For many, it’s easy to get sucked into the vortex of festivities and plow ahead into the new year without craning your neck and looking back at what you’ve accomplished and how you got there. But this time around, I’m going to be a little late with my new year’s toast and hang on to my glass for just a bit longer while I step back, take a moment of time and think about everything I am most grateful for.

This past year I’ve opened and closed a lot of chapters, played offense and defense at work and in my personal life, and spent a lot of time thinking about where I want to go — a rhetoric that I will not open up here. But what I do know is that I couldn’t have gotten to this day without going back and saying thank you to yesterday. Much of what I have to be grateful for can be summed up in these five practices that I hope to take with me into the new year.

Break the routine and challenge your mind, body and career. With a new year, comes the need to challenge yourself in new ways both personally and professionally, and so begins the journey to say no to complacency and yes to stretching the the mind, body and career. We’ve talked about flexing your project management muscles by diversifying your skill set and picking up a new skill all together. Well within reach are online courses in practically every field of study you can imagine from project management to digital marketing to AI and Machine Learning. Learning on the go, during your commute and in between school or work is not only necessary to stay current and relevant in your field, but a means to expand your personal toolkit and think more creatively so you can break that routine. 

Pick up healthy habits that breed success. Eat well, sleep well, and exercise are critical factors to success. We hear this practically everyday, yet many of us sleep less than the prescribed seven to nine hours a day, blow past our 2000 calorie diet and fail to exercise the recommended three to four times per week. Why? Because life gets in the way. Oftentimes I  don’t think twice about some of the choices I make: after work wine or workout, post workout Gatorade or water, in between meal munchies and pre-dinner snacking. At the end of the day, how we care for our bodies affects our mood and performance. So next time when you’re faced with the challenge of making that choice between a calorie-buster snack or the “healthy high road”, ask yourself what you hope to accomplish with that next bite. Sometimes it’s the  calorie-buster snack that will be your source of energy, security and motivation to bring you out of the slumps — and that’s perfectly okay.

Know that a little distraction every now and then is okay. Outside of your day-to-day work and home routine, you ought to have something that inspires, motivates and pushes your creative boundaries. Having hobbies or something you’re passionate about gives you character and defines who you are — not to mention, it makes you more of an interesting person. Knitting, crocheting and drawing are a few of my go-to hobbies where I can make something that I can be proud of and share it with others. I bring my hobbies with me in my purse and try to set some time aside each week to work on a project to take my mind off of work. You too should have something you’re passionate about. It’s a way to clear your mind, be more creative and step away from the daily grind.

Find time to decompress in between all the noise. Let’s face it, we live in a fast-paced world where stress levels have reached new heights. From combating your daily commute to tending to those pesky notifications on your phone to succumbing to the pressures of work-life imbalance, we experience pressure points at every turn — and that’s not even on-the-job stress. According to The American Institute of Stress, 40% of workers reported their job was very or extremely stressful and 25% view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives. Talk about high blood pressure! That’s exactly why you need to yourself some “me” time. Whether you choose to rock out to your favorite band, take a jog around the neighborhood, hit the gym or indulge in your favorite romance novel, it’s important to find the time to decompress, catch your breath and ground yourself. As they say, you can either take control of your life or let life take control of you — and I hope you choose the former. 

Sometimes you just need to get away from it all. If those smaller periods of decompressing are just not enough and you find that you need to just escape from it all, don’t be afraid to take a mental health day and go off the grid. You might need to take a day off in the middle of the week and stroll through the empty aisles of Target on a Tuesday. You may want to cut out early on a “Summer Friday” and take a short trip up to the cabin. Or, if you’re like me, you just need to pack your bags for two weeks and completely disconnect. Whatever it is, find the time to relax, decompress, give yourself a break and most importantly, take care of yourself. When you are feeling your best, you’ll likely bring out the best in yourself and others. 

Even though it’s time to say goodbye to this past year, a lot of good came out of it — much of which I can take with me into the new year. Knowing that you don’t always need to start the new year with a clean slate or hit that reset button can be an assurance to many. What do you plan to bring with you in the new year? What do you plan to leave behind?