It's The Happy Arkansan Year, y'all. You may be thinking, “Amanda, WTF is this?!” Well, it's going to be a monthly blog post I will put out during the last week of the month that will detail some positive actions that you can do the following month. The positive tasks will be equal to the amount of days that month, and they won't put you out of house and home monetarily. Hopefully, they will all be individually great, but coming up with 365 tasks over the course of a year is a HUGE undertaking (one I wanted to do all at once, but who has the time to put that together all that right now?!)
So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this list of positive quotes. Get your #TheHappyArkYear self ready to read this list and don't forget to use that hashtag throughout 2018 so I can find you and send you all the love on your positivity journey.
1. Past Year Reflection
Take some time to reflect on the positive things that have happened to you last year. It's the start of a new year, but that doesn't mean that you should abandon all the amazing things that happened to you last year just yet. Take some time today to reflect on last year's journey in preparation for a wonderful new year.
2. New Year, New Word
Create your positive word for the new year. If you could sum up what you want the new year to be in one word, what would it be? Take some time to create that word and stick it up somewhere you will see it each day.
Your word has to mean something to you–so think on this word today.
3. Ghost A Negative Thing
Drop one thing from your life you don't want to worry about for the rest of the year. Be it a person, a bad habit, or just a food you eat ghost that thing like your life depended on it. You can leave things in the past! Make sure you follow through on this ghosting.
4. Start Your Positivity Journal
Writing things down can be extremely helpful. Journaling will help you make the most of your year as well as be a great thing to reflect on at the end of the year. This doesn't have to be something you write in daily, but obviously the more you write in this journal, the better.
5. Bake Some Cookies
Bake cookies (or eat the cookie dough, I won't judge!) Baking cookies is just such a fun, winter activity so get a cheap package of cookies from the store and bake them up this evening.
6. Charity Time
Whether you donate $5 or an hour of your time, a charity in need will thank you! I recently shared a post all about how to make your donations go further, so be sure to check that out!
7. Share Some Positive Vibes On Facebook
Write something nice on a friends Facebook wall. There is not enough happy and positive vibes on people's walls outside of their day of birth. Go share a sappy message with a friend for no reason other than happiness.
8. Donate That Ugly Top
You have my permission, throw away or donate one thing from your closet that doesn't make you happy anymore. We all have something in our closet that we just don't like now, so donate that top you don't like in hopes that someone else will love it or trash it if that makes you feel better.
9. Watch A Good TED Talk
There are so many phenomenal TED talks out there, all you gotta do is look for them. I am recommending one of my favorite TED Talks below, but you can pick any talk you want.
10. Explore A New Area Of Your City
Your town is bigger than you think. Grab a friend or go solo to explore a part of your town you have never been to before.
11. You Deserve A Bubble Bath
Take a bubble bath or a longer shower and don't feel bad about relaxing. Get some of the stress off you by washing it down the drain.
12. Call Someone Just To Chat
Call a friend or family member just to chat. I love just talking with my family (sometimes for hours.) You don't have to have anything to talk about in particular, just chat with them.
13. Make A Personalized Playlist
Make a personalized playlist for someone you love so they can discover some new music. I love creating mini-Spotify playlist so pick a few songs you think your friend or family member will love.
14. Follow The 1:2 Rule
Whenever you say something negative about yourself today, follow it up with two positive comments about yourself. This will make you very happy today and get you thinking about all the negative things you may say about yourself daily.
15. Fire Meme Delivery
Send a meme to one of your favorite friends. Everyone loves a good relatable meme so go to one of your favorite Facebook meme pages (we all have those, right? I am loving Petty Mayonnaise lately) and pick some memes your friends would love.
16. Get Excited About Your Hobbies
Think about your most creative hobby and do it for a few hours. Taking a few hours to relax with a creative hobby will help you recharge and spark some creativity in your life.
17. Pledge To Say Nice Things To Yourself
Pledge to say 10 nice things to yourself today. Whether you compliment your brains or your beauty, say some nice things to yourself today, throughout the day. Don't just start your day with 10 nice things to get this over with!
18. Social Media Authenticity
Be real with your audience on social media today whether you have a big following or not. Your authenticity could be exactly what someone else needs and you will feel better because you won't have to force yourself to be perfect on social media.
19. Unfollow Negativity
Unfollow a negative person in your life on Facebook. You don't have to unfriend them or cause controversy in your life–just unfollow them for a while so you don't see their posts in your timeline. Don't know how to unfollow someone? Check out this tutorial from Facebook.
20. Get Some New Tunes
Discover some new tunes. I love discovering new tunes I haven't heard before. Go to your music listening service of choice and find a playlist to listen to so you can find all sorts of new tunes at one time. If you love alternative rock (like I do) check out my post where I share 100+ alt rock tunes with y'all.
21. Clean Out The Moldy Cheese In Your Fridge
Clean out some of the stuff in your fridge. Cleaning out your fridge is a productive thing to do, and a task that we don't do enough to be honest. You never know what you will find in there, but you will feel better that it's in the trash and no longer in your fridge.
22. Small Treat Yo Self
Treat yourself to something small (under $5!) This challenge is not about going broke so I will never suggest a splurge, but you can treat yourself so much with just $5. Grab some coffee, get a book on sale from Amazon (it's surprising how many times I have seen books on sale on Amazon for less than $5, plus you can always get a Kindle book!), or get some donuts from a donut shop. Yes please!
23. Reflect On A Great Thing You Did
What is one great thing you have done lately? Praise yourself for that thing and reflect on it. We often don't give ourselves enough credit for the things that we have accomplished, and today is your day to do that.
24. Hit The Ground Running On A Task
Get a head start on something you have to do soon. We love to push back tasks that we know we should be doing, but what would happen if we just did the tasks when we are assigned it? A lot less stress, that's what!
25. Walk To Class/Work Without Headphones
Drowning the world around you out with music is fun, but it doesn't always make it easy to meet new people. Instead of drowning people out, walk to your class or work without your headphones. Greet people as you pass them by and put out positive vibes to those around you.
26. Stop Multitasking
We all know how I feel about multitasking (and in case you don't, I think it's killing our productivity and positivity.) When you are working today, try working on one task at a time instead of being pulled in a million different directions.
27. Read A Post By Your Fave Blogger
Read a post by one of your favorite bloggers. They would love to have you check them out, and you will love catching up with a friendly internet face!
Need some fave bloggers? I shared 25 of my favorite millennial bloggers in a September post.
28. Create Something You Pinned On pinterest
We all have that crafts or recipes Pinterest board that basically acts as a junk drawer where we dump crafts and recipes we like but probably will never do. Get out one of those crafts or recipes and actually follow those instructions today.
29. Sleep Like A Grandma
So many people want to criticize you or tell say you are a grandma if you fall asleep before 9 PM, but sometimes you are tired. Instead of trying to stay up to a “socially acceptable” hour, sleep whenever you feel like sleeping today.
30. Support A Friend's Business
If you have a friend who is running a blog or business, go show them a ton of love on one of their pages online by liking all their stuff. Engagement really matters in the blogging/business world, and your engagement can spark engagement by other followers and fans. You will definitely be appreciated for all your likes and comments!
31. Wake Up On Your First Alarm
Hitting the snooze button is not good for you. Instead, set the alarm right the first time. Wake up on your first alarm (and if you like it today, try doing it more often, you will really feel better doing it!)
Conclusion
That's it, 31 tasks to get you in a more positive mood this January. Join me at the end of every month in 2018 for a new set of positive tasks you can complete the next month. I cannot wait to go on this positive journey with you this year. Remember, use the hashtag #TheHappyArkYear so I can follow your positivity journey.
