10 Ways to Get Your Year Off to a Great Start 🎉

From less screen time, to taking yourself on the perfect date - here are 10 things you can do to kickstart 2019 in the best way ever!

January 1st is a date that many of us link to feeling motivated, albeit a little bit tender from celebrating the night before 🍻. If ever there was a time to make a change, or start something new, the first day of the year is a perfect excuse. Here, we’ve picked our favourite ways to start off the new year with some good vibes…

First Footing

There’s this really old Scottish tradition called ‘First Footing’ where someone is the first person to enter a home on New Year’s day and is seen as a sign of good fortune for the year ahead (which is why you normally bring a small gift 🎁). We like to extend First Footing throughout January and go to visit our friends and family who we’ve been totally meaning to meet for a coffee but have been so busy with work lately. As much as we can contact people from wherever we are, nothing beats spending time with someone in real life.

Take Time for Your Mind

When was the last time you sat in total silence and thought about how you’re actually feeling? Yeah, we can’t remember the last time either. Mental health is just as important as physical health and it takes daily effort to keep it in shape. Whether it’s meditation, speaking to someone or trying out apps like Headspace or Happy Not Perfect (our new favourite!) putting time in your diary every day for some reflection can only be a good thing ☀️

The Digital Curfew

If you’ve ever dropped your phone on your face in bed, this one’s for you. Our phones and laptops give off blue wave light, which although is great for keeping your attention during the day, can have a not-so-great affect on your sleeping pattern. Setting a digital curfew over the last few months has been one of the best things we’ve done: no blue light, no checking emails - just spending time with the people around us (or completely on our own) and getting a great night’s sleep 💤

A Hot Date with You

An entire day or evening all to yourself - wear your favourite clothes, eat at your favourite restaurant, check out that cool art installation you’ve been dying to see for ages (or you know, go skateboarding and grab a pizza or whatever). Organise some time that's selfishly your own, for a perfect date with you 🔥

Go Outside

If, like us, you live somewhere that’s absolutely freezing in January - spending time outside doesn’t come too easy at this time of year. However, it’s probably the best time to do it! Whether you’re going for a quick walk around the park or dusting off your hiking boots, spending time outdoors is scientifically proven to improve your health (no seriously, there have been studies on it and everything). If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out these Top 10 Wild Swimming Spots in Scotland 🌊

Clear Your Space

Everyone talks about spring cleaning, but if you bring that forward by a few months, your new year begins with less clutter, a clean space and overall, a less stressful environment. Check out The Minimalists for tips on living a life with less stuff and Jolie Kerr for all things cleaning (we love her article in the NYTimes Smarter Living site on how to clean every room in your home) ✨

Make Fun Plans

Something happens to your mood when you have something to look forward to (for us, it’s summer in general). Book a holiday, a gig or just a weekend of doing absolutely nothing throughout the year so you constantly have something fun to work towards. Even better, make fun plans every week - even if it’s something small like playing your new favourite video game - for something to look forward to all the time 🎉

Inspirational Input

The people we surround ourselves with, the things we listen to and the stories we read all have an effect on our outlook and how we feel. So, it makes sense to make all of those inputs as positive as they can be, right? Tailoring your experience and taking in information that motivates and inspires you sets you up for an all-round good mood. Psst - we’ve pulled together a week’s worth of podcast episodes for New Year motivation right here 🔥

Make Positive Switches

What if you could help other people and the environment just by doing what you’re doing anyway? By making switches in anything from drinking beer 🍺 to buying lunch 🥪 or maybe picking up a pair of sustainable sunglasses ☀️, there are loads of brands out there who give back to the planet and charitable causes, so you can contribute to great things, just by doing what you normally do.

Take it Easy

As much as January is a great time to make plans, go outside, get rid of all your stuff and maybe even start a business, it’s also a great time to just take it easy and spend some time to step back and look at things before diving in head-first. Often, when you try to do everything, you end up doing nothing at all and hey, there’s always another Monday to start things off again 🍹

What are your favourite things to start the New Year? Hit us up on Twitter @tens