Achievable new year resolutions to start the decade on the right foot

Ioana Surdu-Bob
4 min readJan 17, 2020

Yes, we all know that eating well and exercising make us healthier. But statistically, how many people decide on the 1st of January that they are going to become healthier and actually keep the good habits? Not so many. This is because a number on the calendar does not inflict a strong enough emotion to change a habit rooted in one’s personality.

But… The holidays allow us enough time to reflect on what went wrong in the year past. So here are some achievable tasks which, with a few days of work, will ensure a happy and healthy start to the new year.

Address a health worry

I remember sometimes I’d worry for months over something that could be addressed in one doctor consultation. At worst, if the diagnosis is bad, they can treat it earlier. But, the best case scenario is that you relieve yourself of hours of thinking about it. If you are in Germany, make an appointment in minutes with Doctolib.

Nurture your relationships

Especially when being introvert or having a social job, people often have a wish to meet new people, because it can bring opportunities. While this is good, we must also think of what we have in terms of current relationships.

Let’s say in a few years you have a major life event you want to share with your loved ones. Who would you share it with? I bet you haven’t talked with most of them in a long time. So message them to show them you care, because you definitely do.

Don’t let life go by and take your bonds with other people with it.

Calculate your net worth

Knowing where you stand is the first step towards your financial independence. If you’d have asked me a few days ago what I own, I couldn’t have told you an exact number. And don’t ignore this point if you are not in debt. By not knowing, you are paying the cost of not taking advantage of opportunities.

Taking the average net worth of a german family (30,000€) and the current inflation, one can lose 600€ a year by leaving their money in the bank. On the other hand, 3000€ in credit card debt can lose you 500€ a year.

That’s a vacation in both cases! Of course, you might not be debt free, but you can reduce the interest rate. And even that can save you hundreds of euros a year which will allow you to repay the debt faster.

Finding ways to avoid losing hard earned money is the best repayment for a few hours of research on loans and investments.

Find a workaround for a disagreement

We always have disagreements, and our first reaction is “I’m right, you are wrong”. But it’s never black or white, especially when it comes to people. And you need collaboration to achieve goals on a bigger scale. So try to think about the other person’s point of view, and think of how you can slightly modify your view in order to look more appealing to the other person. It won’t guarantee success, but in worst case putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is not a bad skill to practice.

Overcome your past

Forgetting is difficult, as there are so many ways for memories to pop up in our minds. One is through items. Look at your belongings, and try to declutter. Think of what makes sense for you to use now. If you have sentimental items, you can store them away.

If you don’t have free space, you can rent some storage near you immediately with LetStash. You can easily choose the amount of space and the rental time, and get a lower price. Hiding belongings you are unsure about for a little while can help you figure out what you really want, and what you can sell without any pressure.

Distance yourself from your items to realise they don’t define you.

Find out what you want

At the end of the day, all the points mentioned above are not relevant to you if you don’t care about them. So think of how you’d like to be described by others in 5 years, and write it down.

And find your wishes at different scales. How do you see yourself in 1 year, and how does that help you achieve your personal 5 year goals? Is there anything that you can quickly do in days or even hours to achieve your goal? Even taking some time to research can count a lot.

Put yourself on the path of your personal success, and you will succeed.

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Ioana Surdu-Bob

Building smart solutions for real customers. Founder @ LetStash & Software Developer @ Blacklane.