When it comes to moving into a new year, particularly one that follows such a difficult start to the decade, it’s not too assumptive to say that many people are looking for a fresh start. While we’re not out of the woods in regards to managing this pandemic yet, there is real hope on the horizon. So, to the degree that we’re ethically responsible and able, it can be nice to consider how to not only survive, but thrive in our yearly planning. Remember, this doesn’t mean you have to achieve every little goal you could ever set for yourself, nor does it mean you have to be perfect. It just means you don’t have to feel guilty about prioritizing yourself for once.

This is often what we term ‘self-care’, but it can be hard to know what the absolute specifics of this term means without getting into details. That’s totally fine however, because getting into details can be quite fun and instructive! With our following advice, we hope you can practice three of the best and most worthwhile self-care techniques to help you thrive in 2021:

Financial Self-Care

Financial self-care is often a very worthwhile task to keep up with. You don’t have to worry about being perfect, but some simple principles are worth keeping in mind. Budgeting, for instance, is a worthwhile place to begin. You can use apps like You Need A Budget, Excel, or even an Evernote table to ensure you keep up with your monthly subscriptions. This helps you feel like you are in control of your spending habits rather than them controlling you. It really can help in the long run, even if using boosts from Buddy Loans.

Getting Out In Nature

Getting out in nature, to the degree you are able to, even for a stroll in the park or a small walk with someone you know (socially-distanced) can truly help your physical and mental health. It truly helps you feel more expansive than you may do when sitting inside within all four walls. Even if you can only make this a bi-weekly event, you’ll no doubt feel much better for it. When we have a continual relationship with nature (even if it’s just your local park or getting out in your garden), we tend to feel better in ourselves.

Streamlining Your Priorities

Streamlining your priorities can also help you de-complexify your life and instead help you feel like goal-setting is a friend, rather than a behemoth to contend with. It might be that instead of achieving absolutely everything you want to this year, you focus on two or three things that really make you happy and that help you grow. Who knows where you could be in twelve months? Who knows what experiences you might have? Sometimes, being realistic with our time and putting it to good (rather than distracted) use is the best approach going.

With this advice, we hope you can practice some worthwhile and often practical self care techniques in this new year.