It’s that time of year again when we start coming down from the Christmas holidays and begin to gear up for the new year.

If you’re anything like the many patients we see at this time of year, you’re likely quite exhausted now from family functions, lack of sufficient holidays, frantic shopping, and stress. Many in your situation become ill with colds and flu as their bodies finally succumb to weakened immune systems.

Perhaps, then, if we’re going to have any resolutions at all in 2010, we need to simply resolve to listen better to what our bodies are telling us.

• If you feel tired, rest, even if only for ten or fifteen minutes.
• If you’re not getting enough sleep, set a schedule that means you’re in bed every night by 10:00 pm. Stick to it. A sleep schedule helps regulate your sleep cycle and aids in giving you better quality sleep.
• Feed yourself only what makes you feel good. If you overindulge, a homeopathic remedy called nux vomica (no, it does not make you throw up!) can help, but try not to make that a habit!
• Say no if you want to; stop agreeing to things you don’t want to do or don’t have time to do. People will understand.
• Simplify! Organizing your life can help simplify it. But dumping unnecessary things that take up too much of your time or space (whether physical or emotional) will make a huge difference in how you feel and how efficient you can be.
• Slot time for yourself every day, even if it’s only a fifteen minutes, though preferably make more time. Read a magazine or book with a cup of herbal tea, watch a movie, take a bath, practise deep breathing and meditation, or snuggle with your pet. If you prefer to be active, go skating, tobogganing, for a walk, or to the gym. Try to schedule this time in and stick to the times as best as you can. Soon they will become good habits and thus less of an effort.
• Prioritize. You’d be amazed by how much prioritizing can change your life. It’s difficult to do, but once it’s done, you will find you have more time for the things that are truly important. Often, we become overwhelmed because we see everything we have to do at once. This means we’ve lost perspective. Talk to someone who cares about you and see if they can help you put things back into perspective and help you prioritize the things on your mind. Alternatively, make a list of all the things running through your head. One by one, go down your list, honestly numbering them in order of importance. Some of them you may even be able to drop from your list. These will likely be time wasters, whether unproductive things or worries you can do nothing about.
• Tell yourself that everything will be all right. You may not realize or even believe it then, but it is true.

You can have a great new year. But only if you decide to—and then act on your decision.