As January wanes and the rest of the year looms forward, it’s time to shrug off ‘resolutions’ and get down to business in making this year your best year yet. I no longer attempt to hold myself up to arbitrary standards of perfection and success, but I do invest my time and energy in the right places and I’m consistent with it.

Here are 6 rituals that I now keep on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to stay productive, energised and creative.

1. MEDITATION

Daily meditation. It works wonders for me. I truly think my world is shifting as I drop my ego and the ‘noise’ outside and focus on connecting my mind to my heart and listening to what comes up. It fuels my creativity and keeps me calm in the morning.

2. READING ACTUAL BOOKS

I’ve always been an avid reader – constantly soaking up imaginative worlds and wise words. I love my Kindle on any device and being able to have instant access to my personal library is everything. All my devices also get me the news, gossip, weather and the closest latte in a flash. But sometimes I need to just slow down and instead of devouring a headline or skimming through a blog post, actually take the time to absorb the written word. Even better when you can hold the physical pages in your hand. I aim to read at least one to two books a month.

3. POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS

What we speak is what we create. I’m sure I’m turning into some new age hippie, but I really have seen the power of speaking positively affect my life. When done on a daily, consistent basis, it can move mountains and create new neural pathways. As an entrepreneur, this is a vital key to creativity, to taking risks, to creating change. If you want more ideas on creating positive affirmations, click here!

4. DATE NIGHT

I want this year to be filled with joy and love and laughter. But I’m also a career woman with deadlines to meet and beauty sleep to get. For me, I use my planner for so much and that includes scheduling time for a monthly date night. I know it may seem like the end of spontaneous romance, but my relationship is important to me so I make sure to prioritise the time and energy with the hubs. Whether it’s with yourself, with your girlfriends or with a partner, ritualising it actually makes it something you can look forward to.

5. YOGA

Exercise. Flexibility. Relaxation. Focus. There are so many benefits of yoga, but I’ve never been able to hop onto the train consistently and make a lifestyle practice of it. When running around, either with a 9 to 5 or freelancing or starting up a career of your own it can be really difficult to find the time fit any type of yoga practice into your schedule. When I saw Yogaia, an online yoga studio, I was so excited as I was able to fit in live and recorded classes into my schedule, whether I needed a stretch at 2pm or 2am.  Finding time for even a 15 minute session 3 times a week has been amazing.

6. ACCOUNTABILITY

Being accountable to something or someone other than myself forces me to be productive, to get posts up, make calls, and basically get ish done #likeaboss. We here at The Moderna are lucky to have each other to bounce ideas off and make sure that not only things happen, but that we are taking risks and dreaming bigger than we could imagine on our own. Getting in touch with an accountabilibuddy once or twice a month can help you move molehills you thought were mountains.