Belated New Years Resolutions

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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?

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