5 Tips for Starting the New Year Off Right

I may have mentioned the utter chaos I’m feeling lately. 2013 was the year of frazzle for me. We wrote a book. My kids were in daycare and were sick nonstop. With barely a breather after the book was mostly done-ish, I took on additional work that left me little time for anything other than the bare minimum to survive — I’m not sure how I did. I couldn’t remember the last time I swept the floor — and we have a pug so there are entire dust-pugs in corners and under chairs. I couldn’t muster responses to emails that were more than a sentence long most of the time because of the volume of email I was getting. My office? Let’s just say that my husband wanted to move his computer in and rethought the idea because he didn’t need that kind of chaotic mess in his life.

For 2014, I vowed to declutter my life. To say “no” more. To get rid of junk, both literally and figuratively, to make room in my life for the important things. To focus on my kids, whom I don’t feel like got their mom’s full attention nearly enough. I vowed to do more yoga, as much for the calming effects as anything else. So when these tips from Leslie Hendry landed in my inbox and managed to catch my attention, I knew they were tips worth sharing. Leslie is a yoga and meditation expert, and the founder of AzaWhistle Kids, a growing brand dedicated to helping people of all ages create more harmony and calm in their lives by teaching them how to utilize yoga and meditation techniques to be better organized, responsible and conscious of their impact on their personal environment. I mean, could that have been written more for me? I think not.

5 Top Tips For Creating a New Year, New You

1. Start with a clean slate. Take an inventory of items in your home you no longer use or need and donate, recycle, or pass on to a friend or family member. Creating more space in your home will make room to physically and emotionally invite new energy into your life!

2. Get organized. One easy way to get rid of time wasters like searching for keys, sunglasses, etc., is to create a “home” for items you use regularly. By keeping these items in one consistent place, you alleviate stress and create a more efficient, calm living environment.

3. New Year, new habits. Part of creating a new you is embracing new habits big and small, like replacing your morning cup of joe with a fresh, invigorating glass of hot water with lemon. Lemon helps clean out your liver and gives you a boost of vitamin C, all without the jitters and delayed energy dump that coffee can cause.

4. Less fearing, more daring. Want to worry less and live more courageously? Start planning! By proactively pursuing activities that scare or excite you, you will not only become less fearful but also will be more engaged in your daily life!

5. Schedule “me time.” Most of us are pretty guilty of taking on more than we handle. One surefire way to create less stress and more harmony in the New Year is learning to say no to taking on too much, and yes to scheduling more downtime. Whether it’s a 20-minute meditation session in the a.m., or a walk after lunch, nurturing your inner world can do wonders for how we cope with the outside world!

I think she’s been spying on me. How did she know I’m always losing my cell phone and keys? —Erin