82 Ways to Make 2012 a Great Year!

This post is based on an article which I published last year titled, “44 Ways to make 2011 a Great Year”, as well as my post “60 Small Ways to Improve Your Life in the Next 100 Days”– which was published on the blog Lifehack.org, and which was the most popular Lifehack article in 2011. You’ve probably heard the saying that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Use this post to make your plan for 2012, right now, and get ready to have a fantastic year.

Here, then, are 82 ways to make 2012 a great year.

Evaluate 2011

1. Create a gratitude list for 2011. What happened in 2011 that you’re thankful for?

2. What skills did you develop in 2011? Did you take any seminars or get any certifications?

3. What life area did you give the most attention to in 2011 (family, finances, work, health, spirituality, and so on)?

4. What did you accomplish in 2011? Be generous with yourself and try to make the list as long as possible.

5. What were your three biggest accomplishments in 2011? What three things did you learn from each of these accomplishments?

6. What were your three biggest failures or disappointments in 2011? What three things did you learn from each of these failures/disappointments?

7. How did you limit yourself in 2011?

8. Grab your list of goals for 2011 and compare what you said you would do with what actually happened. How did you do? Did you set too many goals in 2011? Were your goals too big (for example, you set down the goal of running a marathon, when you should have set down the goal of running a half marathon)? Did you fail to implement a plan of how you were going to accomplish each of your goals? Did you fail to set down how you were going to measure your progress on each of these goals? Did you fall prey to procrastination?

9. What did you learn about goal setting and follow-through in 2011 that you can apply in 2012?

10. Make a list of three things that you need to do more of in 2012.

11. Make a list of three things that you need to do less of in 2012.

12. Write down the smartest decision that you made in 2011.

13. Write down the biggest risk that you took in 2011.

14. What did you do in 2011 that you want to duplicate in 2012?

15. Write down a sentence that summarizes 2011.

Health

16. Create a list of 10 healthy, easy to fix breakfast meals (purchase a great cookbook or go online and look for recipes).

17. Create a list of 10 healthy, easy to fix lunches.

18. Create a list of 10 healthy, easy to fix dinners.

19. Create a list of 10 healthy, easy to fix snacks.

20. Each week, choose the meals and snacks you’ll be eating that week by referring to your lists of 10 breakfast meals, lunches, dinners, and snacks.

21. Establish a day and time to go grocery shopping each week.

22. Set a time when you’re going to prepare your meals for the week in bulk and freeze them.

23. Create a grocery list template (here’s a sample you can use) so that you can easily create a list of the groceries that you’ll need each week.  (You can consider creating a grocery list that’s ordered in the same way as the aisles of the supermarket where you do your shopping).

24. Set up a weight chart to keep track of your weight, percentage of body fat, and waist circumference, and post it up in your bathroom.

25. Purchase a good quality scale that will allow you to weigh yourself and keep track of your percentage of body fat each week.

26. Keep a food and exercise log throughout 2012.

27. Remember the 80/20 rule and give yourself permission to cheat a little on your healthy eating during the weekends (yes, Pareto applies to everything).

28. Choose a sport/physical activity you’re going to practice consistently in 2012. I walked or jogged for an hour 363 days in 2011 (I missed two days in the entire year; one of them was Christmas Eve). Once you make physical activity a habit your body sort of does it by itself without much conscious effort on your part.

29. Create a list of three small ways in which you’re going to start getting more exercise throughout the day. Here are three examples:

• Park further away from your office building.
• Get up and pace as you talk on the phone.
• Walk up the three flights of stairs to your apartment instead of taking the elevator.

30. Come up with three ways to make sure that you drink more water. Here are four examples:

• Set up your watch to beep once an hour to remind you to drink water.
• Always keep a water bottle on your desk.
• Drink a glass of water as soon as you get up in the morning.
• Come up with a trigger that will remind you to drink water, such as when the phone rings, or when someone says your name.

31. Create a list of three methods for releasing stress throughout the day. You can pick from the following:

• Repeat a mantra, such as “peace”, “love”, or “om”.
• Try a mindfulness meditation.
• Do a quick rundown of all the muscles in your body; starting at the top of your head, concentrate on each muscle, feel it relaxing, and then move on to the next one.

Habits

32.  Come up with a list of 3 positive habits you want to adopt in 2012.  If you need help coming up with a list of positive habits, go here: 58 Habits That Will Help You Succeed.

33. Come up with a list of 3 negative habits you want to drop in 2012.

34. Create a method for keeping track of your habits. One option is Joel’s Goals.

Finances

35. Create a list of all of your assets. This can include money in the bank, bonds, stock, and anything that you can sell quickly.

36. Create a list of all of your liabilities. This can include credit card debt, your car loan, your mortgage, and so on.

37. Subtract your liabilities from your assets and write down your net worth. Now come up with a plan to increase your net worth in 2012.

38. If you’re in debt, create a debt repayment plan to get yourself out of debt.

39.  Create a budget or spending plan for 2012.

40. Write down how you’re going to keep track of how much money you spend and whether or not you’re sticking to your budget.

41. Identify 5 ways in which you can lower your expenses for this year.

42. Start planning how to create one new source of passive income this year.

43. Make a list of 5 things you will do this year to educate yourself about money matters.

44. Start a dream fund, whatever your dream may be:

• Europe Fund
• Start my Own Business Fund
• New Car Fund

You can start by putting all of your spare change in a jar and build from there.

Home

45. Feng Shui practitioners believe that if you move 27 items in your home, you’ll create positive change and get your energy moving. Pick 27 items, and put them in a different place in your home.

46.  Create a “100 Days to Conquer Clutter Calendar” by penciling in one group of items you plan to declutter every day, for the next 100 days.  Here’s an example:

• Day 1: Declutter Magazines
• Day 2: Declutter DVD’s
• Day 3: Declutter books
• Day 4: Declutter kitchen appliances

47. Walk around your home and identify 100 things you’ve been tolerating; fix one each day. Here are some examples:

• A burnt light bulb that needs to be changed.
• A button that’s missing on your favorite shirt.
• The fact that every time you open your top kitchen cabinet all of the plastic food containers fall out.

48. Create a routine to keep your home neat and organized.

49. What three things could you do to your home that would make it more similar to your ideal living environment? Write them down.

Relationships

50. Who helped you in 2011? Send them a thank you note.

51. Write down the names of three people you want to spend more time with in 2012 than you did in 2011.

52. Write down the names of three people you need to spend less time with in 2012. This can include toxic friends, energy vampires, and naysayers.

53. Make a list of five ways in which you can strengthen your romantic relationship, whether it’s by having a date night once a week, taking up a hobby together, or going out for a walk each night after dinner.

54. Make a list of 10 people you’re going to reach out to this year: this can be friends from the past that you’ve lost touch with, possible mentors, people you’d like to network with, and so on.

55. Write down 3 people you need to forgive, or 3 grudges or resentments you need to let go of.

Happiness

56. Start keeping a gratitude journal: each day give thanks–and really feel gratitude–for five things.

57. Make a list of 20 small things that you enjoy doing, and make sure that you do at least one of these things every day in 2012. Your list can include things such as the following:

• Eating your lunch outside.
• Calling your best friend to chat.
• Taking the time to sit down and read a novel by your favorite author for a few minutes.

58. Make a list of 10 things you can do to venture outside of your comfort zone. This can be giving a speech in front of a large audience, asking for more responsibility at work, entering your famous apple pie in a contest, and so on.

59. Create a list of three small things you can do to help change the world this year. This can be as simple as buying a winter coat for a homeless person, eating less meat, or donating your old bike to “Bikes for the World”.

60. Conduct at least one experiment in order to move closer toward finding your life’s passion (Finding Your Life’s Passion: Conduct Experiments).

61. Write a list of 3 ways in which you’re going to have more fun and bring more joy into your life in 2012.

62. Write down three adventures you’re going to have in 2012, whether it’s taking a trip, going bungee jumping, or learning to roller blade.

Personal Development

63. What are your three most important goals for 2012?

64. Identify 5 actions you can take for each of your 2012 goals.

65. Identify 5 reasons “why” you want to achieve each of your 2012 goals.

66. Identify 5 ways you’re going to keep yourself motivated until you reach each of your 2012 goals. Here are three examples:

• Do it with others: create a support group or a Master Mind group.
• Divide the goal into small steps, set a deadline for each step, and reward yourself when you achieve each step.
• Take a few minutes to visualize each of your goals each morning.

67. How are you going to invest in yourself in 2012? Are you going to learn a new skill, attend a conference or enroll in a seminar?

68. Start a self-esteem bulletin board: put up drawings from your child that say “I love you dad”, emails from happy clients, a photograph in which you look great, and so on. Make sure you place the bulletin board in a place where you can see it often.

69. Identify three things you need to give yourself permission for. This can include the following:

• I give myself permission to be imperfect.
• I give myself permission to fail early and often.
• I give myself permission to listen to my own inner wisdom.

70. Keep a journal. You can follow Julia Cameron’s suggestion of keeping morning pages, or you can simply sit down to write whenever you have a problem and need to get in touch with your inner guidance.

71. Make a list of 5 things you will do whenever you feel yourself getting upset over something. It could be taking several deep breaths, shifting your thoughts to a positive memory, doing a round of Emotional Freedom Technique, and so on.

72. Identify 3 things you want to ask others for, but haven’t been able to muster up the courage to do so. This could include asking for a promotion, asking your family for a loan so that you can start your own business, or asking someone you like out on a date. Then, ask.

73. Write down 3 things you can do to improve your image and appearance, such as getting a flattering haircut, getting a good shave (for men), or getting makeup that better suits your coloring (for women).

74. Write down three affirmations for 2012 and then come up with five questions for each one. Here’s an example: write down, “I now have positive self-esteem”. Now transform that affirmation into five questions that will allow you to take action in order to increase your self-esteem, such as the following:

• How can I feel better about myself?
• What beliefs am I holding that make me feel that I’m not worthy of having the best in life?
• Who do I know that has high self-esteem, and what can I learn from them?
• Is there someone who’s constantly putting me down whom I need to stay away from?
• Where can I find more information on how to improve my self-esteem?

75. Identify your five wishes. Your five wishes are the five things that you need to accomplish in life so that when you’re lying on your deathbed you can say: “I’ve lived a successful life”. Create a bucket list, or a life list, and then prioritize it by identifying the five most important items on your list.

76. Increase your creativity in 2012 by taking up a 365 Project, where you do something creative every day of the year. This can include things such as the following:

• Taking a photograph of something in your environment every day of the year.
• Reading a poem each day.
• Posting a flash fiction story on your blog every day of the year.
• Choose a subject—such as mandalas, puppets, or apples—and do something creative involving those objects every day in 2012.

Time and Energy Management

77. Make a list of 5 things you’re going to say “no” to this year. This can be commitments that are not aligned with your goals, constant interruptions from others, and checking your email every five minutes.

78. Identify 5 tasks that you perform on a regular basis which you don’t enjoy doing, and find a way to either stop doing the task, delegate it to someone else, or outsource it.

79. Keep a time log to track where your time is going.

80. Create a morning routine that will allow you to start each day feeling positive and energized.

81. Create a bedtime routine that will help you release all of the stresses of the day so that you c4n easily drift off into a peaceful sleep.

82. Make a list of 5 things you’re going to do to have more energy in 2011. You can read this post for ideas: 21 Easy Ways to Boost and Replenish Your Energy.

Happy New Year!

(2012 Calendar is courtesy of danielmoyle)

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I Recommend:

Imagine waking up each morning to a life that’s centered around your life goals, instead of trying to fit what’s most important to you into the nooks and crannies. “How To Live Your Best Life- The Essential Guide for Creating and Achieving Your Life List” will show you how.

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What important task or project have you been procrastinating on? Whether it’s starting a blog, writing a novel, going back to school, decluttering your home, or starting an exercise program, my ebook, “Make It Happen! A Workbook for Overcoming Procrastination and Getting the Right Things Done”, will help you get started and see the task or project through to completion.