1. Floss your teeth every day. You’re not fooling anyone when you tell your dentist you floss religiously. But there’s a good reason you’re supposed to do it every day. Maybe this is the year you impress all the hygienists at your dentist’s office by actually flossing.
2. Five dollar bill challenge. Put some money aside for a special treat next year by saving every five dollar bill you come across. Then next year you’ll be able to reward yourself with something extravagant. To make this challenge even easier, just save all of your change for the year and see how much you’ve saved at the end of 2017.
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3. Exercise during commercial breaks. For those of you who want to get in better shape but don’t have time to make it to a gym, do cardio and ab exercises while watching your favorite shows. Now you can’t feel guilty about wasting time watching television.
4. Moisturize. Not only is moisturizer good for your skin, but it feels great too. Make 2017 the year of smooth and healthy skin by investing in lotion and applying it every day.
5. Park in the back. Get a bit of extra physical movement by parking in the back of the parking lot whenever you go anywhere. Save the princess parking for the older people who need it and this small amount of extra exercise will add up.
6. Wake up earlier. Start slowly by setting an alarm for half an hour before your normal wake-up time and when you’ve gotten used to that, change your alarm to even earlier. The morning is a great time to be productive before everyone else wakes up and 2017 could be the year that you become a morning person.
7. Keep a planner. Get organized this year and don’t forget any appointments. Planners will help you be more efficient, both at work and in your personal life. Plus you’ll look and feel more professional when you pull out a planner to see if you can pencil someone into your schedule.
8. Replace fried food with grilled food. This seems like a small sacrifice but it makes all the difference when you’re trying to get healthy. The best way to lose weight is to change your eating habits and this is a good way to improve your eating without actually changing it.
9. Join a book club. Or at least read a book a month. Books can help you learn new things and even if you just read a little bit a day, you’ll probably learn something new. Plus, you'll make new friends with common interests by joining any type of club.
10. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Waiting on an elevator normally takes at least as long as the time it would take to climb the stairs so you won’t be losing any time. Besides there’s a good reason most gyms have a stair master: it’s a great way to burn calories.
11. Set a bed time. Consistency is key in regards to sleep and a bed time will help you develop a schedule. This will also prevent you from taking work home with you or staying up too late to work on projects, thus disrupting your sleeping habits.
12. Reduce your portions. To get an idea of portion sizes in comparison to what you actually eat in a sitting, start checking the nutrition facts on the packaging. Most people tend to be surprised at how much smaller the portions are. The best fix for this is to invest in smaller plates and even subconsciously you will start eating less because it looks bigger on your plate. Portion control is the best way to keep eating your favorite foods while also cutting back on calories.
13. Keep a journal. Writing about your day is a good way to organize your thoughts and remember important events. If you’re too busy to write a full entry of your everyday events, write one positive thing in your journal every day. This is often suggested to improve mental health and 2017 is the year to take care of your mind.
14. Drink more water. Everyone knows all of the benefits of drinking a ton of water. Buy yourself a big reusable water bottle and make a habit of carrying it with you everywhere and drink as much as you can. Eventually, you’ll be able to replace all of your soda, juice, and other caffeinated beverages with water. Excluding coffee, of course. Coffee is nearly calorie-free.
15. Expand your vocabulary. Get a word a day calendar and actually try to use each word in your day-to-day life. For an extra challenge, learn one new word of a different language every day and, with the help of speech videos, slowly teach yourself how to speak another dialect.
16. Develop your cooking skills. The struggle of many 20-somethings is trying to cook nearly anything without the help of a microwave. Become a real adult this year and try to prepare a new and exciting dish at least once a month. Pinterest offers hundreds of exciting recipes to choose from and if you stick to this resolution, you’ll be able to cook twelve different meals to impress your friends with.
