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A New Year + 100 Ways to Make it Amazing

December 30, 2021 /
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Since we’re starting a new year, it’s the perfect time to make some changes. I’m determined to make 2022 the best year yet. And let’s be honest – the last two years haven’t set the bar real high. Join me in making some concrete goals and starting 2022 out right.

If you’re like me, you read a lot of blogs about simplifying life, creating the life you love, choosing only things that make you happy, etc. because who wouldn’t want those things? But with all the self-help guides out there – who gives me the extra time to do those things. And to take it a step further – how do you know if it’s working?

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Enter: Level 10 Life

Recently I listened to “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod. (If you haven’t already tried Audible – I highly recommend it. It’s so easy to learn new things!) While the book as a whole provides some useful motivation – like the ‘Snooze Proof Wakeup Strategy’ (for those of you that are snooze button junkies like me) and the ‘Lifesavers’ meant to keep you from wasting your potential – the idea that I really loved (and have decided to use as my “template”) is the Level 10 Life.

What is a Level 10 Life?

“In order to save your level 10 life…you must prioritize and dedicate time each day to your personal development.”

In his book, Hal talks about the idea of ‘Level 10 Success’ and the ‘Wheel of Life Assessment’. Not only does he give you the idea of what Level 10 success can look at but he makes it very clear that we must give time each day to our personal development if we want this Level 10 Life. Now, I don’t know about you all, but for me to carve out another chunk of my day to do…whatever…is pretty much impossible.  But it’s a new year and that problem of not having enough time was so last year. So we’re moving forward.

While his book goes in to much more detail on how to improve yourself and your life using the Miracle Morning, here’s a crude summary of the key takeaways I’m using: 

  • Envision + Live According to Your Best Life
  • Start the Day with Focus

Envision + Live According to Your Best Life

It’s normal to want to improve our lives; it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with our current situation but maybe we want to get to the next level or have a more balanced life. In any situation, there is always room for improvement and transformation. And the best news? ANYONE can do it with some focused time and intentionality. 

Start the Day with Focus

If you’re reading along thinking something like “yeah, this sounds great! Tell me how to get my level 10 life!”, I want you to take a breath here and take what I outline below with a grain of salt. Yes, Elrod says that by having focused, productive, and successful mornings, we will generate the same outcome for our days. But, what isn’t always clear is what qualifies as focused, productive, and successful.

YOU have to decide this for YOU. My priorities will not be the same as yours. Heck, my priorities now may not even be the same 6 months from now. Be flexible when you look at your key areas and don’t be afraid to make changes. 

My Priorities

So how do you decide what you want to focus on in your life? For me it was easy. There are some things in my life that are non-negotiable. These are things in my life that will not go away, that will always be important, and bring me the most happiness when I spend time on them. Then there are some things that have some wiggle room, but are also still necessary to keep an eye on. Finally, I included my “me” things – things that are important to me or things I want to improve. (And, it shouldn’t be surprising but when I’m doing well in these areas, I automatically feel better about the other roles in my life. Take care of yourself folks!) All that being considered, here are my ten focus areas and maybe a few that might inspire you:

  1. Being a Mom
  2. Being a Wife
  3. Family & Friends
  4. Work/Career
  5. Physical Environment
  6. Finances
  7. Creative outlets
  8. Fitness
  9. Self-Care
  10. Nutrition

Wheel of Life Assessment

After deciding on where you want to improve, it’s important to also establish a starting point. Elrod suggests a Wheel of Life Assessment tool. This tool lets you visually see how you’re doing and is, at it’s most basic depiction, a pie chart divided into 10 sections (your areas of focus) and then within each of those sections, 10 more parts to use as your rating scale. Then, you have to do the hard part – actually rate your current situation in these areas. I can’t stress this enough – Be Honest! I mean, yeah, we all want Level 10 but chances are that very few of us are actually at a 10.

So where do you stand? Maybe you are totally killing it with your fitness routine – you might color in all 10 pieces for that slice. Buuuut, if you haven’t been to the gym in weeks and can’t even find your sneakers, maybe that’s more like a 3 piece-er.

Creating Your Own Assessment Tool

If you’re into bullet journaling, there are a ton of cute layouts you can use. Just hop over to Pinterest and pick yourself a layout and start doodling! My bullet journal is some graph paper in a folder and it works just fine for me. I decided on a bar graph instead of a wheel because that’s what was easiest for me. Let me tell you…things weren’t all pretty. 😳 (Remember I said to be honest…telling myself to go to the gym 3 days a week and actually doing it are NOT the same thing…)

100 Ways to Make 2022 Amazing

If you’ve stuck with me this far, you now have 10 areas to rate on a scale of 1-10. I’m not sure about you but that sounds like 100 opportunities to make things better! (No? I’m the only math brain here?) When I started this post, I thought I’d give myself 30 days to make some minor changes – I’m all about those baby steps; but, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted a concrete list of what I was going to do. This might be risky but what I’m about to do is put out my first 100 goals for my level 10 life. For all of you to see. (Yikes!) Some of them will be those easy obvious changes…some will be a little more subjective and harder to cross off. And I’m okay with that. 

So here it is – 100 Things I’m Doing to Make 2022 THE BEST (and you can too!)

Mom Life

  1. Take a family trip
  2. Practice more patience
  3. Go to the park
  4. Go for a weekly walk
  5. Put away my phone in the evenings
  6. Don’t fret over messes
  7. Do one craft a month
  8. Have a Play-Doh date
  9. Setup basement playroom
  10. Have a mommy and me date

Marriage

  1. Take an adults-only trip
  2. Read a book together
  3. Set goals for the year
  4. Have date night at least once a month
  5. Try something new together
  6. Practice more positive talk
  7. Explore Love Languages
  8. Limit multitasking with technology
  9. Complete a Project together
  10. Schedule monthly money talks 

Creativity

  1. Finish my outstanding crochet projects
  2. DIY Birthday and Christmas Gifts
  3. Take a pottery class
  4. Try stained glass
  5. Organize and purge craft supplies
  6. Learn to knit
  7. Try oil painting (again)
  8. Use up my scrap wood collection
  9. Teach someone else a craft
  10. Make a book

Fitness

  1. Setup our home gym space
  2. Do yoga once a week
  3. Lift weights once a week
  4. Improve my RENPHO readings
  5. Improve joint flexibility
  6. Try one new workout every month
  7. Do a Spartan Sprint
  8. 500 Meter Row under 2:00 Minutes
  9. 5 Consecutive Double Unders
  10. Improve Wrist Strength

Family & Friends

  1. Host a monthly game night
  2. Do more family dinners
  3. Take more pictures
  4. Be intentional with time and obligations
  5. Work on Shutterfly albums monthly
  6. Reconnect with old friends
  7. Have planned family time
  8. Take 3 family trips
  9. Take family photos
  10. Visit 2 State parks

Work

  1. Get my CAPM Certification
  2. Start this blog 🙂
  3. Use more automation
  4. Take a break from my desk daily
  5. Use my standup desk once a day
  6. Learn social media for work
  7. Update my resume
  8. Follow one business blog or podcast
  9. Cleanup my task list
  10. Limit (or cleanup) afternoon snacks

Physical Environment

  1. Make all my donations (Goodwill donation pile sitting in my basement – I’m talking to you.)
  2. Switch to natural household products
  3. Re-paint the Living Room
  4. Decorate for more holidays
  5. Do 15 minutes of cleaning per day
  6. Don’t keep things “just in case”
  7. Add more plants!
  8. Add rugs
  9. Setup basement play area
  10. Purge 365 items

Finances

  1. Spend less on “convenience” items (Starbucks, Takeout, etc.)
  2. Generate passive income
  3. Setup (and stick to!) a budget
  4. Increase savings rates
  5. Do a “Pantry Dinner” Challenge once a week
  6. Cancel unnecessary subscriptions
  7. Swap out disposable products
  8. Save for something fun
  9. Reevaluate credit cards
  10. Make an extra mortgage payment in principal

Self-Care

  1. Come up with a self-care daily routine
  2. Spend one evening alone each month
  3. Get new glasses (and wear them)
  4. Read three books
  5. Travel more!
  6. Subscribe to my favorite podcasts
  7. Perfect my mocha recipe
  8. Schedule screen free blocks of time
  9. Let go of mom guilt
  10. Delete unused apps

Nutrition

  1. Take my vitamins every day (not just when I get a burst of motivation)
  2. Cutout caffeine
  3. Hit my water intake daily
  4. Eat more protein
  5. Drink less Diet Dr. Pepper
  6. Eat fish once a week
  7. Cook with new spices
  8. Go meatless one day a week
  9. Make more staples at home
  10. Try 5 new recipes

There you have it – my first 100 goals for 2022. What are you excited about this year? What changes have you made so far? Comment below and share – you may help someone else get to their Level 10!

Want to learn more about Hal Elrod and the Miracle Morning? Check out his book available on Amazon and Audible.

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