Belated New Years Resolutions

Hopefully everyone has had a great start to the New Year!

While it’s unbeleivable that nearly a month has past us by, we’d like to throw out ideas for some last minute New Years Resolutions.

We’ve compiled a few of our own, and a few based on an email we received from Neil Strauss’ (author of Emergency) mailing list.  He’s got some great insight, and we always enjoy reading what he sends out.

So, if you’ve yet to make your resolutions, or have forgotten them already, give these a read…

Things You Can Do In One Day To Improve Your Life

• Register your full name as a web domain if you haven’t yet.  You never know when you’re going to want your personal website.  If www.[yourname].com is already taken, don’t worry – there are  alternatives like hyphenating or choosing a less common  TLDs (or end letters) like .ws or .me.

• Call your cell phone provider. Ask if you can get a better  calling plan based on your usage. This way you can afford to do the  next item on this list.

• Subscribe to a newspaper or magazine. Choose a topic that you  don’t know about – be it politics, fashion, culture, or technology  – and sign up for the best periodical covering that topic. Rather  than choosing the most popular magazine, select one that offers  the most in-depth and interesting coverage, like Wired for  technology or Foreign Affairs for politics or Mental Floss for  culture. Yes, you could read it all online, but it’s great to have  a physical magazine to read when you’re on the subway or on an  airplane or waiting in line somewhere.

• Get a passport if you don’t have one. If yours has expired, get  it renewed now. If you’re in America, you can simply go to most post offices with  two acceptable photos of yourself, proof of U.S. citizenship, and a  valid form of photo identification. You can find more information  here. And, for those of you  who’ve read Emergency and qualify for a passport to a second  country (if, for example, you have a parent or grandparent who was  born in Ireland), take advantage of that opportunity now, before  the rules change.

• Back it up. Most people don’t take the time to do this,  and regret it later. So copy your entire hard drive onto an  external drive immediately; if possible, download a program like  Acronis True Image that will simplify the restoring process and  regularly make backups (or for Mac owners, start using Time  Machine or SuperDuper). Also backup your cellphone, PDA, and  any other personal-information-storing device.

• Copy your important documents. Make photocopies of your credit  cards, passport, drivers license, social security card, birth  certificate, and other important papers. If you keep a journal or  anything similarly irreplaceable, photocopy that. Keep these in a  safe deposit box, parent’s house, locked file cabinet, or any other  secure location, preferably outside your own house. They’ll be  invaluable in the event of theft, loss, fire, or any other  unplanned incident.

• Look through your refrigerator and cabinets. Read the labels on  the food. Stop buying anything high in saturated fats, trans fats,  cholesterol, and sodium. And start shopping healthier today. Here’s  a handy free e-book from the government on how to eat healthy.

• Get business cards. Don’t have a business? It doesn’t matter.  Sites like vistaprint.com will send you 250 free ones (though  there’s a shipping fee of under $6). Never hurts to look  professional.

• Get your free Credit Reports. Check your credit report for identity theft, or any other  misinformation or errors that could harm your financial status and  options. You are entitled to one free check a year at  www.annualcreditreport.com.

• Make an appointment to get a physical checkup. Head off any  potential medical problems that may hinder an active, fun year.  Also recommended: make an appointment with a dentist to get your  teeth cleaned if you haven’t done so in the last six months. You  may also want to call for an eye exam if you haven’t had one in the  last five years.

• This is not for everyone, but some of you–and you know who you  are–definitely need to do this: Throw out all your socks. Every  last one. Now go buy new pairs that actually match and don’t have  holes in them. You’ll feel like a new man. Remember, get black  socks. White socks are for athletic activities only. I don’t want  to catch any of you guys here wearing white socks in the bars or  clubs!

• Get prepped: Go sign up for  a local CERT class (or an equivalent if you live outside the U.S.).  It’s free and will teach you the basics of survival and disaster  preparedness so you can be a local hero. Plus you’ll get a nifty  green uniform like in this photo. While you’re there, enter your zip code in the box to find CERT  classes in your area.

• Buy a suit. (Or a dress if you’re a woman.) But don’t just get  any suit or dress. Get one that’s slightly closer to the size you  want to be this year, whether it be a little bigger or a little  smaller than your current measurements. Try it on every Saturday  morning as a reminder to yourself to get in shape this year;  until, one day, it fits perfectly, and you wear it out and feel  like a million dollars.

• Decide to actually become a millionaire. You can find out how much money you’ll need to save here. And, afterward, it’s always good to find out what you’re worth.

• Shoot better. Zombies, aliens, whatever you’d like to be prepared to handle – Find a buddy to train with, Get some professional instruction, or at the very least read some books that will show you methods and drills you can run yourself at the range.

• Learn a new skill-set. Don’t let life get in the way of learning how to do something you’ve always wanted to do. Research what you want to learn and set aside a pre-designated time to hone that skill every day, or at the least every week.

What are your New Years Resolutions?