Lifestyle

Team Buro Answers: Our New Year resolutions and how to stay winning in 2020

02.01.2020

By Ronn Tan

Team Buro Answers: Our New Year resolutions and how to stay winning in 2020

Ah yes, resolutions. It’s like that song by Selena Gomez; the one where she goes “when you’re ready, come and get it na na na na”. Many of us decide on one resolution or more at the beginning of a new year but truth be told—how many actually are prepared (mentally and physically) to achieve the goals they set? Resolutions are lovely, aren’t they? They keep us striving (or at least attempt to). We don’t always succeed but it is always a jubilant affair whenever we do. Even if the results weren’t what we wanted, we should pat ourselves for trying. It’s 2020 and the start of a new decade. Alright, talking about hopes and dreams in January is as common as the resolution to lose weight; but it has to be done. With that, Team Buro Malaysia spills on their New Year resolutions for 2020 and let’s see how we fare!

RACHEL AU, editor

Claims

If you’re a working adult with claim privileges, you’ll know that doing claims is often the hardest task at work! No? Just me? Well, 2019 saw me racking up at most (or is it at least) three months’ worth of claims before I finally paste and print all my receipts; open up my spreadsheet and three other tabs to refer (Google Calendar and Google Maps); scan over the numbers repeatedly to ensure I made no number typos. You make one mistake and HR would send it back. No can do. Of course, I want my money back, but it’s a task that easily takes up one to two hours. Regardless, come 2020, I resolve to make time to do my claims on time. Our HR, Amir, is in on it too as he recently sent out an email that he will be reminding us close to the due date every month. Sorry, Amir; thanks, Amir!

JOAN KONG, fashion editor

Photo from Shutterstock

As boring as it sounds, my 2020 resolution is to save more money. 2019 has been my year of impulse—from a new Chanel bag to impromptu trips after an amazing three-week holiday in America at the start of the year, you name it, my money’s probably spent on it (*insert cry-smile emoji*). While the money was spent with no regrets, judging from the state of my bank account, it’s time to save up for bigger and better (adult) things next year, i.e. Lasik eye surgery and a new car. The two main things that I need to hold back from, are the big fashion purchases (add to wish list and not to cart) and indulgent meals that may not always be pocket-friendly (goodbye, hotpot). Wish me luck!

STEPHANIE BOEY, fashion writer

Photo from Shutterstock

My new year’s resolution for the new decade is one that I’ve been struggling with for years—regulating my sleep. As far as I can remember, I was always a night owl. I liked staying up at night as a child, cause that’s when the best tv shows were on, HAHA! Also, I didn’t have to fight for the remote, and I could openly laugh at the jokes my parents would not normally approve of. Sleeping for me was a real problem, especially during preschool where I had a strict two-hour nap time. I couldn’t do it, and for the life of me could not understand how easily my classmates were able to doze off into blissful slumber within minutes. To this day, I have vivid memories of tossing and turning and staring into the ceiling, waiting to fall asleep.

So far, I’ve been doing pretty well with my recent resolutions (2017 was to drink more water, 2018 was to shop more consciously and 2019 to try out audio books to complement my reading habit), but as we head into 2020 I think it’s time I tackle this prolonging issue. That tiny toddler with insomnia grew up to be an adult with poor sleeping habits and dark circles. My regular sleeping time goes beyond midnight, with me clocking in less than seven hours of sleep (the optimum being seven-nine hours). So first thing’s first I have to push up the time my head hits the pillow. To effectively get that done, I need to tire myself out earlier in the day by shifting my sleeping cycle. Am aiming to make 10pm my new lights-out hour so I can have enough sleep by 5am, and start my day earlier. I’m not fond of early mornings so good luck to me. This will be the hardest resolution yet.

LOH WEI YEEN, beauty editor

Anyone who’s seen my work desk or sneaked a peek inside my beauty drawer will know that my organisation skills aren’t my best trait. The term “controlled chaos” doesn’t even begin to describe the state of my work/home space, and as much as I’d like to admit that I can find whatever I’m looking for if I try hard enough, I actually can’t—I sift through things over and over again and don’t quite remember where I place my belongings *ugly cry. So for 2020, a baby step to take is to invest in packing cubes and storage boxes to keep all my essentials—and actually impose a system on where I keep what. I’m eyeing minimalist acrylic boxes by Muji because you can’t go wrong with that (and just so that I can spot where everything is at one go).

JOANNA PINTO, special projects editor

This year, my resolution is to actively reduce screen time on my phone because (no) thanks to the previous iOS 12 update, I now feel worse about spending so many hours on my mobile. While I don’t consider myself a smartphone addict, a huge chunk of my time is admittedly spent on social networking apps with Instagram and WhatsApp taking the gold and silver social media medal (no surprise there). Also, “I’m using it for work” is now a jaded excuse; I mean, it’s 2020, we ALL use Facebook and Instagram for work but is it really a reason for us to spend more than two hours scrolling aimlessly or stalking strangers’ lives?

Last Christmas when I was in Germany, I was shook when I got a notification saying that my screen time had reduced by a whopping 50 percent—to be fair, our days were busy and itinerary packed to the brim with things to see and places to go, which got me thinking: It’s actually not that hard to put my phone down.

For the record, my average screen time per day (when not on holiday or business trips) is over four hours and while this may seem pretty normal for a millennial, I do believe it is possible to limit usage even more; plus, I’d rather spend that four hours doing something more productive. As for how I’m going to achieve my ambitious goal, I’ve solemnly sworn not to touch my mobile at meal times as well as an hour before and after hitting the sack. Instead, the mission is to be present—to engage in conversations IRL, to pick up physical reading materials and to live life without having to document every single second on IG story (unless you know, it’s for work).

RONN TAN, lifestyle writer

Guy singing

I have to be honest—resolutions were never really a thing for me. In fact, I have never had a proper resolution. Call me the boy without ambition or the soul that wanders without an actual destination, but it’s true. However, all that’s about to change this year. I feel like the new decade is the right time to start setting solid goals for myself to strive towards. My fear of failing has always been rather strong and I credit that as one of the major factors for not having a resolution. Well, for 2020, I had so many answers in mind. It’s as if there was a shooting range in my head; shots left, right, and centre until someone finally hits the target. I went from trying to keep my weight down (how basic) to wanting to travel more to working towards being a happier person. I finally settled with what I thought would be the most important for me in the long run, both physically and mentally. My New Year’s resolution is to start focusing on my singing a lot more (in addition to writing, of course!). I don’t know if I’m actually good but it’s something I love doing. I sing for my loved ones often, and I’ve tried performing in parks (Ho Chi Minh and London) and streets (Vienna and Valencia). Never on stage yet, though. To really get to where I want, I would have to be more cautious about what I eat because food intake does affect vocally. Maybe I should start posting more covers on my Instagram feed too. There’s definitely a lot of room for improvement and I will have to be 100 percent committed to get better. There, I said it—now I really have to do it! Vocal lessons, taking care of my vocal chords (includes less screaming at horror films), and putting myself out there; let’s get this bread.

ZOE YANG, editorial assistant

Thinking brain

Making a list of New Year’s resolutions is all fun and great—until the subsequent months visit, and your resolutions just seem to magically vanish. Odd, right? However, I’m going to make it a mission to stick to one New Year’s resolution this year—to stop overthinking. If you’re anything like me, I’m sure you’re familiar with a few of these scenarios: second guessing even after having made a decision, going through the nitty bitty of how your day went and reassessing if everything you did was “fine”, or asking yourself “Why am I like this” when you replay embarrassing situations—cue the ‘breathing intensifies’ cat memes. So, to do away with this destructive and mentally draining habit, I plan to do a brain dump journal, where I’ll write about things that are bothering me, or stressing me out. If you’re interested, there are actually a bunch of tips on the Internet, where you can learn how to do it effectively; just search it up! Personally, I think it’s better to put my tangled thoughts down on a piece of paper rather than spending most of my time in my head. From there, I get to organise my thoughts, analyse what I can work on, and ask myself questions like, “Why am I feeling this way?” or “What can I do to solve this issue?”. I believe this would be a more productive way to overcome my “expertise” in overthinking, better than sending my brain into a frenzy most of the time! Anyways, I hope your New Year’s resolutions work out this year. Happy New Year and all the best; you can do it!

REDZHANNA JAZMIN, editorial assistant

Photo from Shutterstock

My new year’s resolution is to be less precious about everything. I have a bad habit of keeping and collecting things I don’t need because they hold false sentimental value to me, which means my shelves and closets are bursting with odd ticket stubs, old schoolbooks and other useless tat with no room for much else. So, my plan for the New Year is to 1) declutter and 2) stop hoarding (easier said than done)!

CALLEIGH YAP, senior web designer

Photo from Shutterstock

Every single year, I make really ambitious resolutions and always successfully fail them. I told myself to lose 5kgs this year and I’m afraid I did the exact opposite. Making a resolution is like committing to a long-term relationship. If you are serious about it, then you gotta work hard for it to be a success. So, I’ve decided to try a more realistic resolutions for the new year: Spend less! I know it sounds blah, but saving up is not easy if you spend recklessly during every Sephora’s sale. My plan to achieve this is to take out 10 percent of my monthly paycheck and keep it in my savings account! I’m gonna try to prevent myself from overspending too by storing my shopping apps in a folder on the last page of my phone so it’s not as visible while using my phone, turning off notifications helps too so I won’t receive updates on any sales and avoid Sephora at all cost unless necessary! Fingers crossed that I’ll save up enough by the end of next year. Happy 2020!

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