Plan To Make 2016 Your Best Year Yet

It's the beginning of the year and you may have made and broken a whole load of resolutions by now.

If you haven't fulfilled all your aims yet, don't worry – neither has anyone else! January wasn't the best of months to make a change. Maybe you were still paying off Christmas, the weather was miserable, most people started dieting and laying off the booze and all in all, everyone was a little bit sluggish.

However, now that February has arrived, it's time to really make a difference.

Instead of setting unrealistic goals to achieve by the end of the year, why not take things back to basics and look after number one? Choosing some very achievable tasks will leave you feeling better in yourself than forcing yourself to attend a gruelling gym class five times a week.

We've put together a guide that is easy for you to stick to and that you will actually enjoy – so your resolutions will actually be achieved this year!

Look After Yourself

You probably live a very busy lifestyle – don't we all? But scheduling some time to sit back, relax and pamper yourself will de-stress you, make you feel better in yourself and give you some much needed down time.

Set aside one evening or morning as your own personal unwind time. Relax in the bath, light some candles, use all the lovely bath products that you got as Christmas presents, indulge in a few skincare products to use, go to the hairdressers (or buy a hair dryer that will give you salon quality hair at home) and give yourself a manicure and pedicure.

Doing a full routine will leave you feeling fresh and ready to take on whatever life throws at you.

Eat Healthier

It sounds like a hard task to complete. The thought of 'healthy eating' is always pretty scary. We think we need to change up our whole routines, ditch all our favourite meals and spend hours trying to force feed our children with vegetables.

However, by making just a few small changes, you can live a much healthier lifestyle without a huge amount of effort!

Ditch the ready meals and takeaways and replace them with quick and easy home-cooked meals such as pasta dishes with fresh vegetables. A lot of meals can be cooked in bulk at the weekend when you have a little more time, frozen in batches and heated up throughout the week so you can serve them up with minimal effort.

It can be simple to make your favourite foods in a much healthier way, too. Coat pieces of chicken and fish in egg and wholemeal bread crumbs to make your own chicken nuggets and fish goujons instead of reaching for them in the frozen aisle. Home made burgers are also easy to make – just add an egg to mince with a low fat percentage, seasoning and chopped onions, before pushing into burger shapes and cooking in the oven.

Chips are also easy to make without the hidden oils and fats. People seem to think that carbs will make you gain weight, but alongside a balanced diet, you can enjoy them just as much as always. Try making favourites such as chips from scratch in the oven or an Actifry to enjoy a guilt free treat.

Travel

It may be a pipe dream to travel the world – we all have responsibilities to uphold after all. But if you do have the ways and means, throw caution to the wind and go for it. However, if you can't jet off for a year in the sun, you can still enjoy travelling. Book a summer holiday or a weekend away to look forward to. Whether you want sun, sea and sand, or a British camping break, getting away from it all, relaxing and having a good time can give you a whole new perspective on many situations.

Make one of your resolutions to get away this year – even just for a night or so. Everyone needs a break now and again and you deserve some time away. See, we told you these resolutions were going to be easy to follow!

Read More

Getting stuck into a good book is such a good feeling – and I bet you can't even remember the last time you did it. There are so many benefits of reading and it's a great way to rewind after a long day at work.

Studies have shown that reading helps to keep the brain mentally stimulated, strong and healthy, reducing the risk of developing Alzheimer's and Dementia. Reading constantly fills your head with new bits of information, expands your vocabulary and improves your memory skills.

It also de-stresses and settles you before bed time, resulting in a better night's sleep than if you were watching TV or playing on your phone.

Once you're into a really good book, you won't want to put it down. Depending on how you get to work, why not take it with you on your commute? A Kindle is perfect if you like to read on the go and can store all the books you're reading or planning on starting without the need to lug your entire bookcase around. They're also a great buy if you're going on holiday as you have more than one option when laying around the pool. If you're going to be reading on the go, always remember to put a case on to protect your Kindle from getting scratched and damaged.

Get Into A Proper Routine

We're all guilty of going to bed later than we should and sleeping in. Getting into a proper routine will ensure that you always get your eight hours sleep and won't be feeling groggy in a morning. Sometimes, it's even better for you to have less sleep than you'd like – oversleeping can actually make you more tired, especially if you're partial to an afternoon nap.

Set developing a routine as one of your 2016 missions and you'll notice the benefits pretty much straight away. You should have higher concentration levels, increased energy and a better memory. To get into a routine, go to bed each day at the same time, ready to be awake at the same time each morning – even on the weekends. Your weekends will be a lot more productive if you're not laying around all day, and you'll feel much better in yourself by setting that alarm clock and using it to your own advantage.

What are your plans for 2016?

Have you set yourself any goals for 2016 that you're determined to achieve? Setting New Year's resolutions can give you the incentive to do something you've always wanted to do, so choose yours wisely!

Let us know what you want to happen this year in the comments below!