Change your life in 80 ways; Dance, shave, drink, shoplift, love and

1. HAVE MORE SEX Good for your heart and an ideal way to burn calories, sex can also give your immune system a boost. People who have sex once or twice a week have increased levels of immunoglobulin A, the first line of defence against colds and flu. And there's more: the feel-good chemical oxytocin is released when your sense of touch is stimulated, while painkilling endorphins are released at the point of orgasm.

2. Have sex outdoors Also known as "doing a Lorraine Kelly". One unforeseen side effect of global warming is that more and more Britons are having al fresco sex. The thrill comes from the possibility of being caught in the act; the downside for Scots is the very real possibility of a midgie bite on the bum.

3. STOP HAVING SEX No, really. If you aren't in a steady relationship, the pressure of finding someone to have sex with, deciding exactly when to have sex with them, and then worrying about whether they actually like having sex with you can be exhausting, demoralising, and when you really get down to it, much ado about nothing. Make a pact with yourself not to have sex for six months. Instead, spend time concentrating on your non-sexual needs and consider what you really want to get out of a relationship. It may not be easy, but you'll certainly feel more serene. Look at it as a way of de-cluttering your personal life (and bedroom).

4. Get a nutritionist Once it was a personal trainer, now the ultimate lifestyle accessory to trickle down from the celebrity- sphere is a nutritionist. By monitoring your diet and suggesting changes, they can cure acne, help you lose weight, cheer you up, and increase your chances of getting pregnant.

The British Association for Nutritional Therapists (08706 061284; www.bant.org.uk) has members throughout Scotland.

5. GO TO THE CINEMA ON A WEEKDAY AFTERNOON Ideally this will be combined with taking a sickie from work for the ultimate in verboten pleasure.

6. Take a lunch break Eleven per cent of women and a quarter of all men don't stop working for lunch. Make the time. Even leaving the office for 15 minutes will provide you with fresh air, exercise and food, leaving you perkier and more creative in the afternoon.

7. Drink water Slosh back two litres of water a day to flush out toxins and kickstart your metabolism. Cue better skin, a cleaner system and fresher breath. It's the anti-lager!

8. Make your own juice Cheaper and much more fun than buying cartons of juice from the supermarket. Make juicing your short-cut to vitamins and antioxidants, while experimenting with flavour combinations that Sainsbury's would never think of. Kenwood does a great fruit and vegetable juice extractor for (pounds) 29.99.

9. Kick the Bloody Mary, kick back with the celery In the long term, alcohol can cause liver damage, high blood pressure and osteoporosis. In the shorter term, you'll make a fool of yourself, fall out with your friends over the correct name of the toad in Bagpuss, and sleep with aliens from Planet Freakazoid. So cut back on the booze including those restorative Bloody Marys. But keep the celery that comes with them as it is a sedative which will help lower your blood pressure and calm you down.

10. Drink better booze On the other hand, drinking is a good laugh and Scots are pretty good at it. But let's make 2003 the year our hangovers were worth the trouble. Try Grey Goose or Wyborowa vodka, and Tanqueray or Bombay Sapphire gin. Whisky is a matter of taste but always drink single malts. If you're buying beer, make it Czech or Belgian.

11. Get some sleep Don't get too hung up on being in bed for eight hours. Quality of sleep is just as important. Five-and-a-half hours (the "core" amount required) of complete rest is better than ten hours of tossing and turning. Improve the quality of your kip by avoiding caffeine from lunchtime onwards, and have a 30-minute bath two hours before going to bed.

12. Start shoplifting Well, it seems to have worked for Winona, who is reportedly being offered more film roles than ever before, thus stealing a march on Hollywood's younger actresses. She has also been signed up to model for Marc Jacobs, the designer label whose clothes she nicked. Of course, were you and I to follow Winona's example we'd probably end up in Cornton Vale or Bar-L rather than the Chateau Marmont.

13. Beat A Retreat Sometimes you just have to take a step back from life. Scotland has no shortage of retreats, places you can go from a complete break from the hurly-burly of modern living, for example Newbold House within the Findhorn Foundation Community, and the Samye Ling Monastery in Eskdalemuir, Dumfrieshire.

For information on breaks which emphasise renewal and personal growth, contact The Retreat Company (0116 259 9211; www.retreat- co.co.uk) or read the suggestions on page 52 14. Buy the albums of Dexys Midnight Runners There's so much more to them than Come On feckin' Eileen. Their classic debut Searching For The Young Soul Rebels, all brass and anger and lust, is just the thing to brighten up January. Plus, it's only (pounds) 2.99 in the Virgin sale.

15. gotta dance (right) It's keep fit with flirting. When you dance, your body releases endorphins which make you feel good. If you prefer something more structured than clubbing, enrol at a dance class. Ceroc, a kind of modern jive, can be learned throughout Scotland.

Call Ceroc Scotland on 01324 613 209/01506 400 654 (www.cerocscotland.com). Dance Base, Scotland's National Centre For Dance, offers classes in more than 40 forms of dance, from breakdancing to Egyptian belly dancing (0131 225 5525; www.dancebase.co.uk).

16. Buy a plant And keep it in the office. Specifically, buy a spider plant as these are particularly efficient at filtering out toxins from the atmosphere and replacing them with oxygen. Spider plants are good at absorbing radiation from your VDU. They're nice that way.

17. Deal with the bad stuff Every morning, whether at work or at home, get the most unpleasant task of the day out of the way first. That way it won't be looming over you and the rest of your day will be much more enjoyable.

18. Grow a beard (above) Male readers may find this easier to achieve. Women may have to settle for being 'a beard', pretending to be the lover of a famous gay man who, for whatever reason, is still in the closet.

19. COME OUT OF THE CLOSET Being open about your sexuality will allow yourself to be recognised for the person you are. More importantly, you will have more respect for yourself if you are honest; you will no longer be lying to the world and acting as if you have to apologise for yourself. Plus, it'll be easier to score. For advice on coming out, contact the Scottish regional lesbian and gay helplines (Borders Gay Switchboard, 01896 756 611; Dumfries & Galloway L&G Phoneline, 01387 261 818; Dundee LGB Switchboard, 01382 202 620; Fife Friend, 01592 266 688; Grampian LGB Switchboard, 01224 633 500; Lothian G&L Switchboard, 0131 556 4049; Lothian Lesbian Line, 0131 557 0751; Moray LGB Switchboard, 01343 541 188; Strathclyde G&L Switchboard, 0141 332 8372; Strathclyde Lesbian Line, 0141 354 0400).

20. Straighten up Stop slumping around the place. Hold your head up, keep your shoulders back and your spine straight. This will help you breathe more easily, and you will appear more confident.

For more information, read up on the Alexander Technique, a way of using posture to get rid of harmful tension in the body, at www.alexandertechnique.com.

21. Have a baby Not exactly trendy given that the birth rate in Scotland is currently at its lowest since records began in 1855, a fact which may be linked to the fact that it costs an estimated (pounds) 100,000-(pounds) 300,000 to raise a child from birth to adulthood. However, if you want to change your life, having a child is just about the most radical step you can take.

For useful information on having a baby, contact the National Childbirth Trust (0870 7703236; www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com).

22. Foster/adopt a child If you think that you would be good at caring for a child but are unable or unwilling to have one yourself, perhaps you should consider adoption or foster care. There are around 45,000 children who need fostering each year and 37,000 foster carers in the UK. Unmarried couples in England and Wales - gay or straight - are now allowed to adopt children, thanks to a law passed last year. It is thought that Scotland will soon follow suit.

For more information, contact the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (Scotland) on 0131 225 9285 (www.baaf.org.uk).

23. EMPLOY A LIFE COACH Okay, life coaching sounds a bit New Agey and Ab Fab, but life is hard and having someone in your corner, a professional who is paid to help you make the most of yourself, can make all the difference. There are coaches who will help you boost your income, improve your social skills, eat healthily, and even clarify your goals in life.

For more information, contact the International Coach Federation (0870 751 8823; www.coachfederation.org.uk).

24. MAKE MORE FRIENDS It's easy in this hectic world to narrow your social circle to colleagues, partner and the relatives you can bear. While it's good to have only a few very close relationships, having lots of friends can make life more fun. Making friends is easier than you might think. Really listen to people when they are talking to you, call when you say you will, go to parties when invited, and try to remember information about people so that when you meet again you can demonstrate you were interested in them. You'll soon go from hermit to gadfly.

25. REVISIT A CHILDHOOD HOBBY Why did childhood seem more fun? Because it was. Recreate the golden years by going back to the model railway, horse riding and bird watching. Mix nostalgia with a toned body by starting ballet classes. And work childhood games into your fitness routine by buying a hula-hoop, skipping rope or small trampoline. NB: Your thirtysomething friends will probably not want to play kiss, cuddle or torture.

26. GO RUNNING It's the ultimate old school get-fit-quick technique, it's absolutely free, you can do it anywhere at any time, and is endorsed by everyone from Madonna to George W Bush. Good for your heart, good for your waistline and good for your wallet, regular running will put you on the fast track to a better life.

27. GO SWIMMING The perfect exercise, which may be why you never see a fat fish. Swimming promotes strength, stamina and mobility, and burns up calories. Water aerobics are increasingly popular, especially among pregnant women, who find the water cools them and helps support their weight.

For information on swimming pools in your area, contact the local council or look in Yellow Pages (online at www.search.yell.com) for private baths.

28. TAKE UP A NEW SPORT But running and swimming can get a bit dull after a while, right? Inject some fun by discovering a new sport; archery, caving, paragliding, ju-jitsu and shinty are just a few options.

For information on activities in your area, contact Sport Scotland (0131 317 7200; www.sportscotland.org.uk).

29. USE MENTAL ARITHMETIC Having given your body a workout, move on to the brain. Using your head instead of a calculator is a great way to get those synapses firing and to see if you remember long division from school.

30. CUT UP YOUR CREDIT CARDS It may seem fabulous to be able to buy that posh frock as soon as you lay eyes on it, but why should you end up paying more than it is worth? Saving up for something you want is immensely satisfying, being in debt is immensely unsatisying. And if you must use a credit card, be sure to pay the entire bill as soon as it comes in. That way the credit card companies are working for you, allowing you to defer costs, but you are not adding to their coffers through interest.

31. GROW YOUR EYEBROWS With Frida, Salma Hayek's biopic of iconic monobrowed painter Frida Kahlo, set for release on February 28, the days of tweezing could well be over. About plucking time.

32. KNOW YOUR HISTORY Other than being in love, nothing makes you feel in harmony with existence quite like understanding the lives that came before. For a hands-on approach to history, visit this country's incredible historic sites. For starters, see Edinburgh Castle, Jedburgh Abbey, and the amazingly preserved prehistoric village of Skara Brae in Orkney. Or just drive around randomly with an OS map.

For more information, see The National Trust for Scotland at www.nts.org.uk, and Historic Scotland at www.historic- scotland.gov.uk.

33. DRAW YOUR FAMILY TREE All the benefits of the above go double for knowing your own family history. Thanks to the internet, research has never been easier. The Scotland's People website (www.scotlands people.gov.uk) contains a searchable index of Scottish births from 1553-1901, marriages from 1553-1926 and deaths from 1855-1951. For (pounds) 6 you can use the site for a 24-hour period or download 30 pages of information, whichever comes first.

34. LOVE YOUR SKIN No need to go overboard with treatments; after all, the skin sheds itself every 28 days, but a few golden rules should see you glowing. One: always cleanse before going to bed, so helping your skin repair itself. Two: don't pick spots or other blemishes, they'll take longer to heal. Three: firmly but gently massage your skin using a good facial oil, always moving upwards and outwards.

35. VISIT A SPA Although you can look after your own skin using the rules above, sometimes it's nice to call in an expert for a little pampering - facials, massage, wraps and so on.

Try One, the spa at Edinburgh's Sheraton Grand Hotel (0131 221 7777; www.one-spa.com), the Oshi spa at Lang's Hotel, Glasgow (0141 333 1500), Stobo Castle health spa in the Borders (01721 760249; www.stobocastle.co.uk), or The Spa at The Old Course Hotel, St Andrews (01334 474371; www.oldcoursehotel.co.uk).

36. LEARN MASSAGE/AROMATHERAPY/

REFLEXOLOGY If you'd like to become a qualified practitioner of any of the above, contact the Falkirk-based Academy of Aromatherapy and Massage Scotland (01324 612658; www.taams.co.uk). You should also contact Learn Direct Scotland (0808 100 9000; www.learndirectscotland.com) for information on a wide range of courses throughout the country.

37. HAVE A MANICUREYour nails are just as important as your skin. And elegant, healthy, non-bitten nails create a strong first impression. Nails Inc, the favourite salon of pamper-crazed celebs, has a branch in House Of Fraser in Glasgow (0141 221 3880; extension 2007). The Nail Factory is long established in Edinburgh (0131 221 1880). The Cameo Health and Beauty Salon in Aberdeen (01224 639982) offers manicures and pedicures for both men and women as well as a range of other treatments.

38. GUYS, TREAT YOURSELF The recently-opened Men's Room is a male- only grooming parlour which offers hot towel shaves, tanning, manicures, pedicures, facials, massage, electrolysis and other beauty treatments. Go in like Badly Drawn Boy, come out like James Bond.

The Men's Room, 130 Great Western Road, Glasgow, 0141 332 1001.

39. LEARN TO COOK Become a domestic god/goddess by attending one of Scotland's growing number of cook schools. This magazine's Nick Nairn says that if you visit his Port of Menteith school, he can make you an accomplished cook in just five days (01877 385603; www.nairnscookschool.com); chefs at the Ailsa Cooking School, based at the Turnberry hotel (01655 334 175; www.turnberry.co.uk), reckon they can do it in four. Meanwhile, Grassroots - the Glasgow supermarket, deli and cafe - offers a range of vegetarian classes (0141 353 3278; www.grassrootsorganic.com) starting from January 28. And if you yearn to know your maki from your sashimi, contact Glasgow- based Japanese chef Kumiko Hatori, who will teach you to make sushi (0141 332 5707; www.learn sushi.co.uk).

40. LEARN A LANGUAGE You know how it is, you go abroad and everyone speaks English anyway, so what's the point? Well, the point is that that makes the entire world smarter, more cosmopolitan, and way more goddamn sexy than any of us Brits warbling on about "Doo bee- ares, seel vooz plate." The French Institute (0131 225 5366; www.ifecosse.org.uk) offers French classes in Edinburgh, as does Alliance Francaise in Glasgow (0141 339 4281; www.afglasgow.org.uk). You can learn German at Glasgow's Goethe Institut (0141 332 2555; www.goethe.de/gr/gla/). For more on these and other languages, contact your local university or college for information on adult education classes, or contact Learn Direct Scotland (0808 100 9000; www.learndirectscotland.com).

41. GET MARRIED You and your intended must be at least 16, you can't be the same gender, you can't be married already, and it would help if you were sober during the ceremony. Fulfil those criteria and you can get married in Scotland either by religious or civil ceremony. Since August 2002, you can have a civil ceremony in a venue other than a registry office, and of course, this country has no shortage of romantic venues in which to get hitched. Just ask Madonna, who celebrated her marriage to Guy Ritchie at Skibo Castle near Inverness. Make like a virgin bride by contacting Skibo (01862 894600; www.carnegieclub.co.uk). The National Trust for Scotland (www.nts.org.uk), which has a list of over 80 properties which can be used for weddings, including the amazing Culzean Castle.

42. GET DIVORCED Of course, if it all goes horribly wrong you are going to need to know how to end the marriage. For information and advice, contact Divorce Law Scotland (01356 623999; www.divorcelawscotland.com), Divorce Online (www.divorceonline.com) or Scottish Legal Aid (0131 226 7061; www.slab.org.uk). Alternatively, you and your spouse could always try to save the marriage by moving to Inverurie, the Aberdeenshire town which has the lowest divorce rate in Scotland. Or a more sensible solution might be to contact Couple Counselling Scotland (0131 225 5006; www.couple counselling.org).

43. JOIN A GYM Okay, this is pretty obvious, but the key point is that the more you like your gym, the more likely you are to keep attending regularly. Shop around for a gym which fits your budget and fitness requirments. For example, you may be more interested in running than lifting weights, and you will want a gym that reflects this. Look in the Yellow Pages (which is also online at www.yell.com). Or contact your local council, which provides cheaper facilities which are just as good as a private gym.

See page 40 for gym tips.

44. GET A PET (below left) Theoretically easier to deal with than a partner/child and highly unlikely to beat you in an argument, a pet is the very dab when it comes to uncomplicated companionship. Pets have even been proven to reduce stress and lower blood pressure, which is why some doctors allow them to visit their owners in hospital. Give a new start to an abandoned pet by looking on www.animal sanctuaries.co.uk.

45. STOP WATCHING TELEVISION According to Frank Lloyd Wright, TV is the chewing gum of the eyes. Of course, he was never hooked on Six Feet Under, The Sopranos and 24, all of which return early this year, but you know what he means. Most telly is brain-rottingly bad and we are doing ourselves no favours by watching so much of it: www.tvturnoff.org argues that television promotes violence, causes obesity, and makes children greedy and undereducated. This year's TV Turnoff week is from April 21-27.

46. LISTEN TO THE RADIO On the other hand, British radio has much higher quality output than its more glamorous visual relation. And the new digital stations BBC 6 Music, 1Xtra, and BBC Asian Network play great music.

See radio highlights, page 55, and radio listings, pages 57-69.

47. WORK FLEXIBLE HOURS New 'family friendly' employment legislation which comes into effect on April 6, means that employees with children under six or with disabled children under 18 will be eligible to ask their employers for flexible working hours, which should help you balance work and life more effectively. An Acas helpline service (08457 47 47 47) has been enhanced to give guidance to employers and employees.

48. STOP SEEING PEOPLE YOU DON'T LIKE The Scottish band Ballboy have a song called You Can't Spend Your Whole Life Hanging Around With Arseholes. They're wrong; if you're not careful you can. Make 2003 the year that you cut those people out of your life who have been annoying you, like, forever. You'll feel much better for it, we promise.

49. TAKE A PAY CUT FOR A JOB YOU LIKE Because what use is a huge salary if you dread going to work in the morning and come home miserable? It's easy to get fixated on pay increases but you may find it surprisingly liberating to start heading in the opposite direction.

50. START YOUR OWN BUSINESS But don't have romantic notions about it. Being your own boss is a hard slog and your job is always on the line. On the other hand, the rewards - both finanical and personal - can be immense. Even if your business is something artsy fartsy and creative, you are going to need to know a lot about tax, employment law, account-keeping etc. For advice and information contact Scottish Enterprise (0845 607 8787/0141 228 2000; www.scottish- enterprise.com) or the Entrepreneurial Exchange (01698 285 650; www.entex.co.uk) or visit www.ukonline.gov.uk.

51. VOLUNTEER Volunteer's Week (020 7520 8947; www. volunteersweek.org.uk) takes place between June 1-7 and is the time when many organisations including Breast Cancer Care and Save The Children will be on a major recruiting drive. However you can volunteer at any time of the year by logging on to the Volunteer's Week site or contacting the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (0141 221 0030/0131 556 3882/0131 556 3882; www.scvo.org.uk).

52. LEARN FIRST AID Change your life by learning to save someone else's. St Andrew's Ambulance Association is Scotland's premier provider of First Aid training and services. It has branches in Aberdeen (01224 877271), Glenrothes (01592 631758), Glasgow (0141 332 4031), Edinburgh (0131 229 5419) and Dundee (01382 322 389), and is on the internet at www.firstaid.org.uk.

53. GET POLITICAL Vote, because if you don't then you have waived your right to bitch about the state of the roads/schools/Tommy Sheridan's tan etc. The Scottish Parliament elections are on May 1. The next UK general election is likely to be in 2005 at the earliest. If you feel strongly about an issue, you can submit a public petition to the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee, which will consider it and decide the best way to address your concerns.

Better still, run for political office. To find out more about becoming a Member of the Scottish Parliament or MP, contact your local returning officer; you'll find the relevant number in the Yellow Pages. Alternatively, you might think about joining your local or community council, and should contact them for details. There are, of course, a wide number of single issue organisations which you may wish to join. These include Friends Of The Earth Scotland (0131 554 9977; www.foe-scotland.org.uk), Amnesty International Scotland (0131 466 6200; www.amnesty.org) and the anti-Third World Debt lobbyists Jubilee Research (0207 089 2853; www.jubilee2000uk.org).

54. SEND LETTERS Email is so 2002. Show a loved one you care, while simultaneously improving your spelling and handwriting, and reviving the fortunes of the ailing Post Office. And you can be really filthy without being troubled by an internet firewall.

55. LEARN TO KNIT (above) You may no longer be allowed to take knitting needles on planes, but London-based club Cast Off is pioneering the art of knitting in pubs and clubs, and organises group knit-ins on the Underground. It's too good an idea to leave to London, so why not contact the group at www.castoff.info with a view to establishing a Scottish branch?

56. LEARN TO PLAY A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Therapeutic and totally rock 'n' roll, learning to play a musical instrument will change your life (and if it's the drums, the lives of your neighbours). For details of music teachers in your area look in the Yellow Pages, or on www.yell.com, or contact your local college/university for info on adult education courses. Our advice: learn to play the lute or something and it will be easier to join a band. The world does not need another bassist. Patriotic types should look no further than The Piping Centre in Glasgow (0141 353 0220; www.thepipingcentre.co.uk).

57. EMIGRATE It's January, it's dark and freezing, the economy is going down the tubes, you're overworked and underpaid, the government is dragging you into a war you don't want, and there's nothing on the telly. What better time to leave for Australia? Or perhaps one of the Scandinavian countries, which are colder than Britain but full of smart and sexy people with lovely furniture. The brain drain starts here.

For information on emigration contact the embassy of whichever country you wish to move to.

58. MOVE TO PERTH Statistically, Perth is the luckiest town in Scotland for lottery winners. Seven millionaires have been created since the National Lottery began in 1994.

59. GET PUBLISHED You may think this is hard, but judging by the tidal waves of terrible books which regularly surges into our office, it's really quite easy. The trick, as Pamela Stephenson proved by penning the top-seller of last year, is to marry a violent alcoholic from a dysfunctional background, who just happens to be terribly famous, and then, years later, write a book about how fabulous he is.

Billy is published by HarperCollins, priced (pounds) 6.99. The Writers' And Artists' Yearbook is published by A&C Black Ltd, priced (pounds) 12.99.

60. SHOP AROUND FOR RELIGION Feel like your life has no meaning? Stuck for something to do at the weekend? Why not shop around for a religion that fits in with your morals and beliefs? For information on the Church of Scotland visit www.churchofscotland.org.uk. For information on Catholicism visit www.catholic-scotland.org.uk. If you would like to find out more about Islam, there are 17 Mosques in Scotland, including large ones in Glasgow (Central Mosque, 0141 429 3132) and Edinburgh (Mosque and Islamic Centre, 0131 667 1777). The website www.jewish.co.uk lists synagogues in Scotland, and gives the sabbath times for Glasgow. The website www.clickwalla.com lists Hindu temples in Scotland. You can find Buddhist centres in Glasgow (0141 333 0524) and Edinburgh (0131 228 3333). Of course, there are many other equally valid faiths for you to investigate; the above are just a selection.

61. HAVE AN AFFAIR This won't tie-in with any conversion to Christianity (especially all that "Thou shalt not commit adultery" stuff), but having an affair could provide a pick-me-up to your marriage. According to the anthropologist David P Barash, human beings are simply not genetically hardwired to be monogamous, so it's arguable that if we all just accepted that and had affairs within stable relationships we might go through less anguish in our personal lives.

For advice on how to cheat and get away with it, read Judith Brandt's 50 Mile Rule: Your Guide To Infidelity, published by Ten Speed Press, priced (pounds) 10.99.

62. GET A RADICAL HAIRSTYLE (right) Visit the cutting edge of rug- rethinks at a discounted rate by allowing a trainee to go wild with your hair. Contact Toni & Guy (Aberdeen, 01224 593 939; Glasgow, 0141 248 9243; Edinburgh, 0131 220 5425), the Rainbow Room (Glasgow, 0141 248 9460), or Cheynes (various Edinburgh salons, 0131 558 1010).

63. GET GREEN FINGERS Turn the garden from a festering mass of empty crisp packets and stone chips into a thing of verdant Babylonian splendour; you'll find it enormously therapeutic. Or go one better and get an allotment, which should provide all the organic vegetables you can eat. For more information, contact the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society on www.sags.org.uk.

64. SORT OUT YOUR PENSION Retirement may seem a long way away, but it's not. With all the gnashing of teeth over the closure of final salary funds, and the news that more than a third of working people in Scotland have no pension provision, there has never been a better time to make sure you provide for your future.

For information and advice on pensions, contact the Financial Services Authority (020 7676 1000; www.fsa.gov.uk). For a forecast of the level of pension you can expect, contact your local benefits office or call 0191 218 7585.

65. DITCH YOUR MOBILEAnnoying ringtones, idiots in suits shouting on trains, a battery of phones arranged on a pub table, the expense, teenagers getting mugged for their phones, the way mobiles allow work to invade your private time, some Motorola chirping during a quiet bit at the movies, the possibility that your brain is being slowly fried by radiation - the list of reasons to give up your mobile phone goes on and on. Knock that Nokia on the head and squeeze Orange out of your life.

66. TAKE GINKO BILOBA This Chinese herb has been shown to improve memory. It seems to do this by widening the blood vessels, so increasing circulation in the brain as well as other areas of the body. Take one to two capsules daily with a meal. Available from good herbalists.

67. TAKE MILK THISTLE Used as a remedy for liver problems for thousands of years, Milk Thistle is ideal for this period of post- festive blowout. Combine regular use with drinking plenty of water and vegetable or fruit juices. Available from good herbalists.

68. CONTROL YOUR ANGER According to the British Association of Anger Management, "Anger is a natural human reaction. It is powerful. If not channelled correctly it is dangerous. It has massive social implications on your family, your career and ultimately you." You can contact the Association on 020 7267 7234 or www.angermanage.co.uk. Alternatively, find an empty beach and have a scream. You'll feel a lot better, and the seagulls will react with more indifference than loved ones might.

69. Stop smoking Over 13,000 people die each year in Scotland from tobacco use, and let's not even talk about infertility, premature ageing, and the passion-killer of having to stop halfway through having it away with someone you've fancied for ages because you're out of puff.

For advice on stopping smoking contact the Health Education Board for Scotland Smokeline on 0800 848484 (www.hebs.org.uk).

70. BUY ART This will make you feel grown up, will help you impress potential suitors and who knows, may make you very rich one day. See www.scotlandart.com or the Yellow Pages (www.yell.com) for lists of commercial galleries in Scotland.

71. TELL THE TRUTH Being absolutely honest at all times may be difficult, especially when "Does my bum look big in this?" type questions are flung at you. But persevere and you will find life becomes less stressful and that people value your opinion more.

72. EAT YOURSELF FITTER Detoxing is all very well, but January feels cold when you're starving. Instead, try eating oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, which will provide essential fatty acids. Winter vegetables like carrots and kale contain vitamin C and antioxidants. Wholegrain bread, brown rice and herbal teas complete the package - a diet which helps the body detox without any need for a fast.

73. GET STEAMING Steaming your food is a good way to boost an already healthy diet as steaming is a delicate technique which means vital nutrients, vitamins, and minerals stay in the food and aren't leached into cooking water. Kenwood makes a large, three-tiered steamer priced (pounds) 34.99.

74. JOIN A BOOK GROUP The perfect excuse to sit around, drinking too much caffeine, and talking about the novel that changed your life. Or if you believe Channel 4's Glasgow-based drama The Book Group, the perfect excuse to get off with gay football stars and die of a heroin overdose. Check library noticeboards for details of groups, or put up a notice if you want want to form your own. And while you're at it, join the library. For a selection of online reading groups visit www.edinburgh. gov.uk/Libraries/ReadingSphere/ OnlineGroups/onlinegroups.html.

75. TELL A STRANGER THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL So suggests Roger Pol- Droit in his bestselling book 101 Experiments in the Philosophy of Everyday Life (Faber, (pounds) 10.99). "Dare yourself to do it," he writes. "Out of style and sincerity. You have more to gain than lose."

76. HAVE A CAR BOOT SALE An excellent way to declutter your home and make a few bob while you're at it. Alternatively, sell your stuff on the internet, the biggest car boot sale in the world. The leading site is www.ebay.com. Follow the example of

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