With the New Year fast approaching it’s time to leave the parties behind and embark on some self-reflection. Surrounded by leftover food and feeling the effects of too many late nights, it’s that time of year when everyone considers what they should change and set some New Year’s Resolutions.

Whether it’s a pledge to get healthier and shed those Christmas pounds or a desire to kick that long-standing bad habit, New Year’s Resolutions help us all make improvements on the previous year. Of course, with so many to choose from it can be difficult to know where to start.

If you’re a bit stuck on what do this year, or need help deciding between a few, take a look at our list of the most popular New Year’s Resolutions. We’ve put together some common areas you may want to focus on this year, along with some helpful advice on how to get started.

Health & Fitness

Whether it’s through diets to help lose weight or exercise to build muscle, top of the list for most people every year is to get in shape. For many, health and fitness is a broad spectrum, so it can be confusing to know where to begin. While being in good shape and training hard can be a great lifestyle change, being healthy is also a lot more than that. If you think you could do with shedding some of that holiday weight, you may be put off by the idea of hours at the gym.

Keeping a healthy diet and staying active is great for your body inside and out, and a healthy body helps a healthy mind. This can be as simple as making some small changes to your diet, such as swapping that Friday night takeaway for a healthier family dinner night. You can also replace unhealthy mid-afternoon snacks for fruit and other healthy alternatives.

Staying active can also be a big help, and that doesn’t have to mean slogging away at the gym for hours on end. Choosing to get off the bus a stop early and walking, riding your bike to work or organising to do more outside family activities on the weekend, can all help to improve your health in the New Year. These changes are small and easy to implement and are also much more fun than a strict diet and gym regimen.

Work harder

While it’s not always the most exciting New Year’s Resolution, choosing to work harder and put in some extra effort at the office can result in some tempting rewards. If you’re looking for some extra cash in the New Year; a promotion and a nice pay rise may be exactly what you need.

Rather than be weighed down by the daunting prospect of earning a promotion, make your New Year’s work goals manageable. Making small changes to improve your organisation is a good way to start. Better organisation can help you keep on top of all your tasks and even turn in work early, leaving you more time to impress with additional work.

To stay on top, utilise the tools you already have. There is a range of apps available for your phone such as Evernote, that can help you organise your work and set reminders for different tasks. There are also tools available to help you improve your overall productivity, and simply installing a white board for list making at home can help.

Self-reflection

All New Year’s Resolutions require self-reflection, but you might want to think about some particularly personal goals for the New Year. If you can think of something about yourself that you think has become a problem, such as a lack of confidence or impatience, then setting a goal to change this might be a useful start. Making personal improvements can have a positive effect on many other areas of your life.

Setting about making self-improvements can be one of the more difficult New Year’s Resolutions to achieve. If you have something in mind you want to work on, try to break it down. Start by thinking about why something is a problem. For example, lacking in confidence may be a fear of talking to people or of being wrong.

Next, write down some of the circumstances where this problem arises. It may in larger social situations, or at work when you need to put an idea forward. Once you know when the problem arises, stay alert for when these occasions come up. If you find yourself in a social situation, make sure you make a small step towards your goal. This might mean simply saying hello to one person. Each time the situation arises, make a bigger step, perhaps by asking someone a question. Each time, build on your previous progress.

Don’t forget, there are lots of resources online and a wide range of books available for help on all sorts of personal goals.

Selflessness

Another popular for the New Year is the overall goal of being more selfless. If you look back on the previous year and struggle to recall many times you really did something entirely for someone else, this could be a great New Year’s Resolution for you. Doing more for others can often help you be happier in yourself, and it’s always nice to be nice.

Of course, even being selfless has some selfish benefits. Whether it’s lengthy charity projects on the weekend or simply making steps to being more friendly and polite, being a bit more selfless is great way to build healthy relationships. Spending more time helping others is also a good way to keep an open mind and see things from other people’s perspective. It can help to keep you active and provide activities to do as a family. Plus, a few good deeds can also look good on your CV.

The good news is that it’s easy to get started with your New Year’s Resolution. Whatever you want to start with, whether it’s helping the homeless or taking part in a community project, there are hundreds of opportunities in your area and all over the world. After a little proactive research, it’s easy to reach out to relevant charities and projects, and they’re always pleased to have more volunteers.

There’s an endless list of New Year’s Resolutions to choose from, but choosing the right one for you is the most important thing. Why not let us know what your New Year’s Resolution is?