#NineForTheNewYear: Life Challenges

Looking for a swift kick in the rear? This time of year, I usually am. Like everyone else, I usually come skidding into the final days of December with a mix of exhaustion, guilt and looming disaster.

Honestly, it isn’t the holidays – I decided long ago to never turn into a person who allows chaos to take control to the point that I dread or can’t enjoy the season. I’ve got a pretty healthy dose of chill about it – there are things I want to do, but I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with cards not hitting the mail, plans changing or ideas disintegrating.

Done is better than perfect and good can be far more satisfactory than great, despite popular opinion.

With all that said, the last days of the year can leave us run down, disappointed in the things we did or didn’t do and generally feeling overweight, disorganized, listless or lacking inspiration.

It’s one of the reasons I love a new year: a blank page, fresh start, tabula rasa and all that.

There’s nothing quite so exciting (ahem, #nerdalert) as a challenge or action plan to tackle the arrival of a new year. So whether you’re ready to get control of your life, dreaming of refreshing your home space, desperate to hit reset on your health or eager to chase the cobwebs from your creativity, I’ve compiled a few favorite resources to get you pointed in the right direction. I’m nothing if not a total sucker for a plan laid out in excruciating detail.

Here you’ll find a mix of 30(ish) day life-improving challenges. I’ve tackled each one in the past – all with varying degrees of success, I might add. Pick one for January or go hog wild and commit to one a month for your best year ever.

Without further ado, here are #NineForTheNewYear – neatly packaged up with a bow (three for home, three for health, three for self). Off you go: pick one, bid adieu to days of auld lang syne and tip your hat to 2017!

Tackle Home

Apartment Therapy is a fantastic resource for savvy home tips, decor and inspiration. I ran across The January Cure last year and loved the way it broke the most important ways to make a house more of a home into manageable daily tasks. I finally figured out that if my bed table (or worse, my closet or bedroom) is in a state of disarray, it will affect my sleep and general wellbeing – so no more. I’ll be participating again this year – join me!

Tackle Your Stuff

To be honest, I’ve let down my guard a bit on making smart choices that cut down on our overall family footprint. Obviously we still do the predictable (and minimally necessary, in my opinion) things like recycling and reusable shopping bags, but I’ve allowed a few plastic water bottles and over-packaged items to creep in. Don’t fret, though: I’m still the same warrior against excess paper. Ha. Regardless, I’ll be revisiting my reduce/reuse/recycle tendencies and tightening up habits this year. This is an arena where you could either find an existing challenge or build one yourself. Start with the Zero Waste Home book and tips, try a decluttering or paperless challenge or conduct a digital declutter (hint: start by grabbing these books as Kindle editions so you’ve got one less thing lying around).

READ: I Was Raised By A Pirate

Tackle Habits + Happiness

Ok, maybe this doesn’t technically belong under home, but bear with me… Gretchen Rubin is the author of amazing books on habits and happiness, and any one of them would make a phenomenal new year challenge. I enthusiastically recommend The Happiness Project, Happier at Home and Better Than Before. Bonus: Gretchen has SIX smart 21-day projects ranging from habit change to relationships, decluttering and how to quit yelling at your kids. They range from free to $4.99, a steal for one of the world’s top experts on happiness to help you become a better human.

Tackle Health

I happened across Christine Byrne and her Clean Eating Challenge via Buzzfeed Food a couple of years ago, and I’m secure in my belief that we are great friends who simply haven’t met yet. In fact, you’ll find her in my foodie #nineforthenewyear list last year. Anyway: the savvy folks at Self Magazine were apparently smart enough to snap her up recently – but careful stalking of her Instagram (in the absence of receiving a personal note, surprisingly…) has me assured that her list is forthcoming for 2017. Stay tuned, it will be worth your time… and I’m betting it will include fitness tips.

Tackle Lethargy

It is so, so easy these days to get sucked into our devices and become victims of lethargy with our world view shifting to what’s on the screen or in our hand versus what’s in front of our eyes (along with a crick in the neck to boot). So, lace up your boots or sneakers or whatever and get to stepping. My friend Alison Chino (also a past #nineforthenewyear crush) did something awfully nifty a few years ago called #48Walks. It isn’t an ongoing challenge, but you can read her original post and tackle it yourself. I definitely intend to stretch my legs and expand my view in 2017.

Tackle Your Relationship With Food

Mine has typically been way too enthusiastic and codependent, and it came into sharp focus last summer. It took little (really no) prodding from my sister for my sense of desperation to drive me to say yes to a Whole 30 Challenge. My sister is right: you should definitely read up on the program first, but if you’re ready to make a serious difference, this is the ticket. And while I know we are supposed to celebrate the #nonscalevictory, just sayin: after our June 2016 Whole 30, I was down 14 pounds, 8 inches and 12% body fat. After my holiday gallivanting, I can honestly say I can’t wait to get back on the wagon! (Here’s my story.)

Tackle YOU

I’ve been a giant fan-girl for Tsh Oxenreider since the days of Simple Mom/Simple Bites etc. etc. which is now The Art of Simple. She is so fabulous. I’ve watched her evolve right alongside (but slightly – no, WAY – ahead of me). She always has the perfect life advice. Her books, tone, insight and everything else are spot on. Most things on this list are free (with the exception of your commitment and tenacity), but this one is well worth the approx. $5/month. Goals, purpose statement, simple living: Tsh has your life roadmap in the Upstream Field Guide. Honestly, I neglected this commitment this year and will be starting fresh. See you in the Facebook group!

READ: Facing Forty: A Reference Manual

Tackle Your Story

I’ve already waxed poetic (shocker, I know…) about doing the Second Story Writer’s Workshop with my girl (boss) Lela Davidson last January – one of the best things I’ve done for myself and my writing. I gar-on-tee (← please read that aloud in the voice of Justin Wilson) she’s got good things up her sleeve if your writing needs a little bossing around this year. Read more here and sign up for emails to get a heads-up on upcoming sessions – both virtual and in person, I’m told. Think you’re not a writer? Even more reason you need a little Lela in your life – trust me.

Tackle Your Side Hustle

If you aren’t already a fan of Brit + Co., I surmise you’ve been living under a rock. However, you may not know that FedEx is sponsoring a ton of incredible content for creatives (and all of us) in the form of fantastic free classes – and Brit is cool about allowing you to download a class and access it anytime in the future… so I suggest grabbing a few and filing the links away for when time permits you to better yo’self! (Another great option: free courses By Regina.) Go. Go now.

There are always so many things I want to improve about myself or tackle in a new year. Sometimes I spread them out, sometimes I take on one challenge a month and sometimes I take a deep breath and take on several at once. Having a well-laid plan (by someone else) with all the steps and details predetermined makes it so much easier… and far less daunting.

So… what will you be tackling to build you 2.0 in 2017? Comment, ping me or post with #NineForTheNewYear on social – I’d love to hear all about it. Good luck!