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on Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - 05:26 PM AST - 967 Reads
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New Year's Resolutions: Using the Internets to get what you Want By Amy Kathryn Bell  As 2008 draws to a close, wherever you feel your life stands, January 1st marks a time of renewal of hopes and opportunities. It's a time to release any built-up pressures, re-structure the focus of our dreams, and make ourselves more efficient and effective. So, we make New Year's Resolutions, those little (or big, depending on your personality) promises to improve which mark our lifelong ambitions.
Instead of abstract suggestions about how to keep these resolutions through the year (using anagrams like the S.M.A.R.T. guidelines for keeping personal goals -- make them Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound -- not unhelpful, but not exactly refreshing either), let's focus on more concrete devices. Harnessing the power of the internet can help you understand your situation better, connect with like-minded people, and accomplish what you set out to improve in the New Year. There is a virtual wealth (pun intended) of free resources online that address those facets of life we so commonly wish to get in order, and since most of us spend a great deal of time at the computer or on handy dandy phones anyway, these "lifestyle" websites and virtual gadgets can be easily integrated into our personal lives. With a little regular browsing and the power of computional logic, you can significantly increase your personal awareness, and enhance the effectiveness of your resolutions. Okay, we hear some of you Luddites out there decrying the effectiveness of technology to achieve true personal satisfaction. It's true...an online personal finance manager (see No. 2 on the list below) isn't going to enlighten you into freedom from material attachments, or convince you that you can be happy without a flat-screen TV when you just really, really want one. But, maybe it can point out to you in clear terms how stupid you'd be to buy one given your current financial situation. In turn, this prevention of debt might relieve stress and free up your brain space for more important matters. We've culled some of the most common resolutions and arranged them into seven categories. - Get Healthy / Lose Weight
Overlooking the fact that the dead of winter probably finds most folks' at their least health-conscious (we're too busy stuffing face at holiday dinners and warming up with homemade hot buttered rum to be concerned with moderation), New Year's Day is a time to snap out of holiday hibernation and into a healthier outlook. Gym memberships go up, and some even last beyond the month of January. I know this is about the power of the internet to help you, and I'm sorry to say it but, there's no way sitting on your ass at the computer is going to tone you up, unless you use one of those exercise balls as a desk chair and sit up really straight. Real physical activity is required in this case. For those watching their weight, the Google 15 Weight Tracker (http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=www.google.com/ig/modules/google15.xml) helps you average your daily weight and graphs them into a chart indicating the trend over time. Add it to your iGoogle home page and be free from the agony of water weight fluctuation and morning/nighttime differentiations. - Save money / Manage debt
A bunch of personal finance tracking sites have sprung up recently, and I'm guessing their relevance is only growing with so many people struggling to live frugally, be rid of debt and save money. Like spruced-up offshoots of Quicken or Microsoft Money, these sites consolidate your various online banking accounts, loans and investments and allow you to track transactions and see how you're spending your money. Some offer (for a monthly fee) consolidated bill paying so you don't have to visit two or three sites just to check on payments. Depending on the site, you can build a budget, record IOUs (I Owe U's) and see how you compare to other users with your profile characteristics. Online personal financial managers: We also like the Yahoo! Personal Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance) section for consolidated financial news and advice. - Get a better job
Uh, this category kind of goes without saying. Online classified are everywhere (including this very site you're on!), so I've tried to narrow this one into reliable expat-friendly sites for Shanghai and throughout China.
- Quit bad habits (smoking, drinking)
Quitting or reducing unhealthy habitual behaviors like smoking and drinking feels particularly difficult for some expats in Shanghai. Most nightlife activity involves bar hopping, and the very concept of a non-smoking section barely exists, even in foreign-owned restaurants. I'm hesitant to say that any online resource could help folks get out of these patterns, but in the very least, it can be comforting to connect to others working on the same resolutions. Promise Aid (www.promiseaid.com) is designed to help people "commit to action and connect with people who have similar goals". You can view written and video blogs and other related media as well as participate in social networking. The idea is, you're more likely to stay committed by making your promise public to a community. Even if your Shanghai friends still want to drink copiously, you have an outlet to control temptation. There's also Stepcase Lifehack (www.lifehack.org), a prolific site dedicated to all kinds of self-improvement, from technological awareness/efficiency to buying a new home to improving communication in relationships. - Travel more
Lots of people want to get out of their old routines and see more of the world. If you're planning a trip this year, plot out your itinerary with Tripit (www.tripit.com), an extremely useful site for travel plans with multiple destinations. After signing up, you send all of your travel confirmation emails to Tripit. The information in those emails (flight numbers, confirmation codes, times and dates) is automatically compiled and laid out in an itinerary page, which can then be shared with friends and family. From there, you can add more details to your plans, find maps and more. - Be more charitable
Charities are getting clever about the power of the internet. The Pay Per Click model used by The Hunger Site (www.thehungersite.com) and The Breast Cancer Site (www.thebreastcancersite.com) has been around for some time, calling on corporations and other sponsoring institutions to make donations based on the number of times a button on the site is clicked. Facebook also has several innovative charity applications available for users, including Good Samaritan (http://apps.facebook.com/goodsamaritan), which advertises internet offers for products and services, and makes free marketing surveys available for users to fill out. Every time a user takes an offer or completes a survey, a donation is made to a legitimate participating charity which the user selects. And, payouts to the charities are clearly marked next to each offer, so you know how much good you're doing. Social Vibe (www.socialvibe.com) has you choose a charity through your Social Vibe account. Corporate sponsors make donations, and in return are permitted to place a badge on your Facebook page telling any visitor to your page that they are sponsoring your chosen charity. For local Chinese charities, the Shanghai Expat forum (http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/MDForum-viewtopic-t-28373.phtml) is a great resource for tried-and-true reviews and advice on charitable giving. And here (http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/MDForum-viewtopic-t-84200.phtml) as well. There's also an opportunity to have your cake and give it away, too. Celebrate the New Year at the Xintiandi Love.Cheer.Swing New Year's Eve Countdown Party. Reserve a table at one of XTD's excellent restaurants for dinner, and stroll over to Taiping Lake for the celebration. The party starts at 9pm! Art by Eason Chan and Sandy Lam. It's a party with a purpose: From Dec 13th to the 28th, spend a combined total of RMB 500 using a credit card at any two or more Shanghai Xintiandi or Corporate Avenue shops and restaurants, present your purchase receipt, credit card receipt and credit card at our Redemption House and donate RMB50 in cash. In turn you will score a ticket to the 2009 Shanghai Xintiandi New Year's Eve Countdown Party. All donations will be contributed to Shanghai Youth Development Foundation to support education for children in need. - Reduce my impact on the environment
How decadently would you say you live? Are you frequently flying on planes for business? Do you utilize Shanghai's subway or bus network, or do you mostly take taxis? How energy efficient is your home? In a time of economic and environmental crises, taking a few moments to examine one's impact on the environment and energy use efficiency is becoming more of a duty for Earth's citizens than ever before. Take on the green cause as a personal resolution by visiting various Footprint Calculator sites. Answer a series of questions about your eating, travel, consumer and energy habits, and receive a score to learn how many Earth planets would be required if everyone used resources the way you do. From there you can read how to make your lifestyle more eco-friendly. Here are a few easy ways to reduce your ecological impact as an expat:
a. Take a reusable bag or basket and explore the wet markets(http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/MDForum-viewtopic-p-993398.phtml) for locally grown produce! Besides being so much cheaper than Parkson's or City Super, the wet market offers a wider variety of fruits, vegetables, eggs, nuts, grains, even sauces. Here's (http://www.shanghaiguide.com/faq/index.php?c=7&id=118&page=index_v2) another listing of local markets.
b. Take advantage of China's established network of trains for your travels! Again, you'll save a bundle of money, and we must say, sleeper train passage is infinitely more comfortable than a stiff narrow seat in a dried out plane.
c. Take the subway! World Expo construction all over the city makes driving a hassle. Find out how the new metro lines (http://www.urbanrail.net/as/shan/shanghai.htm) or bus routes (Chinese readers go here: 图吧 Mapbar (http://mapbar.com/) or MapABC (http://mapabc.com/) can be incorporated into your commute, and make the switch to public transportation. Ecological Footprint Calculators: World Wide Fund (WWF) (footprint.wwf.org.uk) and Earth Day Footprint Calculator (www.earthday.net/footprint/). World Wide Fund (WWF) in China: http://wwfchina.org/english/index.shtm 
For more information, please visit their website:
http://www.xintiandi.com/english/events_new.asp. |
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