The Weekend Edit | 5 January Hacks

New year, January, blah blah blah. We're so up for productivity, but so not into the new you (we liked the old you just fine).  Here we have 5 New Year's (or just plain old January) resolution hacks you'll totally have finished by February - in fact, you could do these in your lunch hour - so we can get back to just enjoying life, alright?

#1 UNSUBSCRIBE FROM EMAILS 

(that you just swipe to delete anyway)

Ok show of hands, who looks at their inbox bleary-eyed first thing only to empty it completely of all the earlybird shopping and news emails? A great way to simplify your life is to cut out the little things that bring you no joy or efficiency - so embark on the slow and painful task of unsubscribing. By the time you've finished, your emails will only consist of what you actually want to read. Which is a bit more like it, really.

#2 CLEAR OUT THE BEAUTY STASH

Let's have another show of hands (especially amongst the bloggers, but most females will know this one), how many of you have a beauty product you've used once or twice only to move on to something else? Ask yourself when you last used it, and if it's six months or more (cosmetics) or a year (gulp - skincare, hair, otherwise), then bin it. Unopened and unused products you know you'll never use? Give them away or sell on eBay.

#3 BOOK ROUTINE CHECK UPS

Work starts to get busy again, which may mean putting off niggling health worries or that eye test they keep sending you letters for. Grab a free lunch hour and book the doctors/dentist/optician or all three - just see it as a New Year MOT (not a bad habit to get into).

#4 FINANCE OVERHAUL (sorry...)

Want to save more, buy a house or improve your credit rating (#adultproblems)? Address your monthly budget once your bills are paid, then sort out any outstanding debt as a priority. Don't forget to review your current and savings accounts and make sure they're up to date with your personal details and really giving you the best interest rate. Money Saving Expert is a fountain of knowledge for all things finance, so we say take a mosey on over there to get savvy on saving.

#5 RULE OF THREE 

Finally, write down the three things you want to have achieved by this time next year. It could be a promotion, a house move, a fitness goal, or something more personal - to be more relaxed, to give more time to friends, or to learn something new. Whatever it is, make it sustainable (i.e. easy to do within a year, don't use it as a stick to beat yourself with) and personal to you (and no, it doesn't have to be instagram-worthy). Finally, don't judge yourself for the top three things you find yourself choosing first - they probably illustrate where you're at right now and what's most bothering you, so stick with them.

A final tip? Remove negative influences from your life - especially on social media. Whether you're comparing your part time blog to a YouTube star's global takeover or a fitness model's thighs to yours - just hit unfollow, and be content with what you bring to the world.

Felicity & Lauren