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Tips for the New Year

January 3, 2016 by Diane

Gone Fishing

It’s time, once again, for me to take a break from my blog. But I’m leaving you with some handy tips to help you navigate 2016. Some of these nuggets of nuttiness, er, wisdom, I’ve posted before. Others are goodies I’ve discovered over the past year. Enjoy!

Do you want to gain or lose weight? Curious about how many calories you’re scarfing down daily, and whether you’re getting the right amounts of vitamins, minerals, carbs, fats and protein? Check out Cronometer, a free web application for tracking your nutrition, health data, diet, exercise and biometrics (whatever the heck those are). It’s an eye-opening experience.

Is this the year you start writing your novel? Need a support group, maybe some guidance? Sign on to Now Novel, a structured method to help you start and finish your masterpiece. You’ll be prompted with questions about mood, theme, character, plot and so on, guiding you to develop a blueprint of your novel. You’ll also have the opportunity to get feedback from other writer’s on the site, as well as give feedback. This might be just the nudge you need to reach your fiction-writing goal.

Okay, you’re ready to warm up those writing muscles again, but you only have fifteen minutes a day to devote to your creativity. Here are fifteen writing exercises you can do in fifteen minutes. Set your timer!

If you’re starting a blog this year, here are 8 tips about blogging from one who knows (and my nutty take on it all).

Looking back at 2015, do you have any regrets? Any incomplete actions, unfulfilled dreams? Turn your regrets into intentions for 2016 in one easy step.

Got stress? If not, I want to know your secret. But if you’re like me, reeling from the holidays (or is that holi-daze?), you need some easy stress busters. When I was riffling through some old files, I happened to come across a list of 52 proven stress reducers. I don’t know where they came from or who proved them, but I’ll share four with you now. Try one a week for the next month:

  1. Go to bed fifteen minutes earlier. If necessary, use an alarm clock to remind you.
  2. Every day, do something you really enjoy.
  3. If an especially unpleasant task faces you, do it early in the day and get it over with.
  4. Do something for somebody else.

 

Last but not least, if you’re an introvert and you want to get out of your comfort zone and attend an event, I offer hope for introverts who feel like party poopers.

Happy 2016!

 


11 Comments »

  1. Joan says:

    Where are you going?

  2. Heather says:

    Happy New Year, Diane! Enjoy your break. The holiday season was my break even though it was still busy. I’m already looking forward to spring break. 😉 I’m definitely going to try that tip of going to bed 15 minutes earlier!

    • Diane says:

      Yeah, I’m trying to get to bed 15 minutes earlier as well. That means showering 15 minutes earlier, and reading 15 minutes earlier, and meditating 15 minutes earlier…and so on.

  3. Paula says:

    You go, grrl! Enjoy the focus time. We’ll leave the light on for you…

  4. M.W. Thomas says:

    I don’t know what you’re up to, but whatever it is best wishes for success!

  5. Bun Karyudo says:

    I was looking round my room to see if there were any regrets lying about. The only thing I could think of is that I still haven’t read Don Quixote, despite having wanted to for years and finally buying the book last February.

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