Every year my husband and I reflect on the year prior, what we think we did well and what we could do improve on in the next year. We sometimes break it out into categories, sometimes we put it in writing, but mostly we just like to set some intentions for the New Year, whether big or small.

While shaking off the fogginess from those lost days in between Christmas and New Years, I’ve been watching all sorts of inspirational and aspirational content on YouTube from popular lifestyle vloggers. You know, those vloggers who have their lives together— chic workout outfits, perfect 5am morning routines, and so many green juices, who seem to have it all together. I’ve been consuming content like crazy about all the things to do to get your life in order and for some reason it was just falling flat.

All this content made me feel was that it’s somehow already January 5th, and somehow I was already behind.

That is until I stumbled across the YouTuber Hannah Adkins. Her short series tiled ‘Becoming Her’ is a 6-week challenge to herself (and others if they choose to follow along) for becoming their best selves. It’s like a crash course in implementing resolutions towards becoming your best self.

She set some daily goals that she felt like were things that the best version of herself would be doing— such as getting between 8-10K steps a day, getting up early enough to make sure she wasn’t feeling behind the ball from the second she got up, and getting ready before a certain time in the morning. She also had weekly goals that were slightly bigger— like making new recipes, weekly date nights, and trying one new thing a week for 6 weeks.

For some reason, this approach really stuck with me. It re-invigorated this feeling in me that my best self is not so far away, she could be jsut around the corner— with just a few daily and weekly habit changes. I also really liked the way she set intentional but achievable goals for herself— things like get up ‘early’ rather than ‘get up at 5am every day’ so it was something she could feel like she could hit no matter what kind of energy she had every day. I liked that her goals were all things that would make her feel put together and like she could face the day— simple things like doing skincare and doing her hair before a certain time in the morning made her feel more human.

These were all things that I’ve been struggling with, and feeling like I needed a little nudge to do them. And so believe it or not, after watching this first video, I did all the things I’d been putting off. I di all my morning hygiene things, I did my hair and makeup and even put on a real outfit (still comfy for my WFH day) but the imporant part is I changed out of my grubby sweats.

And as small as that might sound I felt better.

The effect was almost immediate. I realized one of my problems was that I started to forget how getting dressed and putting on a little makeup made me feel good. It felt good to not look like a gremlin on my work from home days, and reminded me how important it is for me to do simple things like wash my face in the morning. I know this might not be hard for other people, but for me, these daily exectutive function tasks can feel like the biggest hill to climb. But I realized that once I did all of these things, it lifted my confidence and propelled me forward— I even made a list of all the things I needed to get done during the day, and all of the daily habits I would want to incorporate into my life if I was going to do her 6-week challenge.

So here we are on a Friday, and I am going to push myself to start this 6-week challenge— something that I didn’t wake up this morning thinking that I could do. So here are my daily and weekly goals I am going to stick to for 6 weeks, to see if I can become the best version of myself that I’ve always known I could be. Follow along on this challenge with me if it speaks to you:

Daily goals:

• This year I want to conquer some little things that my ADHD makes really hard: basic things like brushing my teeth at least twice a day and washing my face every morning and night

• Every day I’m going to get dressed, do hair and skincare before my first walk with Ember

• 5-7K steps/ day (I’ll increase it after my hip heals a bit more)

• Minimum 1 walk per day with Ember, but ideally 3 total

• Making sure I have a full serving of fruit or vegetables in 2 meals / day

• Every day I’m going to get out of bed before 8am

• Have AG1 & vitamins daily

• Have magnesium / cherry juice mocktail before bed for best sleep

Weekly goals:

• I want to prioritize quality time weekly or bi-weekly with people that really fill up my cup— I know I’m an introverted person but I do get a lot of positive benefits from spending time with my people that make me feel seen and valued

• I want to try at least one of my new creative hobbies once / week (likely continuing to learn to draw and start tattooing)

• 2 workouts /week (weightlifting)

• I want to keep blogging at least once a week (prefereably more) because I know it’s something that’s really good for my creativity

• 1 date night / week (with my husband, myself, or a friend)