I really like the above post on gratitude and mindfulness.  As a mother to young children, that is a trait that I am really trying to emphasize at home for them.  What a great idea to keep track of all those little blessings in daily life. 

As for studying for an upcoming exam, I highly recommend making some old fashioned note cards, or even some high-tech digital ones if you have a smart phone app.  The flashcards are a great tactile tool and a reminder to study.  Take them with you and flip through them any time you have to wait, whether its for appointments or a class to start, or during commercials when you watch television.  A couple minutes here and there can really add up. 

I've read that it takes about a month to make a new routine into a habit, so for the last several years I've tried to tackle just one resolution, or part of a resolution (I break the big ones into manageable, measurable bites) at a time, beginning on the first of each month. So far that has worked well for me.

For this year I want to focus on gratitude and mindfulness. A friend on FaceBook actually made this suggestion, and I want to try it - decorate an empty jar and keep it where you see it every day. Whenever something good happens, whether it is a big thing or a small one, write it down on a slip of paper, date it, and put it in the jar. Next year on New Year's Eve or some other appropriate day (Thanksgiving?), open the jar and read the slips out loud.

Good luck on your exam - the best advice I can offer on that one is to try to study the material a little at a time. Try to set aside 15 minutes each day to totally concentrate on the exam material. And try not to do it the same way each day; reading, writing lists, drawing mind maps, and reciting material out loud all use different parts of your brain, so the more ways you can work with the material the more likely you are to remember it when the big day comes.

Sticking to good routines (and creating new healthy and positive routines) is something that I intend to focus on in 2013.

Traveling for the holidays this week and being away from home, the realization struck me that it's not my tastes or my tendencies that keep me healthy and productive; it's my routines.

I have developed a number of healthy habits, but when I am in a place where my routines cannot be applied, those good habits fall away, replaced by the only thing left to guide me - my tastes.

Like a lot of people, whatever is easiest and greasiest often fits my tastes. When I don't have the support of a good routine, my health goes downhill fast. 

This ideas applies to exercise and work as well. Good routines help to push me toward doing the right thing, for me, and away from doing the easier thing.

I rarely live up to the New Years resolutions I make each year, but I plan to try harder than usual in 2013. I plan to sell on eBay more regularly, using the additional income to do what I like best: travel. Trips to the Caribbean (to see friends on St. Thomas and Grand Cayman) and possibly a week in Europe are on the horizon.

First of all, congrats to you for having a positive attitude about wanting 2013 to be a new beginning...a new start. The first thing to do is determine your goals for 2013 - personal goals, career goals, academic goals. Next, write these goals down so you have something concrete on paper to look at.

Allow for some flexibility in how you will achieve your goals. Things don't always work out as planned for an array of reasons. Therefore, have contingency plans ready so you continue to move forward in the achievement of your goals. One avenue may not pan out - but you do not want to get discouraged. This is where contingency plans keep you on course to achieving your dreams. Don't let setbacks stop you from working towards your goals. It's easier said than done - but you can find a host of examples of people who have achieved goals by being persistent.

Concerning the crucial exam you will undertake, begin planning for it now. Determine what you need to know for this exam and then break down the course of study required for the exam into elements. Start tackling these elements one by one. Don't let the immensity of this crucial exam overwhelm you. Take a systematic, organized approach to your studying and bit by bit you will address all the elements required. Think of this one big exam as a set of smaller tests. Work on each element (test) now and in the days and months leading up to the big exam.

My goals for 2013 are to broaden my freelance writing business to involve even more corporate copywriting. I've broken this goal down into the types of copywriting I actually want to do - I'm not saying I'm going to handle all copywriting projects because there are some aspects of copywriting I do not enjoy. I'm choosing two to three areas I want to add to my services. I'm creating more writing samples in these areas and reaching out to companies who may require these services. This involves planning and a focus on these specific types of writing. I'm breaking the big copywriting picture down into smaller elements and working on doing them better and promoting my services in those areas.