelf by shelf wiping them down, reorganizing, consolidating, freezing if necessary, and creating menus and recipes in my mind. This week I made a vinaigrette out of pickle juice, buttermilk, dried garden fennel, and a little mayo. I needed salad dressing anyway and these items were lingering my fridge after the holidays. Et Voila! Cleaning the fridge also helps me eat more healthfully because I can arrange things more cleanly and beautifully, which inevitably brings inspiration and motivation to keep my body looking as beautiful (and healthy) as my fridge looks. Having a fridge full of colorful fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, cheeses, eggs, dairy, and other whole foods is the best motivation for me.
These tips are, of course, bio-individual; they work for me, but may not for you. I invite you to try anything that resonates, but more importantly find what works best for your lifestyle, body, and goals. As a health coach, I guide people in healthy movement, wholesome eating, and home organization, as well as many other aspects of Primary Foods on the Circle of Life. There’s a new opportunity this year for you to get on a path to health through sustainable behavior changes. I am taking new clients and would love to see if we’re a good fit. Reach out to me at annie@eatmovemke.com and I can direct you to a Health History form and schedule a Discovery Session. Cheers!