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For all the downsides that Covid brought with it, something we did all experience is that things can be done in new and innovative ways. We were forced to examine the habitual way we had been thinking about the world and maybe acknowledge that we had been operating in that very dangerous territory of doing things in a certain way simply because that is “the way we have always done it”. 

We learned to do just about everything differently, in some cases in a smarter and more efficient way than we might have been doing them before. And through this heightened state of uncertainty, mindset was the most powerful ally. 

Now we stand on an imaginary finish line, where there is a collective wish for the year to end and a new one to begin. (To borrow a quote from Henry Ford) New Year provides the opportunity to start over – more intelligently. But, it isn’t truly starting over, unless you are prepared to examine your behaviour and intentionally do things differently.

This desire for change, combined with the particular time of year can lead us to make a bold commitment to a new goal or vision: The New Year’s Resolution. But we remain fixated on the target, often vague or intimidating, and forget to consider and articulate the steps that we need to take to get there. There are deliberate small behaviours that need to be actioned, and when added together result in a solid outcome. Until there is an actionable step, your resolution remains as just an idea.

The notion of change does not feel particularly comfortable though. In fact, human beings mostly resist it. So while the need or desire to change, and the action required to effect this, might be glaringly obvious, it is not necessarily easy to implement. 

However, you don’t need to change everything – but you can change something. Often a shift in one area of your day can have a ripple effect into others. For example, if you improve your sleep you will have more energy to perform better at work or in your studies; limit your distractions (I’m looking at you social media…) and you will have more focus time with your family and strengthen your in-person relationships. Arianna Huffington, in her work at Thrive Global, suggests taking ‘microsteps’ toward your goal. These microsteps are essentially habits. A study at Duke University (Habits – a repeat performance. Neal; Wood; Quinn) showed that 45% of our everyday actions are done out of habit. Given this data, you can see that it’s possible that if you change your habits you can change your life. 

How do you determine where to start incorporating healthy microsteps and habits into your life, and keep you on a path to your resolution? 

Consider the slightly abstract “big goal” you might want to set for yourself, and then break it down into its smallest possible steps. These small steps are designed to set you up for success, and with each step you take, you change your trajectory to a version of yourself more aligned to your personal goals. 

To help start this process I thought of some common resolutions and suggested an actionable ‘microstep’  which by implementing could set you up to thrive, rather than simply survive in the new year. You might also notice how they are fairly interconnected, and how one change might influence another. Once you have read these, I hope you are able to do a similar analysis of your chosen resolution.

Common resolutions:

Lose weight

• Actionable micro step: cut dairy from coffee. Cutting one thing out of your “habit” eating might be the biggest shift. Perhaps it is cutting out milk from your coffee, or instead of two sugars, make it one… then none. Maybe it is limiting your alcohol consumption to certain days of the week. The ripple effect that this can have in the way you feel, will manifest in the way you look. It is a common goal to want to lose x amount of weight to look a particular way, but if you make feeling better the goal versus looking better, you might find one leads to the other anyway. 

Get fit

Actionable micro step: do a set of star jumps/lunges/sit-ups while the kettle boils for your morning cup of coffee. Just move, it’s not lack of exercise that is dangerous for health, it’s being sedentary. The burst of energy might ultimately get you through some inertia, and this five minutes of something is five minutes closer to your goal. 

Meditate

• Actionable micro step: one minute of ‘box breathing’ as you wake up, and before you go to sleep. Dr Rangan Chatterjee (Physician and author) describes the process as nasal breathing: in for a count of four; hold in for four; out for a count of four; hold out for four. Repeat 5 times. This technique has been proven to calm the nervous system and take your mind away from distracting thoughts. It is reportedly a technique used by Navy Seals, and if it works for them, my guess is it’ll work for you. 

Have more adventure

• Actionable micro step: Take a different route to work. You don’t need to get on a plane to get out of your comfort zone. Turning down a different street, stopping in at a different coffee spot, will expose you to new people, new sights and new ideas. 

More work/life balance

• Actionable micro step: Declare an end to your work day, and stick to it. Commit to a “pens down” at 5pm (or whatever time you set for yourself). This challenge has been heightened in the work-from-home environment where it can be tempting to simply want to just finish one more thing. Compartmentalising your job and giving it a boundary will prevent work tasks eating into time needed for other valuable aspects of your life like family or exercise, which in turn help you work better. You will have to get comfortable with “unfinished business” but the ripple effect will be worthwhile. 

Study more

• Actionable micro step: remove distractions by turning off notifications on your phone. This decision removes temptations which pull our attention away when what we need to be is focussed. Tom Bilyeu CEO of Impact Theory and Quest nutrition says people should need to tap you on the shoulder to get your attention. If you start your day in an intentionally focussed way it flexes that muscle and allows you to develop your ability to stay focussed. By starting your day checking emails and attending to the requests of others you are always on the back foot. 

There are many more audacious goals which can be achieved but will remain dreams until you commit to taking the smallest possible steps to get there. Whatever creative actions you think of, remember that they are new to your routine, and anticipate that there will be times you forget to do them, you are still creating the habit. When this happens - simply begin again. Failure is not the end of success, but the way toward it, if you are willing to learn from it. 

Create the year you want. Will 2021 be the best of times or the worst of times? You decide. 

Lana xo