9 Top Resolutions

1. Spend more time with family and friends
A lot of us feel we don’t spend enough quality time with those we love. So pick up the phone and start arranging experiences that you can do together.
Handy hint: Like this idea? Send an e-mail invite to a picnic in a centrally located park. Everyone brings food and drink – and a smorgasbord of catch-up relaxation results.

2. Get fit
Visualise yourself the way you want to be and promise yourself rewards along the way. Get into the mindset of “No excuses!”
Handy hint: Make a date today with a good pal to walk once a week for 50 minutes – and take your first baby steps to better health.

3. Lose weight
With about 60% of adults overweight or obese, weight loss remains a popular resolution.
Handy hint: Don’t stop eating the things you love, just eat them less. Watch your portion sizes with resolve, daily, and the weight will drop!

4. Quit smoking
This is a hard habit to break because nicotine is extremely addictive.
Handy hint: Don’t determine to give up smoking when other aspects of your life are stressful. Wait until you’re in a good space – and get plenty of emotional support to keep you on track.

5. Smell the roses
Lost your mojo? The easiest way to kick-start your joie de vivre is to do something outside the square.
Handy hint: Remember too that small is beautiful and focus on life’s minutiae, like a great song on the radio, a tasty peach, a pet’s licks, your friends’ thoughtfulness, an unexpected invitation.

6. Quit drinking
If drinking is doing you more harm than good, stop altogether, learn to moderate your tipples or call Alcoholics Anonymous for the support you need. Those living with alcoholics will also find friends at AA.
Handy hint: Resolve to drink two non-alcoholic drinks of your choice for every alcoholic drink. That’s a brilliant start!

7. Learn something new
There’s nothing more esteem-building than getting an additional qualification under your belt. Your career options widen, you meet new people and you exercise your brain.
Handy hint: Community colleges offer a plethora of inexpensive courses. Remember: nothing ventured, nothing gained!

8. I want to help people
Daily the world shrinks into a smaller global village with catastrophes reaching us daily via the media, so it’s no surprise that “volunteering holidays” are booming worldwide.
Handy hint: If time is an issue, donate furniture, clothing and other household items for those less fortunate in life than you.

9. I want to get organised
Whether it’s your home, office, clothes cupboard or garden shed, almost everyone wishes they had better systems and processes in place.
Handy hint: Take one untidy aspect of your life and draw up a plan to get on top of it. Give yourself three months to achieve a sense of improvement, and once successful, apply the ­­same principles to more and bigger things.