9 things you should do differently in 2016

Making resolutions is easy but keeping them is no mean feat, but do you really have to make them? Today being the second day of 2016, GARDY CHACHA lists nine things you should do differently and forget about the worries of failing to obey those rules you crafted as the clock ticked into the new year.

1. Do you; look you; feel proud of yourself

Body confidence is good for every human being. It is even more important when the person is a woman. "Women value how they appear," says Muli Musyoka of Hair Hub clinic in Nairobi. "Body confidence inspires a woman to be best at everything she does."

Presentation – from hair do and the general physical appearance – is also important for the people one interacts with. So much that dress code could determine whether one is welcome within certain spaces.

According to Wandia Maina, a counselling psychologist, it is most important that a woman looks and feels like herself.

"Don't do it for someone else: Look good as you would want and not as someone else would want. Avoid following trends that your inner persona would not revel in," Wandia says.

At an Eve Sisters event this year, Susan Wokabi of Suzie Beauty advised that every woman is born a different person so should be the way they want to express their beauty. "The difficult part may be finding out how you want to look. But once you know your true feelings then you should work towards looking like yourself. Don't look a certain way to please anyone other than yourself."

2. Do the best at work but don't live your life in the office

If you live in the city you know you have to work to survive. You give your employer valuable expertise and they pay you at the end of the month.

Work is good. Even the good book says whoever does not work should not eat. And holding up a career is good for one's CV.

"But you can't live your life just for your employer. You need to clearly define the time you are expected to work. And once you have given your employer his dues then you ought to plan other sections of your life around the remaining time," says Goretti Kimani, a career and lifestyle expert.

She further advises that those allowed off days should utilise them.

"Too much work can cause burnout and induce unnecessary stress," she says.

Never forget that your position at the company you work for will always have someone willing to fill it. On the other hand your life and happiness is irreplaceable.

3. Bestow enough time for your family, children

If you will be arriving and leaving the workplace at the set times then you are likely to have a lot of unclaimed hours in your hands.

Remember, if you are a mother, it is a lifelong career. And like someone said, "Parenting does not end with popping out the baby," you should dedicate enough time to your children.

Rose Kigen, a parenting coach says: "The biggest mistake modern parents do is spending very little time with their children. It is through their parents that children learn majority of what is right or wrong in life."

A mother's absence therefore creates a void through which bad influence may creep through. Such a situation, says Prof Philomena Ndambuki, an educational child psychologist at Kenyatta University, is likely to lead children astray. She adds that children who have enough time with their parents are healthier in many aspects of their lives.

4. Learn to budget and save your money

Did your money work for you in 2015? If not it is probably because you didn't budget for it before it rolled into your hands.

"A budget eliminates misuse of finances on material that is non-essential," says Joanne Mwangi of PMS Marketing. "A budget helps you spend on what you need for survival. It gives you the breathing space to decide the amount of resources you can dedicate on wants – things that improve quality of life but not necessarily needed for survival."

As one budgets, part of the money should go into savings, advises Leah Karimi a financial expert at Tips Financial Network. Leah adds: "One should have savings account or even take insurance that not only covers against ill situations but also acts as a savings."

Ideally, she says, one should have enough saved up to last 8 months in case of unexpected job loss.

5. Stop procrastinating on the business idea

For how long have you had that business idea in your mind? Three years perhaps? And you keep postponing because of this or that reason?

You should know that the hardest part of running a business is starting it. Joanne Mwangi will tell you the initial stages are the hardest.

Running one's own business is informed on the uncertainty of employment, plus, "It is good to supplement what you earn as salary: this way you can expand your ability to cater for your expenses and live a quality life," says Leah Karimi.

Therefore it is time to stop questioning every little obstacle and start the venture. As long as you have the capital in place, everything else will fall into place with time.

6. Drop fake friends and fake relationships

You know you need a friend when your back is against the wall and there is little room to make even a step.

"Friends (true friends) give us the shoulder to lean on when our world is crumbling upon us," says Wandia Maina. "Friends will therefore make the difference in your life – especially during tough times."

On the other hand, fake friends add into misery and turn a bad situation to worse. "Fake friendship will weigh you down instead of lifting you up. If someone does not wish to be present in your life then it would be good to let them off."

Wandia also advises against bad relationships – like clandestine love affairs that provide quasi-fulfillment but eventually cause chaos in one's life.

7. Seek general health check up

Life is not an enjoyable experience when one is bogged down by illnesses. With lifestyle shift, humanity is more than ever plagued by diseases and conditions that lower the quality of life.

Dr John Ong'ech, a gynaecologist at Kenyatta National Hospital, says everything is dependent on health. Essentially, to be able to work and earn, you need to be healthy and in good shape.

Ideally, he says, a woman needs general checkup once every year. This, he says, is critical in early detection of debilitating conditions such as breast and cervical cancer.

"Every woman who is sexually active needs a pap smear," he says.

At the same time, any suspected source of problem in the body should be considered dangerous and therefore a specialist's opinion sort.

8. Exercise and live an active lifestyle

Obesity is steadily encroaching into our urban population. According to Dr Lyudmila Shchukina of Obesity Management Association (OMA) in Kenya, part of the reason is because more people are living passive lifestyles.

"The food that you eat needs to be broken down. That cannot happen if you are eating and not using the food in energy production. Eventually, weight piles up and obesity is a precursor for conditions such as high blood pressure, cancer and infertility," Shchukina says.

Exercise, she says, is good for the general well being of a person as research indicates that those who exercise regularly have better health indicators.

9. Make time to unwind

The general perception of travel is that it is expensive. In reality though there are plenty of options in Kenya. Today, you don't really have to break the bank to roam the wild. Even a simple road trip 100km away may provide one the much needed sigh at nature.

And it is good for your mind and soul too. Wandia Maina says such methods of unwinding offer new perspective and stretches the imagination. She says: "It is something everyone needs every once in a while. It revitalises the mind and prepares one to face life again."