When I’m about to embark on something new, I inevitably want to make it matter. Year after year, I’ve treated the first of January with mixed emotions: joy, sorrow, anxiety, and hope to name a few. This time around, I’m going to be more pragmatic. I am going to condition my mind and body to prepare for what will undoubtedly be another challenging year.
The catalyst
Late December 2016, I reread one of my favourite books, The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. There is a lot of worthy advice in this publication but by no means is it intended to be a magic bullet whereby, upon reading, the reader miraculously finds happiness. Rather, it explores some very useful aspects of one’s life which can be examined in order to decrease stress and focus on what matters more, namely well-being and relationships.
Rubin begins the book by mentioning de-cluttering as a good starting point for alleviating stress. I heeded her good advice and prior to the latest countdown into 2017, I began by giving my finances and budget an annual health check. For example, I unsubscribed from services that I was paying for and not using, I sought out cheaper health cover, and a better deal on various insurance providers. Afterwards, I calculated that I was saving over $2000 in bills that would have continued as direct debits, easily unnoticed, had I just let them be. This is just a simple example of how I am choosing to be pragmatic in January and start the year off in the best possible mindset.
Throughout the average year, there have been several things on my to-do list that I daydreamed about resolving but the year got away with me. I am the kind of person who is in danger of procrastinating if I leave it unattended for too long. Hence, I am always reflecting on my efficiency, and whether I am being systematic about my workflow. Which brings me to my next project: I have de-cluttered my official website. One of my passions is writing and I realised that I had neglected updating my blog because my previous website was filled with outdated content. I also realised that my passions had extended beyond music alone and so I wanted my new website to celebrate a broad range of my interests: arts, education, well-being, lifestyle, and travel.
So welcome to my new and de-cluttered online space. I will no longer bombard my Facebook timeline with TL;DR type posts. Rather, I will express my thoughts openly here. Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Jennifer
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