23 Tiny Things You Need To Start Doing For Yourself This Year

1. Use good-quality moisturizer on your face every morning, every night, or, if you live in a dry, cold climate, both. 

2. Unfollow all of the Instagram accounts and Facebook friends that make you feel like shit. Unsubscribe to all of the random-ass e-newsletters that show up in your inbox even though you don’t remember signing up for them.

3. Color. Adult coloring books are becoming increasingly popular because they’re amazing. (Yes, that’s subjective, but you’d be amazed by how relaxed you can feel coloring in a beautiful and intricate page with colored pencils.)

4. Set aside time to just sit by yourself and be silent. Schedule yourself into your day. Use the time alone to meditate, read, breathe, take a bath, or, if you’re really exhausted, to take a nap.

5. Write down what you’re going to accomplish at the beginning of every work day (or the night before, if it will help you sleep better). 

6. Be aware of what you’re putting into your body. You don’t need to only ingest health foods, but make a conscious effort to drink a lot of water, and balance out your meals.

7. Save more money. You don’t have to aggressively save every month, but make a conscious effort to give yourself a savings goal, and then try to meet it. At the end of each month, evaluate whether you actually followed through.

8. Dress appropriately for the weather. You don’t need to look like a knockout in a hat, gloves, scarf and parka. You just need to stay warm. 

9. Stop to smell the flowers when someone is selling them at your local market.

10. Reading one article per day that you really enjoy.

11. When you talk to your mom, dad, siblings or friends on the phone, actually take the time to tell them what happened during your day. Ask about their day. Don’t spend the entire conversation looking at your work emails. 

12. When there are important software updates for your phone or computer, download them when you’re supposed to. You’ll waste less time wanting to throw your phone against the wall because it’s loading so slowly.

13. When someone offers you a bite of their food, say yes. 

14. Assess your flaws on a regular basis. Realize what you’re doing wrong. Keep your own behavior in check. 

15. But don’t be too hard on yourself. When you’re incredibly harsh on someone, realize that you could’ve approached the situation in a kinder way. When you put in a really hard day of work and not everything goes according to plan, don’t beat yourself up over it.

16. Make popcorn on the stove top.

17. Look nice on days when you have nothing special going on. You don’t always have to dress up for a date, or an important meeting. You don’t need to dress up just for the compliments. Pick a day, and dress up because you wanted to look good. 

18. Buy quality ingredients at the grocery store so that you’re excited about the food you’re cooking for dinner. Nothing brightens up a meal like pesto, good bread, or a fresh vegetable.

19. Get a lot of sleep when you’re not feeling well. Stop running yourself into the ground when your body feels weak, you have a bad headache, or you feel a cold coming on. Listen to your body and get into bed. Make yourself some tea. Have some Vitamin C.

20. Listen to comedy in the car, or on the Subway. LOL while no one is watching. 

21. Take a workout class you feel completely ridiculous signing up for. Try hip hop, zumba, or kickboxing. If you can’t get a friend to do it with you, just be brave and go alone. 

22. Stop showering every day (unless you have really thin hair). It’s better for your skin and your hair if you shower less frequently. You don’t need to grow dreads (though feel free to), but you should try washing your hair every second day.

23. Re: hair care, use the over-ripened avocados in your fridge as shampoo every so often. Your hair really will turn out shiny AF.