Are You Ready for 2020? Finish the Year Strong with These Helpful Tips

Greetings Daizies,

We’ve got less than a quarter of the year left and I think for so many of us it’s still mind-blowing to see the year “2020” and realize that it’s not some far off mystical time. It’s right around the corner. The last week of December, a lot of reflection takes place. How did we measure up to who we wanted to be this year? Did we accomplish the goals we set out to do? Were you happy? I want to take the time to ease into that reflection and ways we can finish out the rest of 2019 in a way we can look back and be proud of.

Gratefulness Journal

For about a month I’ve been practicing gratefulness by writing 5 things I’m grateful for before I go to bed. It could be something that happened that day, or something that’s been constant that I’m just grateful for. Doing this at the end of the day helps to set your mind on the things that are going RIGHT in life. The funny thing about life is that there are some phases that are easy and there are some that are hard but eventually both of those phases come to an end. I just want to be as happy as possible through them all. Finishing the year being more grateful is the epitome of finishing strong. 

Your Health is Your Wealth

At the end of the day, how my body feels is the most important factor of the day. Especially as the fall and winter seasons are coming up, I have to remember to take vitamin D supplements because the amount of sunlight I’ll be getting is minimal. I’m celebrating the strides I’ve made with getting my IBD under control and have a consistent schedule for dietary supplements, especially probiotics. While you can’t fix every single thing about your health, it can be helpful to start with one thing you notice that doesn’t feel the best and look into solutions or habits that can help with this. I keep this in mind now with fitness and finding the will power to leave the house when the days get shorter and rainier. I started Total Body Conditioning in February and go twice a week pretty consistently.I love how strong my body has gotten and how my body looks. Instead of shaping it as “oh I HAVE to go” as an obligation, I look at it as something my body deserves in order to feel good. 

Time Management

So what has been working for you and what hasn’t? With this aspect, I looked at what it is I wish I could do more of and not quite able to do it. At the beginning of the year I wrote about having the discipline to be on a consistent schedule for DaibyDai. I always think that if I had 32 hours in the day I would be SO much more productive. But recently I had to stop and get real with myself and the reality of my responsibilities right now. I finished my first rotation at work and switched to my second role recently. With learning a whole new discipline and getting used to a quicker pace and more demanding job I easily can get headaches and feel drained when I come home. I know I don’t want this to be my life for the rest of the rotation so one thing I’m working on is first doing what I need to make sure my body is feeling good and also reorganizing my time so that I am able to tend to my passion projects. I’m working on this by doing all of my DaibyDai content development on Saturday so that I can finish the bulk of my creative process when I am fully energized. It’s lifted a lot of pressure from my shoulders of working a 9-5 and coming home and trying to write, edit, plan, and post content with 3 hours of the day. 

But you know what I CAN do with 3 hours? Research different hair products, write a weekly newsletter, schedule social posts, or edit a video I already filmed on the weekend. It’s still something I’m working on but it’s a step in better managing my time so that I don’t lose my energy at work and not have time for my creative outlets. I’m about two weeks into this process and it has had a positive impact on me because I don’t have to feel disappointed in myself for being too drained to write or make any vlogs. The bulk of my work is done and ready to post!

Look back at your New Year’s Resolutions

Lastly, take a peek at what you wrote down or said were your New Year’s Resolutions. It’s okay if they’ve changed or you no longer feel compelled to work towards certain things. That’s always the funny thing when looking back at things I wrote. It’s evidence that I change and will continue to change. What interested me on January 1, 2019 may not interest me at all in October 2019. A great thing to do is just figure out why. It doesn’t have to be because of a negative thing but maybe you got clarity on your interests or intentions. This is something to acknowledge and be aware of. With the resolutions, you are still interested in think about what you’ve done this year that work towards them. You can take it step by step and *cough cough* day by day, to revisit a goal and plan to do one helpful thing that works towards this resolution. It’s never too late to ease into making positive changes in life and you don’t have to wait until the New Year to try it even if you’re not as far as you want to be with accomplishing a goal. It’s really about being intentional with what you’re doing.

At the End of the (23 year old) Dai 

The year is coming to a close and with that, the year of 23 is also coming to a close for me. I am so excited to turn 24 this year so doing all of this reflection and checking in with myself inspires me for the next chapter ahead. Grace and gratefulness have been on my heart lately. I want to lead with that these next few months as one year and chapter in life wraps up. 

Remember,