Ideas For a Productive New Year – TPW328

Happy new year! If you’ve listened to TPW for long you know I like to use milestone dates as triggers for a little reflection and particular actions. One of those milestone dates, for me, is the beginning of a new year. There is nothing inherently “special” about starting a new year, but the feeling of a fresh start encourages me to do certain things to reset my attitudes and my actions.  Starting the New Year strong In light of the new year ahead of us, I thought that I would share some things we can do right now, as well as some habits to consider cultivating, that can help us have the most productive year ever. Turning the calendar from one month to the next, or from one year to the next, doesn’t actually have any meaning in and of itself, but it can be a great time to do a reset and take a few actions that will set you up for improved productivity in the weeks and months to come.  5 actions to take as the year begins Here are five things I encourage  you to begin doing right away, maybe even this week: 1. Change your passwords  It's important to have a strong and unique password for each account. Don't use one password for everything. According to the FBI early last year, they recommend using passphrases (longer is better--a longer phrase that you can remember but will be hard for hackers to figure out), ”combining multiple words into a long string of at least 15 characters” [from FBI recommends passphrases over password complexity] “Your email password needs to be particularly strong, as hackers can use your email to change the passwords for other accounts linked to your email address.” [from 9 Tips to Create a Strong Password That You’ll Never Forget] Make it easier to use secure passwords by using a password manager such as LastPass, 1Password, or Dashlane. 2. Schedule your annual medical, dental, and eye care appointments  Get them on the calendar now. Scheduling them well in advance means it’s more likely you can get an appointment at a time that’s convenient for you. Note, though: Several sources I read cite studies and experts who question the value of an annual physical exam for healthy adults with no symptoms, citing expense and little evidence that annual exams result in better health or longer lives. Talk with your doctor about the right schedule for you. 3. Pay attention to paper Set up folders or binders for important papers with categories such as medical, business receipts, school papers, and information for filing taxes. Go ahead and get started on setting your system up and gather everything that is needed. Putting all these papers into specific folders or binders can help keep you organized and on track. (Check out Lisa Woodruff’s book, The Paper Solution,