Milk Maid

Goodbye 2017, hello 2018! One of the most popular ways to ring in the new year is by making New Year’s Resolutions. It’s estimated 40-50 percent of all Americans will set at least one resolution for themselves this year.

Some of the most popular resolutions include: •Improving physical well being like losing weight, quitting smoking, exercising more, eating better, drinking more water, etc.

•Improving mental health like thinking positively, enjoying life. •Improving finances like getting out of debt, saving money.

•Improving yourself like becoming organized, reducing stress, watching less television, managing time more wisely.

•Traveling more and volunteering.

•Spend less time on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc.

•Spend more quality time with family and friends. All of those are great goals that should be worked on all year long.

However, most New Year’s Resolutions aren’t successful. Some of the reasons why they don’t work may include the resolution being to vague.

In a recent article on the New York Times’ website, the author said your goals should be SMART.

That’s an acronym meaning Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound. Clear, concise and attainable resolutions are the ones that usually yield the greatest success.

Then, there are people that make resolutions that are less serious or at least humourous. I like to try to be a positive person and I enjoy making New Year’s Resolutions to try to make the new year a better one.

I’ve put in some thought about what I’d like to see in 2018 and some are serious and some are just fun. Here are some of my New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Save more money.

2. Spend less time on social media.

3. Spend more time with family and friends.

4. Go to brunch more often with my friend Andy. The Whiskey Creek restaurant in Brookings has a terrific all you can eat brunch every Sunday. I highly recommend the omelettes!

5. Eat even more dairy. Butter, milk, yogurt, ice cream and cheese all sounds amazing.

6. Try at least five new types of cheese. I stick to pretty safe cheese choices but I want to expand my cheesiness.

7. Visit at least one or more of Minnesota’s creameries. There is one near Belgrade that’s on the top of the list. Last year, I visited Bongard’s near Norwood and it was really neat!

8. IF the Minnesota Vikings play well enough in January to be the first team in history to host and play in the big game, I’d like to go to some of the festivities in Minneapolis. The Jimmy Fallon tickets sold out right away, but it sounds like there will be many neat things to see all around the Twin Cities.

9. Be better at putting away my laundry as soon as I am done washing and drying my clothes. Sometimes my laundry seems to sit in the basket for a while before I put it away or it sits on my bed for a while.

10. Unplug from technology more. I’ve been getting a lot better at putting my phone down but there is still room for improvement. I find myself relying on my phone for directions, reminders, an alarm clock, for playing music, to use a flashlight and most importantly, communication.

Whatever your goals are for 2018, I hope that they are SMART and that you can do anything you set your mind to!

Happy New Year!