Left Foot, Left Foot, Right Foot, Right… Dr. Seuss isn’t the only one with ideas to get on the right foot this New Year!

Here are some simple tools for beginning the New Year on the right foot

Plan

Dilemma: It’s January and you MEAN to get your 2012 planner. But you are sooo busy. In the meantime, you are writing in the rapidly disappearing margins of last year’s planner, scribbling notes and hoping for the best.

Solution: Get a planner. Yes, you can get mine. In fact, I highly recommend it! Or, you can get whatever works for you. Use the electronic version in your phone, or get one from your local office supply store. But get a planner. Not three. One will do.

Contact!

Dilemma: You need to call the babysitter to book the weekend. Now, where is her number? Suddenly, you are wracking your brain, trying to remember the spelling of her last name as you grope through the phone book.

Solution: Get ALL your addresses and phone numbers in one place. In your planner, phone, wherever. Take a half hour or so and get everyone you need to get a hold of in arms reach.

Prune

Dilemma: Yet another social engagement lands in your lap. You don’t want to go. You just want a quiet night at home. Truth? You don’t even like those people!

Solution: Start pruning. Say “no” now and then to the people and things in your life that you don’t need, don’t want or aren’t good for you. I am guessing the party will go on without you. Life is short. Spend it doing what you love with who you love.

Appointments

Dilemma: You feel a creepy film on your teeth and suddenly wonder, “When was the last time I was at the dentist?”

Solution: Take a little time in January and make all the appointments you need for at least the next 6 months. Doctor, dentist, specialists, even appointments for your car and home. Chimney sweep, anyone? Don’t get it all done in January, that is way to masochistic, but get the appointments on the books!

Stop

Dilemma: You run from activity to activity, non-stop. Each day is a breathless wonder of adrenaline. Yet, you often feel that ache in your shoulders or knot in your stomach. When you do stop, you drop, after, of course, downing some Advil for the pain.

Solution: Get in the habit of stopping to rest and relax on a regular basis. Think of yourself as a snowball headed down the mountain. If you don’t stop before your momentum gets out of control, you will go so fast you won’t be able to enjoy the beautiful view, and, of course, you will crash at the bottom of the hill for sure.

Try any of these simple tips for a great start to the New Year!