15 Things I’m Going to Turn into Habits in 2021 (& How)

You know what they say…

Want to make something happen? Write it down. Want to make something a habit? Write it down publicly.

So that’s what I’m doing.

In 2020, I went through personal, professional, emotional, financial, and mental growth. Health-wise, it wasn’t great with the amount of tooth- and gum-related procedures I had to go through (and I still have some stuff coming my way), but I look forward to getting it done soon. And in the face of those annoyances, I know those procedures won’t be so rough if I focus on creating healthier habits.

Firstly, I wanted to acknowledge the habits I cultivated in 2020. In a year when anyone could’ve thrown in the towel (and we certainly were allowed to because hey, pandemic and all), I decided to give it my best. Not the kind of eye-bleeding, face-scratching, keeping-yourself-up-all-night type of best. But the “giving it my best” that accounts for mistakes, medical procedures, pandemic lockdowns, random purchases, and weekend getaways.

Habits I Started in 2020 (& Kept Up)

1. I started putting away a set amount of $$ into a savings account every 2 weeks so that I’d be ready to pay my self-employment taxes.
2. I made sure to spend at least a half-hour outside every single day, no matter what was going on. No matter how much work I had. No matter how tired I was. No matter how cold and gross it was. No matter if I just went through a tooth procedure. Because fresh air is dope. It’s like a mental reset, especially if you’re doing something like mushroom picking, walking your dog, getting the mail, cleaning the driveway from snow, taking out weeds, compiling fallen branches for a fire, etc. If your mind is always racing like mine, it’s great to have a goal when you get outside.
3. I went to yoga at least once a week. It was hard, especially because I’m more of a “lift-things-up-and-put-them-down” kinda gal, but sometimes you gotta do things you don’t like. Especially if those things help keep sciatica away.
4. I designated Sundays as my finance days. It didn’t matter if I was on a weekend getaway or just came back from one. Learning finance and keeping track of my spending, business expenses, and more, started to get me excited! I started to fall in love with it. And honestly, I couldn’t have done it without 1) my partner 2) Financial Legacy Lounge with Katie @ More With Money.
5. I emailed my list every. single. week. I even did it during the holidays! Sure, it doesn’t compare to other email marketing experts’ lists, but I make sure it’s highly relevant and that’s how I keep out anyone who isn’t an e-commerce founder and/or working as a marketer at an e-commerce company. No generic marketing advice that you can find on the first page of Google. I talk about the ins and outs of partnering with e-commerce companies in different industries to make sure they succeed using smart, targeted email strategies. You can sign up here.
6. I did a strengthening exercise at least once a week, even if it meant I couldn’t achieve the amount I normally did.
7. I started to deal with things right away and on the phone. It’s weird to say this but I’d always avoid appointments or talking on the phone with receptionists or something like that. It made me anxious because well…honestly I’m not sure. Probably because I wanted to figure out the problem before talking to someone.

Could I have done more? Absolutely. But for once, I’m not getting hung up on the past; I’m excited about the future AND the present! And I think most people forget about the latter. I’m definitely not this time.

Habits I’m Starting in 2021 (& Will Continue into 2022)

1. Eating less before bed and drinking more water. I’ve read the research on how eating before bed disrupts your sleep. I’m pretty sure that’s the biggest reason why my sleep isn’t the best, but I’m going to work on it. How I’ll do this I’m not sure yet — pretty sure I need to start by brushing my teeth earlier and then I’ll be less likely to eat after (it’s worked in the past).
2. Drinking more water in general. I don’t know how people drink 8 glasses of water a day but I have a feeling that my cousin’s theory on water being the solution to everything is bang on. How I’m going to do this? MULTIPLE BOTTLES EVERYWHERE. It’s helped me get to 5 glasses a day so far.
3. Falling asleep in front of a book instead of a screen. I can never just fall asleep on my own. My mind’s too active and that’s why I’d turn Friends on every night before I go to sleep. It’s enough of a distraction to get my mind calm but not interesting enough to keep me up because I’ve seen it 87 times by now. 2021 WILL BE MY YEAR THOUGH. Pretty sure Netflix Canada took the show off just for me. Or maybe I need to chuck my laptop out of my room otherwise I’ll watch HIMYM.
4. Sticking to a more consistent fitness schedule. I’m pretty good when it comes to keeping up my fitness, but I could definitely exercise more often. Today I thought of how I’ll do it: hanging up fitness clothes on my door so that I’m more likely to put them on and when I put them on, I’m more likely to work out.
5. Doing more partner fitness. He ain’t a fan of strength training. I ain’t a fan of cardio. You’re probably wondering: How the hell you gonna pull this off? Well subconscious (or reader who’s reading this), it’s something I’m going to figure out. Wish me luck.
6. Cooking more raw, vegan, and vegetarian meals. Well, trying to eat healthier in general, while being a damn good cook in the process. The hardest thing about this is that my partner loves meat. And I love NOT being limited by what to cook. So…that’s a work in progress too.
7. Having no chocolate days. No chocolate hours. No chocolate minutes? Okay, you caught me brown-handed. I’m a chocoholic and it’s a real problem. But I’m trying to be better…
8. Waking up and GETTING UP. No scrolling in bed! (That reminds me of another habit I took control of in 2020: not checking on work emails in bed. Now it’s time to take it a step further.) The only thing I’ll do is check the time and drink some water before getting up.
9. More writing for myself, on Medium, on my website, etc. Preferably in the morning, otherwise I feel like I’ll be too drained in the evening. At least one article per week. I always talk myself out of it because I think it’s been written about before, but then I remember people saying it’s still important to write because it hasn’t been written in your voice before. Because what ideas are original these days? It’s like what Schmidt from New Girl once said: “The economy stinks, bees are dying and movies are pretty much all sequels now.” I hear ya Schmidty. Clickup will come in handy with reminders. I realized that Google calendar reminders in the morning suck. I swipe ’em away with no remorse. But Clickup ones you have to click on through to the app with the task staring at you until it’s eaten you alive with the only left being your guilt.
10. Guest posting! Weekends will be the time when I research what website would be best for the type of post I’m thinking about writing.
11. Linkedin posts every damn day. There’s a lot about Linkedin that sucks. Lots of comparing yourself to others. Lots of pretentious folks. Lots of posts that make you want to say “go sit in a dumpster and think about what you just wrote” (about 80% of them will end up being yours). Nevertheless, Linkedin is great for building authority and talking to incredible folk. I’ve learned a lot from there and I definitely want to continue (and hope I help people in the process).
12. Learning a new house-related thing like woodworking, plumbing, electrical, etc from my dad at least once a month by asking him on the weekends to show me.
13. Helping my mom transition her business online with email marketing and videos at least once a week.
14. Contributing to my TFSA monthly — investing always scared me because the market is entirely out of my hands but I’m facing my fears now. Finance Sundays are going to help with that.
15. Putting away a set amount of $$ every 2 weeks into a personal savings account for vacations, furniture upgrades, decor, etc.

I definitely have my work cut out for me but I’m excited to tackle these new health, financial, personal, business, and personal habits.

Rock on, Neeks.