New Year Resolution ideas: What to give up this January? Six things you can change in 2019
ITS THE start of a new year and for many, it is the chance to make some changes and strive to live a healthier, more productive life. Here are six things you could change in 2019.
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Here are six things you could change in 2019 for more life satisfaction.
1. Cutdown on unnecessary spending
There is something that all of us spend money on when we know there are alternative options.
Examples of this are - Buying a coffee on the way into work instead of making one once there, choosing a takeaway instead of cooking or getting a taxi instead of the bus.
Cutting down on these may feel like they won’t save you much money, but in the long run it all adds up.
2. Save more money
To start saving more, you could download apps which put away your spare change or alert you to your spending habits.
Monzo (available on iOS and Android) alerts you to how you spend and enables you to set spending limits for certain categories like eating out.
The app also allows you to set aside money into a savings pot, by rounding up any purchases over £1 and saving the difference.
3. Cut down on sugar
Sugar is in a lot of the foods we eat, and according to the NHS Britons eat too much - a staggering 700g a week.
One way to cut down on sugar is to look for colour coded labels when shopping.
Some packaging uses a traffic light system to explain how much sugar, salt and fat are in their foods - try and pick more green labelled items rather than reds.
Another way is to make sauces and meals from scratch rather than relying on pre-packaged foods, which can contain excess sugar.
4. Eat healthier
Its a resolution many of us make and break throughout the year, but how can you eat healthier?
Try to eat freshly made food, stock the fridge with fruit, vegetables and resisting the urge to order that takeaway.
Bring your lunch to work rather than buying out - this can prevent you from choosing unhealthy options as well as save you money.
Teaching yourself new recipes is also a good way to keep healthy, with easy to follow videos on YouTube and a plethora of healthy eating cookbooks out there - eating healthy is easier than you think.
4. Cut down your screen time
A lot of us spend a lot of time on our phones, both at work, during travel and at home.
For some, this is a necessity, but others may like to cut down the amount of time they spend staring at a screen outside of working hours.
One way to do this is to download apps to limit time spent on your smart device - one such app is Space, which is available free on iOS and Android.
You complete a questionnaire on your habits, select a user type to suit you and then set screen unlock and time use goals.
5. Read more
Tying in with the above goal, one thing that many of us want to do is read more.
Tips for reading more often are:
- Carry your book/ tablet used for reading with you everywhere so you can read it whenever you get the chance
- Create a list of books you want to read
- Try listening to books if you find reading a chore