Tying up loose ends and prepping for the new year ahead
This time of year is, hands down, one of my faves.
It’s the time I take to look back at all the past year held, all the lessons I learned and revisit memories of all the fun adventures we had. It’s also the BEST time to set my goals for the upcoming year. I feel the magic of being like a child, using my imagination to think of all the possibilities.
Around this time of year, I also catch myself thinking ‘wow, I remember doing xyz this time last year,’ and even remember how I felt this time last year or the year before based on certain personal blog posts and photos. It’s really such a gift, being able to remember and reflect, because it shows us 1) how far I’ve come and/or 2) where I want to be this time next year.
Since I love this transitional time so much and think this time of year is so fun, I wanted to share some of the things I enjoy doing:
To wrap up my year:
I rummage through my closet, drawers, bookshelf, kitchen, bathroom, etc, gathering anything I haven’t used during the past year and put it in a box to donate. If I feel conflicted, I use Marie Kondo’s technique of holding the item in my hand and asking/feeling if it brings me joy. If it does, I keep it. If it doesn’t and I haven’t used it in the past year (or years…), into the box it goes.
I try to do this within a couple hours on a saturday, so I can take the box immediately to donate rather than holding onto it for weeks. Donating feels SO GOOD, plus it creates space, both figuratively and literally, for all the new things that the new year will bring. (If possible, I have my husband do the same thing with his belongings).
I start a new folder on my computer desktop, then start combing through my personal blog posts and journals, thinking back to all the milestones from the year, and adding corresponding pictures to this new folder. This takes place over a few weeks of December, then, during the last week leading up the New Year’s Eve, I’ll write a quick, but reflective, blog post about the milestones from the past year. This is so fun because it slows my year down in the sense of seeing just how packed & full it really was.
I take some time to clean and organize! Now that I have made donations and have cleared some space, I take this chance to clean up and organize my closet, drawers and rearrange room and office. I clear my cork boards from pictures and wipe my chalk board clean. This gives me a sense of a blank canvas.
To prep for the new year:
During late November/early December, I set aside a few hours on Sundays to do Danielle Laporte’s Desire Map. This is a new activity that I just started implementing this year, after purchasing and reading the book last year. Setting goals this way is fun and fresh, really getting to the root of how you want to feel as you go about goal setting for the new year. It takes a bit of time, so I break it down into several sessions.
Early to mid December, after completing Desire Mapping, I set my objective goals of what I would like to accomplish in the new year. This immediately cuts out any sense of overwhelm I might be feeling and gives me a clear sense of direction. I aim to set 3-4 BIG goals for the year, then will break those goals into smaller sized ones to aim for monthly or weekly.
With my feel good goals in place, I set a new intention for the upcoming year and write it on my freshly cleaned chalkboard to serve as my daily reminder. Last year, my intention was ‘Trust,’ and this year’s is ‘Peace and Flow.’
This is one of my faves: I start a fresh new vision board. These tie into my feel good goals, intentions, etc. I print out words, pictures, phrases, etc to keep all I want for the year at the front of my mind.
Lastly, I make time (can be a few minutes or more, just depends on what I feel I need) to think of how I would like to move forward with my year and my life in terms of what habits to take away, what rituals to add, etc. Recently I just added a new habit that correlates with the moon phases. On a new moon, this is my time to set new goals and intentions. This can be based on my 3-4 big goals, or, if those are no longer relevant/serving me, use the time to set a new goal.
On a full moon, I use the time to review and release what no longer is serving me-this, again, could be a habit, a practice, etc. It also serves as a time to go through my home and office again to collect items that I no longer use/need/bring me joy and donate them. I’ve been doing this often because it takes less time than doing this once a year. Using the moon phases as a reminder is so nice because it makes goal setting and review a regularly scheduled habit.
Doing the above over a timeline that doesn’t feel rushed feels so therapeutic and nurturing. I’ve accumulated these little habits over the year, and it’s so fun how it’s all come together to create an end of the year ritual I love.
Goal setting is something that I LOVE to do, for both myself and others, so I’m excited to announce my one on one coaching program, Define and Design Your 2018! If you are someone who is craving guidance, support and accountability in setting and hitting your 2018 goals, you can find out more about the program here. Not sure? No worries! I’m offering complimentary, 30-minute, consultation sessions to assist you in deciding if this is the right program for you, which you can book here.
Here’s to you and a FANTASTIC NEW YEAR!! Hope 2018 fills you with joy!
