New Year, New You: The 6 Habits You Need To Give Up Now To Make 2017 Your Best Year Yet

1. Starting new fad diets

This is the year to forget the teatoxes and cray diets. Our advice? Take your cues from Ireland’s fitness bloggers instead. They train hard and they eat healthy, and crucially, for them staying in shape year-around is about making a lifestyle change. No cutting crazy amounts of calories and no endless hours of cardio, just hard work in the weights room and smart eating. To get started follow training duo Recalibrated Bodies. They share loads of free tips and tricks on all their social media channels.

2. Wondering what if?

Closure’s a bitch, but whether it’s relationship trouble or something career-related, it’s time to quit stewing in the past and look forward to the future. There’s no point thinking about what might have been or what could have happened after all. Repeat after us: everything happens for a reason and we’ll bet that major eff up in 2016 has only served to propel you forward into something amazing. What doesn’t kill you, eh?

3. Binging on social media

Twitter, Instagram, Facebook: you’ve got an app open for each one and not surprisingly it isn’t too good for your mental health. How can you get zen, after all, when each ping sends you into a panic, huh? A recent survey revealed that we check our phones a whopping 85 times a day and while it’s probably not feasible for you to give up social media completely, it is time to cut back. A hot tip: set designated times throughout the day for social feed scrolling and keep your phone on airplane mode when you’re not using it. Now, just sit back and feel your stress levels plummet.

4. Being late

You’re ‘that’ friend and all your mates are seriously fed up with it, but you can break an old habit no matter how deeply entrenched. This year, make it your New Year’s resolution to not just be on time but 10 minutes early. You’ll find yourself being more productive in work and your friends will definitely thank you for it. Need help? Download the Donna app. It’ll tell you the best time to leave based on traffic and travel time.

5. Binging on Netflix

Ever wonder what you did before Netflix came into your life? Us too, but according to self development author Robin Sharma it might not be the best way to while away an evening. In his book Life Lessons From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, Robin points out that your relaxation time should serve to reenergise and rejuvenate you. Hours of TV on the other hand only leave you feeling more fatigued. The lesson? If you’re not investing your time, then you’re wasting it, so choose to do something productive with your evenings instead. Reading an inspiring book, catching up with a friend, indulging a hobby or meditating are all good options.

6. Snoozing your alarm

Ah, who’s guilty of this one, raise your hand? There’s nothing we love more than hitting the snooze button at 7am but a study found it’s actually making you more tired than if you had gotten up when your alarm initially went off. Add to that there’s proof to suggest some of the world’s most successful people, like Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, get by on very little sleep and credit getting up early as a key factor in their success.

Start slowly if you want to get on board with early starts. Begin by waking 30 minutes earlier than usual, then an hour and so on, and before you know it you won’t give a second thought to rising at 5am. Sorted.

• 2016
• Wellbeing
• wellness