As we head into 2024, we must set ourselves up for success. Here are a few tips on how to do exactly that.
1. Declutter
The bigger the mess, the bigger the stress. Shove all your things under the bed, pick up those dirty panties that have been on the floor since October — you’re a pig, no big deal — and get rid of those crop tops you haven’t been able to fit into since high school. You can also declutter your phone by deleting unused apps. Candy Crush, the calculator app, and Tumblr have no place in 2024.
2. Create a schedule
To achieve your desired work-life balance, you must create a schedule and stick to it! For most of us, the ideal balance would include no work and complete freedom of time and movement, but striving for a 50/50 balance might be a bit more realistic.
However, it is possible to relish that perfect place of no work or responsibilities and the trick is simple: generational wealth!
3. Challenge the evolving hellscape of right-wing lunacy
Progress comes in waves, and those waves always come with pushback. It’s easy to look around at all the conservative pushback and hang your head in disbelief, but really — things aren’t that bad! It’s not like we’re forced to choose between a president with historically low approval ratings and a racist election-denying authoritarian as climate change, crony capitalism, and genocide go unchecked. That, my friends, would be a pure sci-fi dystopia.
4. Have a spa day
Pull out your favorite skin care products and apply them liberally. Enjoy a massage, or maybe run a warm bath. Try placing your head underwater to drown out the constant screaming inside your mind. Add bubbles!
5. Avoid becoming consumed by an all-encompassing void of darkness and fear
Close your eyes and try to forget that everything is horrible. Is it working? If not, try adding alcohol and chocolate.
6. Get outdoors
Sunshine is good for you, and so is fresh air. Take a deep breath and try not to think about the pollutants filling your lungs or the microplastics already cozily nested in there. Take in those gorgeous golden sunrays and high temperatures while sunbathing! You might as well get used to them; unlike the ice caps, they are here to stay.
7. Find common ground
While it’s true that our country is more divided than ever before, it is important to come together. Even the most divided among us — the Republicans and Democrats in Congress — do sometimes come together by embracing shared values, like a complete aversion to the phrases “universal health care” and “socialism.”
8. Try not to slip into an apathetic state of dissociation
Counteract the bad headlines with something positive. Tell yourself that everything bad eventually passes as you dive into a 50-gallon pool of ice cream.
9. Fall in love with yourself
RuPaul always rhetorically asks, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love somebody else?” We must learn to love ourselves, flaws and all. Embrace your flaws! Sleep in, miss the bus, embarrass yourself in a bar, and spend your rent money on shoes and drinks, because you deserve it, queen!