Not Too Late for a Jan Plan

Community Manager — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:05:00 GMT

Still at loss for resolutions as January slowly slips away? Fear not, it's never too late to get going.

We've rounded up some "Jan Plan" inspiration to get you motivated. And if it slides until February? Hey, better late than never....

House Keeping: Give your house the old spit and polish with the January Cure from leading home site Apartment Therapy. You'll be decluttered and neat and tidy in no time flat.

Weight Loss: Fans of TV show The Biggest Loser know that fitness guru Jillian Michaels can help you drop pounds. Now, lose weight at home with Michael's 30-Day Shred workout, designed to help users shed 30 pounds in 20 days with a 20-minute daily workout. Lose weight, win a healthier body.

Fitter, Flatter Abs: Anyone can do anything for 30 days, even if it's ab-burning crunches. This 30-day regimen from Women's Health Magazine starts slowly and builds as your endurance grows. Ab-flattening eating strategies are part of the equation. Go for it - your jeans will thank you.

Financial Health: Holiday shopping sprees can do major damage to your budget. If you've racked up whopping credit card bills, or wish you had a better handle on your overall financial health, this 30-step path to financial wellness is for you.

Volunteer More: Heartbreaking stories about natural and man-made disasters filled our airwaves and newspapers at the end of 2012. If 2013 is the year you want to make a difference in the lives of others, read 30 Ways in 30 Days for inspiration about how you can help Ronald McDonald House or other similar organizations.

Happier Relationships: Would you be willing to spend 21 days to vastly improve your relationships? Gretchen Rubin of the Happiness Project thinks so and she's crafted a 21-Day Relationship Challenge designed to make your relationships more loving.

What No One Tells You about Resolutions

Community Manager — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:44:00 GMT

Articles on sticking to resolutions are an inescapable part of the January landscape.

But while experts are everywhere offering tips and tricks for remaining committed to resolutions, few pundits take a "no resolutions" approach to ringing in the New Year. In the spirit of "there's two sides to every story," we take a look at the notion of skipping resolutions altogether. Hey, you still got the champagne!

Don't Make New Year's Resolutions: They're Not Good for Your Health: If you're thinking about adopting a healthier lifestyle, eliminating resolutions may be the first step, according to this article: Don't Make New Year's Resolutions: They're Not Good for Your Health. The article posits that sticking to resolutions can create stress, rack up unnecessary expenses and can cause depression when resolutions are unmet. Rather, the article promotes the notion that the healthiest, happiest, fittest people are those that develop successful patterns in their lives--lives which involve achievement and close relationships. By building on successes, whatever they may be, and by maintaining committed relationships, health and wellness naturally flow as part of their "active, achieving, and dependable lives." So socialize with the healthy and happy - wellness is contagious!

New Year's Resolutions Don't Work - Here's Why: Did you ever stop to think that goal setting is akin to declaring that your life isn't good enough, that happiness is always around the corner and is missing and absent from your life right now? The article New Year's Resolutions Don't Work - Here's Why, makes the case that when we constantly resolve to make changes, that when we look ahead to a goal, rather than focusing on, and enjoying the present, that we miss the chance to focus on the happiness and success that is currently in hand. Food for thought, no?

Why New Year's Resolutions Don't Work: This article suggests that many resolutions are made with pie-eyed optimism that generally doesn't translate into success. But rather than truly eschewing the notion of New Year's goal setting, the author does in fact make the case for something quite similar: planning. The article advocates making time for an annual (or better yet, quarterly) planning session(s) to lay out goals and concrete strategies for moving the ball forward. Read on for more about why taking stocking of your life or business, and planning for growth or change should be a part of your 2013: Why New Year's Resolutions Don't Work.

Beyond Folders : resolutions, sticking to resolutions

Not Too Late for a Jan Plan

What No One Tells You about Resolutions