As we embark upon a new year, many of us are setting goals, resolutions, or intentions for things we want to accomplish in 2018. It is a time for new beginnings but remember that January 1^st is not the only day of the year in which you can start fresh. Let’s say that you whip out that to do list and then by 11am you get sidetracked by social media for several hours. You might think that the day is a wash and today’s list should go in the trash. Not quite, sure you could begin again the next day OR even right away with no hard feelings.

What I find that makes completing the bigger tasks easier is implementing daily habits that will add up along the way. As we leap into this year, I took stock of all the new ideas I started doing last year that over time became second nature. In fact, if a day or two went by without doing them, then I felt as if something was off.

The first one was writing down three things I was grateful for each day. After I get the kids to bed, I take 2 minutes to sit and think about the day by jotting down the things that brought me joy. The second was being mindful about making time for a daily meditation whether it was 5 or 10 minutes. Depending on the day and the child who found me “hiding” in my closet would dictate how long I could sit in silence. Now there were a couple times throughout the year when I would miss a day or two (or more) but what I learned was not to beat myself up about it.

Although, I want to complete my daily tasks at a certain time, I am also on my children’s time table. Sure, I can tell them that I’m going to head upstairs to have some alone time but it seems that when I’m up there for their version of too long, they begin to seek me out. As I sit here, one child has come into my bathroom making zombie noises and holding a squishy brain, saying “brain” over and over making it harder for me to concentrate. That’s when I know my alone time is almost up. I take the 20 extra seconds to then plot out when I will be able to complete my other daily tasks.

For 2018, I wanted to add two new tasks to my daily habits: yoga (with or without the children). I did have two join me this morning for a quick session and it was a great time to be together in silence and really being able to listen to our bodies.

The second is more about discipline for my work and writing at least 500 words a day. This will allow me to be creative each day and hone in on my craft, giving me more ideas for upcoming books.

While I will not automatically become flexible or write a best-selling book in a day, I will become a better version of myself each time I take to the mat or to my closet floor to reflect and write.

Whether it’s one thing or ten things, what daily habits can you implement into your schedule that in one year from now you will be able to look back and say, “I’m so glad I did that. Look at me now.”