So, how did your year go?
What happened to those New Year
Resolutions?
New Year's Resolutions are a great way to set your intent
for a positive, fulfilling year of growth and accomplishment. But, on the other
hand, when the year ends, if you haven't completely fulfilled your resolutions,
it can be frustrating.
This usually happens because New Year's
resolutions are often too vague, and don't include practical steps that lead to
a clearly defined goal.
So today, by all means, look at your usual
big-picture resolutions. But, in addition, I'm going to suggest you make some
sub-resolutions. Especially if your New Year Resolutions haven't...how shall we
say...kicked in yet...especially this late in the year ;-)
Each of these sub-resolutions is designed to give
you a long-term benefit (some of them even for a lifetime) with a minimum amount
of time and effort. In fact, each of these sub-resolutions can be completed in
anything from a few minutes to, at the very most, a few hours. And they're all
either free or very cheap .For most of you, many of these items fall into the
category of things you've "been meaning to do." Since chances are that you have
already accomplished at least a few of the items on the list below, there's no
reason why you can't take half a day this week and get at least six more of the
items below done.
So, in the interest of the betterment of your future,
the management of your life, and the fresh start of a new year that hasn't
happened yet, here are
12 THINGS YOU CAN DO IN ONE DAY TO IMPROVE YOUR
LIFE (You could tick off ONE of these a month in the coming year if you wish but the sooner you do them the better!)
1. Register your full name as a web domain if you haven't yet. You
never know when you're going to want your personal website. If
www.[yourname].com is already taken, don't worry - there are alternatives. For
example, who owns jamesjoyce.com? Answer: A bar in Dublin beat the author's
estate to it. But there are always other options, like hyphenating the name and
getting james-joyce.net or james-joyce.org (check those sites now if you'd
like), or choosing less common TLDs (or end letters) like .ws or .me.
For
more information, homestead.com is a great site to register and design your own
website.
2. Call your cell/mobile phone provider. Ask if you can get a better
calling plan based on your usage. This way you can afford to do the next item on
this list.
3. Subscribe to a newspaper or magazine. Choose a topic that
you don't know about - be it politics, fashion, culture, or technology- and sign
up for the best periodical covering that topic. Rather than choosing the most
popular magazine, select one that offers the most in-depth and interesting
coverage, like Wired for technology or Foreign Affairs for politics or Mental
Floss for culture. Yes, you could read it all online, but it's great to have a
physical magazine to read when you're on the subway or on an aeroplane or
waiting in line somewhere.
4. Get a passport if you don't have one. If
yours has expired, get it renewed now. You never know when that great travel
opportunity is going to occur, and you don't want to get stuck at home while
your friends are at some great concert at the Acropolis in Greece.
5.
Back it up. Most people don't take the time to do this, and regret it later. So
copy your entire hard drive onto an external drive or USB stick immediately; if
possible, download a program like Acronis True Image that will simplify the
restoring process and regularly make backups (or for Mac owners, start using
Time Machine or SuperDuper). Also backup your mobile phone, PDA, and any other
personal-information-storing device.
6. While you're at it, make
photocopies of your credit cards, passport, drivers license, birth certificate,
and other important papers. If you keep a journal or anything similarly
irreplaceable, photocopy that. Keep these in a safe deposit box, parent's house,
locked file cabinet, or any other secure location, preferably outside your own
house. They'll be invaluable in the event of theft, loss, fire, or any other
unplanned incident.
7. Look through your refrigerator and cabinets. Read
the labels on the food. Stop buying anything high in saturated fats, trans
fats,cholesterol, and sodium. And start shopping healthier today.
8. Get
business cards. Don't have a business? It doesn't matter. Sites like
vistaprint.com will send you 250 free ones (though there's a shipping fee of
under £6). Never hurts to look professional
9. Learn while you work: I'm
often asked what books I found the most useful for learning Sales, NLP and
Business. I will be posting my recommendations soon.
10. This is not for
everyone, but some of you--and you know who you are--definitely need to do this:
Throw out all your socks. Every last one. Now go buy new pairs that actually
match and don't have holes in them. You'll feel like a new man. Remember, get
black socks. White socks are for athletic activities only. I don't want to catch
any of you guys here wearing white socks in the boardroom! ADMISSION! Ok, I admit it. I ALWAYS wear purple socks...but they are Calvin Kleins!!!
11. Buy a
suit. (Or a dress if you're a woman.) But don't just get any suit or dress. Get
one that's slightly closer to the size you want to be this year, whether it be a
little bigger or a little smaller than your current measurements. Try it on
every Saturday morning as a reminder to yourself to get in shape this year;
until, one day, it fits perfectly, and you wear it out and feel like a million
pounds
12. Decide to actually become a millionaire.
1 comment:
Ok, I've thrown out all of my socks. Now, to check the underwear.
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