1. Giving up booze
Dry January irritates the hell out of me. Advertised and encouraged as a good way to start the new year in a healthy fashion, but then, oh, yes, you want me to sponsor you for it. I'm please for you if you want to give your liver a little helping hand cleansing all those toxins you might have succumbed to over the Christmas period, but please don't ask me to sponsor your new found allegiance to your internal organs.
2. Decluttering or clearing out
I'm a bit obsessive about clearing things out and have many times gotten rid of things I've later regretted not having in my cupboards or wardrobe. The temptation is strong- there are new things that have had to homes found for them, I've had extended periods of time in my flat noticing untidy shelves or a drawer that needs organising. But if I can overdo clearance on a normal day, I am a tiny bit terrified of what might happen should I get caught up in new year hype.
3. Going back to work
You've had two weeks off for the Christmas period? I'm pleased for you. Whilst I've not been working as full on as I would usually, the nature of our business means that it never really stops. Being associated with the catering and hospitality sector actually means now is as good a time to take holidays as any, or in my case, implement the hell out of my new strategies for the 2016 season.
4. Joining a gym
Because I hate working out surrounded by lots of people and the logistics of needing to be in a specific place have time and again proven to be the downfall of using a membership. Add more into my training routine, cool. New goal for my 10k time, for sure. Gyms, step away from the membership application.
5. Losing weight
Yes, I should be a couple of kilos lighter than I am, no, I'm not making potentially damaging changes to my diet for the first month of the year to suffer for it through the rest of 2016. I am returning a bit more 'to normal' which means ditching the weak-willed-Wednesday-wine (if you're raising your eyebrows re: Dry January, normal for me is not drinking Mon-Thurs...) and eating 3 meals a day, non of which have their main feature as cheese. But there will be no veto on the remainder of the Christmas cake and all of the extra training I have plotted for January has to do with the little challenge I set myself for my first 10k race of the year, exactly one month after my last race of 2015. Because competitive, me, hell no.
