Your New Years Resolutions… Online?

I can hardly believe that 2010 is just around the corner.  I think back to only 20 years ago before the days of personal computers, Internet, smartphones.  This time of the year, parents would have been running out to the stores to squabble with other shoppers over a surprise shipment of Cabbage Patch Kids.  That was fine as long as we were all home in time to watch Dallas.  We didn’t have Amazon or DVR, and let’s face it, who could ever program a VCR correctly?

Back to 2009… it’s mid-December, and I’m already considering a diet plan for early January.  With that said, I thought I would let you in on some of the free online resources I’ve found to be particularly helpful with popular New Year’s Resolution tasks: Diet/Fitness, Finances, New Job, Write a Book, and Work-Life balance.  Check these out:

Diet/Fitness

Whether you’re looking to take off some holiday pounds, makeover your entire body or implement a fitness schedule, the SparkPeople website is a must!  Sign up is free and easy.  Here are some of the highlights:

• You choose your goals and lifestyle and it recommends a plan for you to meet your goals.
• Online journal to keep track of food and fitness each day.
• Social Network allows you to connect with your friends, local community, like-minded goal seekers or even start up a fitness team.
• Message Boards are great motivators with all types of topics/tips from users from “What do you eat when you’re craving sugar?” to “My Back Hurts! Is there another exercise I can try in place of this one?”
• Track everything from weight, size measurements, blood sugar levels, cholesterol etc.  The system is very flexible and can be customized to your personal goals.
• If you love talking about health and fitness, you can even set up an easy online blog.  If you’re more of a voyeur, take a look at other user blogs.  These are real-life transformation stories and photos.  It’s quite remarkable.
• iPhone? – They’ve got an app for that.
• Last but not least, the system is structured around a points system and you get rewarded with points for logging in, completing fitness goals, reading an article online or drinking your 8 glasses of water per day.

Finances

Budgeting was possibly the #1 resolution last year, but it’s never far down the list after holiday season.  I was flipping through the channels late one night, and I came across this show Til Debt Do Us Part.  Basically, during each episode, young couples who have gotten themselves on a path of growing debt are put through a sort of financial bootcamp. The lessons are valuable, and I find it quite entertaining (mostly out of shock for the poor decisions people make).  So that brings me to my recommendations for a New Year Budgeting System.

Mint.com – This is an exceptional resource (and it’s free) where users can set up a budget and find great financial tips.  This website also has an easy iPhone app, which is great since you’ll probably be more likely to use a budget site if you can access it while you’re out shopping.

Bank Websites – Spend an hour over the holidays and get to know your bank website.  There’s a great chance that you’re not getting as much utility out of your online bank resources as you could.  For example, most banks will allow you to:

• categorize your purchases for budgeting management
• combine accounts (even from other banks) into one screen so you can always have an overview of your net worth
• automated bill payment to avoid late fees
• pay bills online to avoid cost for stamps and to encourage a greener environment

If you’re looking for something a little bolder, consider the financial bootcamp yourself.  I see that Til Debt Do Us Part has a 2010 Life Planner available for sale.  If any of my readers have a review on this, let me know.  I’m curious.

Find a New Job

It’s true that we’re living in an employer’s market these days, but be assured there are jobs out there.  You don’t have to spend all day searching job postings now that we have a few key tools to utilize for finding exactly what you’re looking for. If you don’t already have a LinkedIn profile, that’s a great place to start.

indeed.com – First, let me explain how indeed works.  As an employer, you don’t post a job on the indeed website, you link them up to your corporate website.  Indeed will crawl your website on a regular basis posting each job as you post them.

In addition to corporate websites, job seekers can find monster and careerbuilder jobs here too.  So, one would argue that indeed.com is a one-stop shop for job searching.  In addition, if you’re just keeping your eye out, they offer a job alert that can be set to your parameters and the system will send you an email with new postings as often as you’d like.

TwitterJobSearch.com – Don’t let the name fool you.  You do not need a Twitter account to use this website.  Just click and search.  It lists all jobs that it finds on Twitter.  For those who are looking for something to do today or tomorrow (such as freelancers or temp employees), Twitter can be a great resource.

elance.com – Looking for some side work?  This site is free to use with the option to purchase a premium package.  Employers list contract projects (most are work from home opportunities), and freelancers bid on projects.  I like to think of this as ebay for side jobs.  You can find a variety of options including: web/graphic design, content writing, marketing, sales, etc.  On the flip side, if you’re an employer seeking contractors, this is a great solution.

craigslist – I’m not going to say much about craigslist since most everyone is familiar.  I will say that the job boards on craigslist are still going strong, and it doesn’t seem that indeed.com is crawling the craigslist job ads.

Write a Novel

It seems like most people think of doing this at one point or another. Maybe its not as much of a novel as it is an ebook on house design or a children’s book.  Did you know that self-publishing is in full effect these days?

Createspace.com – I actually heard this mentioned in an episode of “The Office” the other night, and I wondered how many viewers were even familiar with what Michael was talking about.  Here’s the overview.  Amazon offers this service where you can write, design and publish a book for virtually nothing.  The only cost you incur is the purchase of one of your books to sign off on before they’ll put it up for sale.

• Publish a book for free
• Your own content and design
• Your choice of color/bw, size, number of pages
• They charge a reasonable publisher fee for each book sold, but you set the price
• Online community of other authors and professionals who give you advice during the process
• Sell your books on Amazon.  How great is that?

There are other resources for self-publishing out there too.  I have personally walked through the createspace process, and I find it to be a simple process with reasonable fees.

Work-Life Balance

More and more these days, people get so caught up in their fast lives at work that there’s barely enough time to sit down for dinner with the family.  It’s sad but true.  For this reason, there’s a blossoming trend for companies to provide employees with work-life balance.  Here are some helpful resources for bringing more balance to your life.

• Telecommute – How much time do you spend online each day?  Some of us could easily work from home Fridays. Every workplace is different, but many employers are open to this option. Most people who utilize a day from home claim that they get more work done that way.
• Quality Time with Family – When was the last time you took the time to seek out an opportunity to teach your children something they’re not learning in school?  Take them to a museum or wander through the local historic district and tell them the story.  There are so many inexpensive things to do everywhere.  You just have to look around and be creative.  Look online to plan for events that are coming to your area.  This type of release could be as good for you as it is for them.  http://www.familyfirst.com
• Lunch Breaks – For many of us, we can remember back to the days when we actually took an hour lunch break. It may be difficult at first, but you should pull yourself away at lunch time.  Take a nap, read a book, or find a place to strike some yoga poses.  Get away from your computer for a few. http://www.healthiergeneration.org

There are numerous articles online in regards to better work-life balance, but only you can find the best solution for you.  For workaholics, good luck. This will be a tough one to keep, but you can do it.  Start by making a list of the things you didn’t do enough of last year, and find a way to plan it into your daily schedule.

I hope you found something in here useful.  Happy Holidays everyone!