Should you be making New Year’s resolutions?

A new year can be a great time to pause and reflect on life and look ahead to the next 12 months and what it has in store.

Retirement Villages

Key points:

New Year’s resolutions can keep you on track to creating a healthy and happy life for yourself
Making time for yourself and what makes you happy can be a great resolution for the new year
Your resolutions may also have a more serious tone such as deciding to downsize or planning for when you need to access aged care services

You may have goals to change your lifestyle habits by being more active or even starting a new hobby to stimulate your mind and keep yourself happy and healthy.

On a bigger scale, maybe it’s time to take your foot off the pedal and get your ducks in a row for retirement.

Or you might feel it is time to have an honest conversation with yourself about the future, including downsizing your home or moving into more suitable assisted living arrangements.

Goal setting and making New Year’s resolutions – whether they’re big or small – can be the key to keeping you on track and ensuring you have a successful new year!

So what might your resolutions be?

Putting the “life” back into “lifestyle”

Life is about living and while it is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the day-to-day, it is important to invest time in yourself and your interests.

If you are still working, you may be starting to fantasise about retirement and having more time for yourself and what’s important to you. Your New Year’s resolution might be to look into how you can retire and still maintain your living expenses.

But if you have already retired, that doesn’t mean your social life or lifestyle has to come to an end too.

As we age, our life changes and it is important to establish ways to keep our mind, body and soul happy.

This new year might be the year you vow to establish stronger daily rituals and routines to keep you motivated, make more time to catch up with friends, or start a new hobby such as painting, drawing, singing or fishing.

A happy mind, body and soul are crucial to maintaining your health and well-being, so don’t avoid the fun stuff this year and make it a resolution to put yourself first!

Is it time to downsize?

There can be many reasons for downsizing your home and belongings.

Maybe you’re struggling to maintain your home or you have retired or lost a partner and now have too much space, or you may just want to find another community with like-minded people.

Many older people decide to downsize and move into independent living accommodation, such as retirement villages, which offers the freedom of living in your own unit or apartment in the safety and security of a retirement community.

Independent living options come in many shapes and sizes and you can read more about living in retirement villages in our article, ‘Independent living in retirement communities’.

But moving can be overwhelming, especially if you are leaving the family home. You can read more about moving and downsizing in our article, ‘Moving out of your family home’.

But change is as good as a holiday, so your New Year’s resolution may be to work towards a change in scenery and a fresh start.

Getting your future plans in order

If you are an older person living independently, it is important to assess your independence and capabilities to establish when you need to look at care options.

Getting a plan in order detailing when and where you choose to access aged care services can give you and your loved ones peace of mind about your future.

Aged care can come in many forms.

If you are eligible, you can access home care to receive services at home, such as a cleaner or a healthcare professional like a nurse.

If you already accessing home care services and you still feel like you could benefit from some more support and care that can’t be provided at home, it may be time to consider a re-assessment or moving into residential aged care.

It is important to plan this venture early as accessing aged care can be a complicated process and you don’t want to be putting this type of assistance in place because of an emergency.

There are lots of different types of residential aged care facilities catering to people with different care needs and backgrounds.

It’s important to look around before deciding on the home that best meets your needs and lifestyle requirements and you can learn more about how residential aged care facilities work in our article, ‘Understanding aged care homes’.

Establishing a future aged care plan is a great achievement to tick off this year so that you know when the time comes, you and your loved ones understand your wishes and preferences when accessing aged care services.

New Year’s resolutions are a great way to ensure you have a fulfilling, healthy and happy year.

What are your resolutions for the new year? Let us know in the comments below.