'Life got better when I made less effort'

Forget perfectionism, the secret to a happy and successful life is to 'half-arse' everything from work and style to health and skincare, says YouTuber Leena Norms

- Leena Norms

If your New Year's resolution is already a distant memory, you're not alone - only nine per cent of people make their resolutions stick. The mistake many of us make is aiming for perfection. The good news is you can make meaningful, sustainable changes to your life by following an attitude devised by Midlands-based You Tuber Leena Norms, which she amusingly dubs the "half arse" approach.

"The core of half-arsing isn't saying, 'I'm only going to put in half the effort, I don't care'. It's intentionally half-arsing. It's picking which parts of your life or a task are the most important - and just doing those," says Leena, whose new book is called Half Arse Human: How To Live Better Without Burning Out.

"You're doing half of the jobs but picking the right half. It's allowing people not to aim for perfectionism. Forget that idea that if you're not going to do it perfectly then don't bother doing anything at all."

Leena hit upon the concept of half-arsing when she found herself struggling to stick to a vegan diet. She allowed herself to accept some compromises and attempt "slow growth" because that was preferable to giving up on her goals entirely.

"I still don't eat a completely vegan diet but perfectionism isn't the goal," she says. "I'm allowed to mess up and knowing that's part of the plan has allowed me to achieve more.

"If you set a low bar then meet it, you're more likely to set yourself a new bar. If you set yourself a high bar then fall from it, it's harder to progress."