January Reset round-up: How to make 2024 your year
This month, we’ve been sharing a few ways that you can improve on your wellbeing or help create new habits that contribute to better physical or mental health. From a digital declutter to discovering online yoga instructors, we’ve listed some of our favourite ways and provided more information to make 2024 your year and round up our January Reset.
Making changes to your physical health
If improving your physical health is on your 2024 to-do list, here’s some resources to get you started.
- Check out a huge selection of parks and green spaces in our county with Explore Essex here and from Visit Essex here. Take a trip to one over the weekend for a walk, whether that be your local park or a new place to explore.
- Get motivated to workout from the comfort of your own home. The NHS has a few videos and other resources for healthier living here. If yoga is up your street, check out Yoga with Adriene on YouTube, or see what other creators and fitness instructors suit your goals.
- The NHS offers a health check for over 40s, and you should be invited by your GP surgery or local authority. Don’t forget to book any cancer screenings or health checks that the NHS offers for you too.
Boosting your nutrition
In the second week of January Reset, we looked at swaps and ways to make to your daily diet healthier.
- Eating healthier food is one of the things that has the biggest impact on your wellbeing. Our community fridge at Parkside Community Hub is restocked weekly with donations, and anyone is welcome to take what they need.
- Jack Monroe is an author and recipe creator who focuses on cheap, healthy meals. Check them out here. Most recipes come in at around £1 a portion or less, however food prices have increased since the recipes were posted.
- Over on our Instagram, we made baked chickpeas, which are a healthy and tasty snack to make at home. We also shared a range of meal ideas to refresh your shopping list.
Supporting your mental health
January 15 was ‘Blue Monday’; however, we agree with Samaritans’ message that mental health matters every day. If you need to talk to someone, you can call:
- Samaritans on 116 123
- Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) on 0800 58 58 58 (5pm-midnight every day)
- Papyrus Hopeline for under 35s on 0800 068 4141
Find more mental health helplines that you can call here.
We also shared a few things that you can do to shake off a tough day and get into a better headspace. This includes things such as:
- Taking a shower and letting the water run over you or changing into your favourite feel-good outfit.
- Put on a playlist and dance around your living room or go for a run to get endorphins flowing.
- Make something – even if it’s just a simple sandwich, you’ve accomplished something, and every little thing counts.
- Going for a walk to get some fresh air is always a good way to get out of a funk and be present in that moment.
- Give a loved on a call, or a cuddle with your pet since there’s nothing quite like it and stroking your pet can lower stress hormones.
We also shared how you can begin a gratitude journal on our Instagram feed. Find out how to get started with our reel.
Resetting your space
Having a messy house or desk can make you feel overwhelmed, so we shared some ways that you can beat the procrastination and tackle that task. Our recent blog post breaks it down into five easy steps. We talked about digital clutter and how to make your social media feeds a happier place to be, as well as decluttering your phone too.
Make sure you’re following us on Facebook and Instagram to stay tuned for our February theme!