Change is the only constant

As we are almost at the end of 2019, it's good to look ahead and think about what the new year may unveil. Every new beginning is hope. The new chapter should focus on creating your productivity ritual, a routine that helps you to maintain a peak level of energy can get you the best out of your days.

While some habits are harder to quit than others, it doesn't change the fact that you need to get rid of them. Here is a quick list of what to avoid and what to embrace to make it a better new year for you.

Control stress eating

Sometimes we eat whenever we feel unhappy, stressed, disappointed, anxious, or even… happy! This has nothing to do with being hungry, and everything to do with using food to fill the emotional voids. We need to overcome stress eating. Try and have healthy eating habits and a healthy relationship with food today where food is no longer a tool to justify emotions.

Avoid hanging out with naysayers

We all know these people – people who play devil's advocate to every idea you have and every goal you want to pursue. We are already our greatest self-critics, so it doesn't help when there's someone beside us, ever ready to pounce on what we say and tear it down. Hang out less with these naysayers and spend more time with supportive people who share constructive feedback instead. You will be much happier this way.

Overcome constantly checking social media

Working on a computer or requiring the use of a smart phone at work creates a lot of temptation to frequently check social media. The distraction does not only lie with social media but also with personal and instant messaging apps. Successful people are able to forget about all of that external distraction while they are working. Forgetting about social distractions will not only give you back more time throughout your day and week but it will also allow you to focus better on what you are doing and be more productive and effective.

Let go of unhealthy relationships

It may feel like a hard truth, but not everyone and everything is meant to stay in your life. Relationships that have become unhealthy, those that don't serve you anymore, have to be repaired. If repair isn't possible, then you have to move on. Unhealthy relationships can cause stress, health issues and a broken spirit. If you're scared to leave, that's probably the strongest sign that you need to.

Focus on positives

In every situation, there are two ways you can react: zoom down to the problem areas and crib about how things aren't the way you want, or celebrate the areas that are going well and work on making everything better. Make a change — for every negative encounter you run into, I challenge you to identify three things that are good about it. Practice doing this for one week, and by the end of the week you'll find that your first instinct is to think positive, not negative.

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