We’ve got a few more days until it’s time to ring in the new year, but first, we have to say goodbye (and likely good riddance) to 2020. It’s been a wild year for sure, and I think we’re all ready to move onto a clean slate. Twelve months ago, I had this idea that 2020 would be my year and I would completely change my lifestyle and become the Pinterest girl I always wanted to be. Did that happen? No, but I did make some progress. I’m going to be going over the resolutions that I had for 2020 and y’all will find out how many I actually ended up keeping. I’ll also be going over how my year went and some tips so y’all can achieve your goals as well. Happy (almost) New Year, everyone, and happy reading! Stay tuned on January 1st to find out what my resolutions for 2021are ;)
Table of Contents
My 2020 New Year’s Resolutions
1. Drink 64 oz of water every day
You know how everyone’s new year’s resolution is to eat healthy or work out? For me, it was always (and I mean always) to drink more water. I used to never drink water outside of volleyball practice, so I don’t know how I didn’t shrivel up and die four years ago, but that bad habit has changed. I finally got my act together and started giving my body the hydration it needs, which is so, so nice to say. I think quarantine really contributed to this because it’s much more convenient to go to the kitchen and fill up my water than leave class to fill up my water at a water fountain in the hallway, but regardless, I consider this resolution a huge win.
2. Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night
I don’t think I’ve ever had a huge problem with sleeping enough; this is just probably me anticipating hell during junior year. I’m pretty decent at this, and during school, I try to go to sleep before midnight each night. However, during weekends, I now force myself to get up at 8 am to have as much work time as possible. The problem is that the night hours are some of my favorite times and I just love spending hours at night relaxing. Self care, right? Overall, I usually hit between the 7.5 and 8.5 hour mark every day, so I would say I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping a good sleep schedule.
3. Exercise at least twice a week
I think when I made this goal I was thinking of all the other years of school where outside of volleyball season, I would potato and not work out at all. But, at the beginning of this year, I could barely walk, so my workouts primarily consisted of physical therapy exercises. I speak from experience here, but only doing stretches and glute bridges does not break too much of a sweat. During February and March, my family got a gym membership, so I would go to the gym twice a week and use the elliptical and stationary bike. Then, during quarantine, I really got on the workout grind because I got cleared to run and jump. Since the end of March, I’ve worked out (almost) every day, usually alternating between strength (arms, legs, abs) and cardio (running). I’ve made working out an essential part of my routine, which I’m really happy about, so I’d honestly consider this goal the biggest win of all.
Exercise views ehehe
4. Eat healthy
My relationship with food is rocky. I won’t get into this too much because it may be triggering for some people (tw: disordered eating), but from the beginning of the year up until maybe October, I would just restrict myself to the point where I felt like I was on a diet. I first started paying attention to what I ate in an age where “food challenges'' and intense restriction was what was trending, so I think that kind of got me into an unhealthy mindset in the first place. Basically, I would only allow myself to eat “junk food” (essentially just sweets) once a week or once every two weeks, almost like a cheat day, which just made me see those less healthy foods as guilt-worthy and fear foods. I’m doing a lot better now with letting myself eat what I want, and as much as eating nutritious food is important to me, I think eating “healthy” has taken on such a different definition at the end of this year than the beginning. My relationship with food is still not that great, so it’s a work in progress still. Also, huge credit to Linda Sun for helping me realize the issues with how I saw food and being such an inspiration.
So, did I achieve this goal? Yes and no. If the question is whether I primarily ate foods that were “good for me”, then yes. If it’s whether I have an actual good relationship with food, that needs some work.
5. Stop cracking my knuckles
This comes from my sister repeatedly yelling at me for cracking my knuckles last Christmas. I’m very proud to say that I am no longer a knuckle cracker. I do it occasionally, but this new year’s resolution is a success.
6. Stop touching my face
Big thank you to Ms. Rona for this one. I’m going to be honest here; this goal was kind of a fail. Better luck next year, I guess.
7. Don’t use social media before breakfast
This was basically an attempt to spend less time on my phone, especially right after I woke up. Usually, I’ll get up right after my alarm goes off, but while I’m brushing my teeth and getting ready, I’ll typically be on my phone, just not on social media. I usually listen to music or skim the news, so although this resolution was technically a success, it didn’t achieve its purpose.
8. Don’t use my phone for more than 2 hours a day
I’m actually quite good at this if I do say so myself. My phone screen time usually ranges between 1 and 2 hours, which is not the best, but also a lot better than other people I know. This also might be because I spend the majority of my screen time on my computer whereas other people spend theirs on their phone (I almost never watch videos on my phone), but you know, we’re just going to say I’m a disciplined queen.
9. Get off my phone by 10:30 pm
I have my night hours set up on my phone so everything has a screen time lock on it after 10:30 pm, and I’d say I do a pretty good job of staying off my phone late at night. Well, I used to text some people pretty late at night at the beginning of the year, but now I mainly just turn my phone on airplane mode at 10:30 and don't look at it. Of course, there are exceptions, especially on late study nights, but this is for the most part a success. I will say, though, that this goal was meant for me to cut late-night screen time, but my version of late-night relaxing consists of lots of YouTube, so not quite a win there.
10. Read the news every day
A swing and a miss (kinda). I definitely opened the news app almost every day, but I think I need to do a much better job of keeping up with all kinds of news, especially in a year like this year. My resolution for next year is much more specific when it comes to reading the news, and hopefully, I can spend my breakfasts reading the news instead of checking social media because even though I’m only 16, I think being in the loop is so essential. I can vote in two years. That’s a big deal. I need to get my act together and actually read about matters like economics and world conflict because those are what I’m going to need to take into account when voting. In literally two years. Oh my.
11. Keep up with my habit and mood trackers
My year in pixels!!! (minus the last few days of the year) The blue-green (same color as average mood) is great, olive green is good, blue is okay, orange is bad, red is really bad.
Did I fill out my habit/mood trackers every day? Yes. Did they actually help me stay on track? Sort of. I’d say that my mood tracker was more helpful than my habit tracker because even though it felt like all of the days were the same, I definitely had some really bad days/weeks. The overview that the year in pixels gives really helps me put things in context because I can look at all of those bad days surrounded by every other great day I’ve had. I also remember what made those days so bad for me and looking back at the end of the year, those problems weren’t so big after all. As for the habit tracker, it felt like I was just checking off that I did all my habits every day and not really looking back on them. I’d say that it was a good way to remember all of my goals, but I did a pretty poor job of accurately keeping track of whether I kept my habits or not. Maybe that’s just my fault. However, on the app I was using, total progress was calculated pretty weirdly and I didn’t get that positive/negative reinforcement that I wanted. So, if anyone has habit tracker suggestions, hit a girl up.
12. Journal at least once a week
This is the most I’ve kept up with any sort of journaling, so I’m definitely proud of myself for that. During the first few months of the year I would write down more of my inner thoughts in my journal, but toward the end of the year, I think I got lazy with that. I’ve been able to fill out my journal from week to week, but it’s more of a mishmash of random thoughts than long rants like it was at the beginning of the year.
Spotify Wrapped
I would describe my music taste as sappy songs, often acoustic. My top genres for this year were pop, contemporary country, and show tunes, so you know, there’s variety but honestly not really because everything I listen to is basically a pop song. As you can see from my Spotify Wrapped, this is very much apparent. I think my Spotify Wrapped is actually pretty accurate (my top 100 songs sure are as well) because each of my top albums/songs were at one point the only thing I listened to. I spent my days with “folklore” on loop (and now I spend my days with "evermore" on loop). Hope you enjoyed that musical interlude.
Tips
Disclaimer: I’m not trying to act like I’m a know-it-all in any way -- I didn’t keep all of my 2020 new year’s resolutions, and I don’t expect you to either. These are just some of the things that helped me achieve the ones that I actually ended up keeping. I’m just trying to help you all out, and I will definitely be using these tips as well for my resolutions for next year.
1. Be specific
Something I noticed with my resolutions this year was that the ones that were more specific and measurable, I was better at keeping. For example, I knew I had to sleep at a certain hour to get at least 8 hours of sleep -- this specificity in telling myself that I had to get at least 8 hours was much better at keeping me on track than simply saying “get more sleep” or “get enough sleep” would have been. Figure out what aspects of your life you want to change, and set those goals in a quantifiable manner. If you want to eat healthy, then do you want to cook for yourself every day? Do you want to stop late-night snacking? Giving yourself a specific number or milestone will be a big help.
2. Set goals that matter to you
It’s like reading books for English class: the books you’re interested in, you’re going to want to read, and the books that don’t interest you, you’re going to call on your friend Sparknotes. Make sure that you set goals that matter to you, and set your goals for the right reasons. For example, my sister would remind me on the daily to stop cracking my knuckles, and my friends also told me to stop because it wasn’t good for my joints. The motivation to keep my friends from bugging me about this habit kept me going and helped me refrain from cracking my knuckles. It was something that mattered to me, which is why it stayed in my mind and I had the motivation to make that change in my life.
3. Track your progress
Whether this is in your journal, though a habit tracker, or through photos, keep track of your progress. This can be a source of motivation when you’re struggling to find it because you can see how far you’ve come. Being able to see all of the progress you’ve made is a huge motivator and will also help you at the end of the year when you try to figure out what worked and what didn’t.
Habit tracker woo
4. Make a game plan
So, you’ve got your specific, meaningful goal. Now you have to figure out how you’re going to achieve it. For example, if your goal is to start cooking dinner five days a week, what steps will you take to achieve that goal? Are you going to start up a cooking storm on January 1st? Are you going to cook once a week first? Are you going to enroll in a cooking class? Whatever steps you may take, make sure you have them laid out. Plan out what actionable steps you’re going to take in order to reach your goal. Oh, here’s an idea…
5. Build up with smaller goals
Did you like that segue? What I mean by this is when you’re making your game plan, try to start small. Set small goals on your way to achieving your larger one. If you want to learn how to paint, then make a mini-goal to sign up for a painting class in January. These mini-goals are going to be easier to accomplish and more manageable than just going for the grand prize on your first go. As you accomplish these mini-goals, you’re going to be well on your way to upholding your new year’s resolution.
6. Hold yourself accountable
I talk about this in my post about finding motivation but hold yourself accountable by going through the process with a friend or making your goals public. If you and your friend have the same new year’s resolution, then try to achieve that goal together. For example, if you both want to exercise more, then take workout classes together, go to the gym together, or exercise together on FaceTime. This way, you’ll be able to hold each other accountable and you’re more likely to push yourself to your full potential. Seeing other people succeed motivates you more, and that motivation will help you stay on track toward your goals. Not to mention, doing things with a friend is always more fun. If you don’t want to team up with a friend, maybe post your new year’s resolutions on Instagram or simply tell your friends/family what you plan to achieve this year. Now that these people know your goals, you don’t want to let them down. You’re going to be more motivated to keep going because it’s almost like these people are counting on you. That’s also why I’m going to be posting my new year’s resolutions for 2021 on this blog -- y’all will be able to hold me accountable.
7. Don’t overwhelm yourself
Was having 12 resolutions this year a good idea? Questionable. I don’t recommend having that many resolutions. These were really big things that I was trying to tackle, and although they’re very important components of a healthy lifestyle and I was able to achieve the big ones, it was a lot to take on. Pick a few important resolutions and stick to those throughout the year -- it’s better to make a big difference in one or two aspects of your life than to start a better lifestyle and abandon it two weeks later. Narrowing your focus and concentrating on a few key goals will up your chances of success.
8. Reward yourself
This is very important. You’re not going to be expected to live a perfect lifestyle for 365 days, but if you make some big steps toward achieving your goals, treat yourself. If you’ve worked out consistently, take a rest day. If you’ve cooked your own meals for a couple weeks, order some takeout. You deserve that reward, and it’ll keep you motivated and on track for the next bit of time because you’ll be looking forward to having another reward. Don’t forget to take breaks.
This could count as a reward, but this is mainly just good food I wanted to put in this post
9. Make time
If your life is anything like mine, it feels like you’re juggling six flaming torches. There’s school and sports and clubs and work and sometimes it feels like there’s no time to fit in anything. However, your other goals are just as important. Make time each day to work toward those goals, whether that be setting aside an hour after school to work out or a few hours on the weekend to do some painting. Whenever that time might be, you should make your goals a priority and dedicate your time to them. Schedule ahead and tell yourself that you’re going to spend that time wisely.
10. Don’t get discouraged
This is probably the most important tip. Less than 8% of people follow through with their new year’s resolutions (I know this from a mediocre speech piece I did on goal-setting), and it’s okay if you don’t see the progress that you dreamed of. Keep your goals in mind and try your best to make progress. If you get off track sometimes, that's fine. Me getting tired in May and not working out for a bit totally gets you. I’ve heard this from some lifestyle YouTuber, but change isn’t a linear path. Your progress won’t just spike up and keep growing infinitely. Know that it’s okay to lose motivation, but it’s important that you regain that motivation and work toward those goals that are so important to you. If you’re slightly disappointed in your progress, don’t take it as an excuse to give up. See it as a motivation to keep going.
And those were all of the lessons I learned from self-confidence TikTok!! Thanks for listening to my very long rant, but just don’t get discouraged and don’t compare your progress to that of others because everyone approaches things in a different way. I hope you enjoyed this very extensive post, and best of luck with your resolutions this year!
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