* The 18 best things to try out in 2018
* Products that maintain your New Year’s resolution or give you a few more
* Get fit, learn to de-stress, clear your skin, and more
Have you ever abandoned a New Year’s resolution? Trick question – everyone has. To make things different this year, we rounded up 18 of the best products and services that make accomplishing your 2018 goals much easier.
1. Learn How to Master Your Time
More and more, time management appears at the top of people’s “stuff to figure out” lists. It’s harder than it seems, but also more rewarding than you might think. This course on Udemy is a huge help, teaching you to create manageable long and short-term plans.
2. Try Meditation
Meditation has made its way from a hippie past-time to a mainstream skill used by artists and business people including Oprah, David Lynch, and Angelina Jolie. However, diving into meditation can be intimidating, so we recommend this Chakra Suite music to help get started. Get more tips on how to start meditating here.
3. Declutter Your Home
Some of us dream about a clutter-free home more than we dream about having a chiseled six-pack. This book, Clutter Free: Quick and Easy Steps to Simplifying Your Space, teaches you to assess your space, and motivates you to start effectively clearing your home. You might be surprised at the results.
4. Start Journaling Daily
This five-year Q&A a Day journal asks a question everyday that makes you think about your life or yourself, focusing your thoughts and letting you see how you change over the years. The questions could be simple and quirky, like “What can you smell right now?”, plain intriguing, or thought-provoking, like “On a scale of one to ten, how happy are you?”
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5. Drink More Water
The science doesn’t lie – drinking more water helps with weight-loss, fitness, skin quality, and so much more. But upping your water intake isn’t as easy as it sounds, so we recommend this handy trackable water bottle from Hydr-8.
6. Illustration
Obviously, learning to draw allows you to make good drawings, but it also gives you one of the best (and cheapest) ways to de-stress anywhere. This book is great if you’re like most people (and haven’t gotten past stick figures) because it starts with simple, easy to accomplish drawings, and slowly gets trickier.
7. Find Out How to Land Your Dream Career
If you’ve been thinking about a career change, make it happen in 2018 with this best-selling book, What Color Is Your Parachute? The author is an experienced job-search professional, and the book delivers helpful advice in an interesting way.
8. Customize Your Vitamin Routine
Care/of is a new personalized vitamin subscription service that’s been getting a lot of buzz lately. You answer a few questions about your goals, lifestyle, and values, and Care/of recommends a personalized vitamin routine to help achieve your health goals.
9. Vision Board Your Goals For The Year
An inspiration board can help you get more organized, and accomplish this year’s goals. Plus, it’s pretty inexpensive, with good cork boards like this one (that includes 4 cork boards) costing less than $25.
10. Vow to Move More
Another way to support your new exercise routine is with a fitness tracker. You’ll find yourself paying attention to your progress, and pushing yourself harder. This one from Wesoo is a great option because it’s well-priced at just $30, and provides all the stats you need like steps, distance, calories, and sleep.
[caption id="attachment_100648" align="aligncenter" width="428"]
Image courtesy of Amazon[/caption]11. Take a Specialized Photography Course
With smartphones and cheap SLR cameras, everyone is a “photographer,” but few people are good photographers. Become one of the elite with easy, specialized photography courses from Brit + Co, and watch your Instagram following skyrocket.
12. Sleep Better
1 in 3 adults suffer from sleep-deprivation (which is more crippling than you might think), making better sleep a good New Year’s resolution. The S+ By ResMed is a great way to get started. The sleep tracker assesses your sleeping quality and environment and gives effective feedback on how to improve. It’s like having your own doctor that watches you sleep, but less creepy because it’s a robot.
13. Remodel/Re-Decorate Your Space
If you’re unhappy with the way your home looks, change it. With this book from Remodelista.com, changing your interior is easier than it sounds because you get advice from professionals on how to have a focused, classic interior aesthetic.
14. Invest in Your Emergency Preparedness Kit
Preparedness might sound like a boring New Year’s resolution, but with mudslides, hurricanes, fires, and storms all over the U.S., it’s not a bad idea. This compact survival backpack from Ready America contains everything needed to sustain 2 people for 3 days, and includes survival blankets, food, water, a first aid kit, and more.
15. Try a New Workout Plan
Following through with that resolution to finally workout is a lot easier with some help. We recommend this Focus T25 program because it’s very highly reviewed (4.5 stars and 2,100 reviews), reasonably priced at under $80, and easy to follow. It condenses an hour’s worth of whole-body activity into a manageable 25 minutes, and requires minimal equipment (resistance band included).
16. Start a Skincare Routine Based on Your Unique DNA
Having flawless skin doesn’t require hundreds of dollars and hours of your time – it just requires that you understand your unique skin type. This DNA kit allows you to find out your exact skin type, and tells you what products to use.
17. Commit to Cooking More
Cooking more in 2018 can kill 2 resolution-birds with one stone because you’ll save money and eat healthier. A great way to get started is with an Instant Pot, because you can cook just about anything quickly and easily – regardless of your kitchen. You’ll save time with this one, too.
18. Manage Your Stress
One easy step to becoming stress-free is being aware when you’re stressed, so you can stop and breathe. This tiny activity tracker called the Spire Stone clips comfortably on the inside of your pants, and lets you know when to chill out.