Five by Five

written by Kate Beardmore, Production Manager, Five by Five

The party is over. You now have more stuff to find a place for than you had a month ago. You may be feeling a bit stressed having spent too much time indoors with a few too many high-maintenance family members, and you feel like after all the indulgence, your heart might just be pumping gin and chocolate.

It’s time to make some changes.

Whatever direction your new year’s resolutions take you in, be it weight loss, getting organised, or improving your relationships, the internet offers a wealth of options for helping you to meet your goals.

WEIGHT LOSS
Of course, you’ll want to see your GP before embarking on any weight loss plan, but there are several tried and tested online weight loss plans to assist in your slimming plan. Besides the obvious slimming clubs we all know about, www.ediets.com is a great diet site. There are several different options, such as the GI Diet and the Mediterranean Diet. You can choose a plan that allows you to use convenience foods instead of cooking, if that works for you. A weekly shopping list and sound nutritional advice are also available from this well-organised site.

GET ORGANISED
Clutter is depressing, full stop. Over the holiday season, if you found yourself stressed by trying to find a place for everything so that all of your guests could actually sit down, you’re ready for a change. There are several sites that offer e-books to hep you sort yourself out. One of these is www.getmyselforganized.com. In addition to offering the book for sale (for about £10 – I bought it and think it’s worth that!), there are loads of tips and ideas, and also a free email newsletter.

IMPROVE YOUR LIFE - FOR FREE!
Whether you need to improve your relationships or de-stress, look no further than iTunes free podcasts. There is no better, free way to motivate yourself than the Self-Help genre section of iTunes podcasts. Learn how to visualise and manifest your goals with Law of Attraction Tips. Meditate to alleviate stress with Be Still & Know. You can even reduce procrastination with the iProcrastinate Podcasts. Download them to your iPod and listen in the car or on the train.

FIND A NEW JOB OR CAREER
There are hundreds upon hundreds of recruitment sites online that you can use to find a new job, if you already know what you want to do. If you need more direction, a brilliant website for job-hunters and career-changers is www.newlifenetwork.co.uk. Tips on how to choose a new career direction, improve your CV, determine the salary you are worth, and even personality tests to learn more about yourself can be found on the site.

Most of us have internet access both at home and at work, so information is always at hand, whatever your self-improvement ambition. So, it’s easy to surround yourself with helpful information, soothing sounds and motivational content.

Have a happy, healthy New Year!

To contact Kate click here >>

taken from the Fresh Start Edition of the Five by Five Review, January 2008