How to Prepare for the New Year

4 Ways to Prepare for the New Year

Prepare for the New Year with these 4 reliable ways to begin the new calendar with a fresh start to achieve new goals and dreams you may have.

These 4 things to prepare for a fresh new year have been compiled and used each year from many different resources and methods that I have tested on my own, or have learned from others.

Beginning a new year is always exciting. There is nothing better than a clean slate and a fresh planner or notebook. I'm once again preparing my planner ecosystem with a fresh new Hobonichi Cousin.

Last year, I went with an Rosey Planner, which is very similar to the Hobo Cousin, and kept a daily life journal and she got real thick! I do love having it and look forward to keeping another daily "snippet" from each day.

I also ordered myself a new leather XL Voyager journal from Paper Republic and I'm already using it for my calendar and lists. I have ordered some custom monthly and weekly calendar planners from an Etsy shop and will do an update once my system is in place and working effectively.

The New Year is a great time for self-reflection and self-assessment. Here are 4 things in preparation of the new year with a clean slate and a plan of action.

1-REFLECT

• Reflect on the past year. This is something I learned from reading John Maxwell's 15 Laws of Invaluable Growth (seriously one of the best books you can read - highly recommend!)
• I have learned to revisit my goals. What did a accomplish? What needs to be given priority, what needs to be scrapped.
• Review my calendar. Make a note of meetings, events, or other things that served me. I jot down what I learned at each. Then look at where I am wasting time and make note of that for the upcoming year.

2-DECLUTTER

• After Christmas, I like to sweep out the holidays, clean, and have a fresh slate in my environment. This includes my home, office, vehicle, and other areas I spend time.
• Go through closet and donate or sell items not worn or used over the past year. Clean out makeup and other beauty products in your bathroom cabinet and vanity.
• Clean out cupboards, pantry, refrigerator, and freezer; trash outdated and unused pantry items and condiments.
• Include your virtual space. Delete and unsubscribe in the inbox and organize email and other files. This is a good time to upload to a cloud storage and delete files from devices. (Looking at your iphone camera roll at over 14,000 images)
• Go through paper clutter. File away what you really need, and throw away what you don't. Keep in mind that tax season is around the corner so this is a great time to begin gathering and organizing any receipts or digital files you will need for the CPA or tax preparer.

3-FINANCES

• This is also a great time to look at your monthly spending and work on the budget.
• Perhaps you don't need to subscribe to all those streaming services? This is a time to assess and cancel what you aren't using.
• Make those credit cards work for you instead of paying them each month. If you are in that minimum payment debt cycle, I would look for a legitimate financial advisor and pay them off. This is something I learned the hard way, but now, I make money off of my credit cards.

4-PLAN

• Now that you reflected on the past year's goals, it is time to plan the goals you have for upcoming year.
• Choosing new year's resolutions does not work for me and I don't know many people who are successful with this method of goal setting. Instead of resolutions, I like to choose a word to guide my year.
• Check out this blog post for 5 Steps to Choose a Word for the Year and download a list of 700 words to give you some inspiration.
• Choosing goals for an entire year is typically too lofty for me; so I break my year into four quarters and evaluate 10 life areas and choose goals based upon how I land there.

I have several blog posts with more information. Here is a good one to start: Goals Can Change

You can also download the free Goal Getter Guide

Other Simple Practices for the New Year:

Use 1 Second Everyday to document my life. I did this for 5+ years and it brought me so much delight! I skipped last year but may add it back for 2025.

I have wanted to start a One Line a Day Journal, but have not done so yet. I've even seen them made using notecards in a file box which appeals to my creative side, but not enough to make one yet!

I keep a daily gratitude practice in my journal and it helps me to stay focused on small positives in my daily life. In the past, I did these on ATCs, which again, appealed to my creative side.

My wish list for the new year

As much as I want to be a daily journaler, I never seem to stay consistent as much as I try, but I do remiain consistent with creating daily in my art journals. I spend 5-10 minutes making marks which turns into a completed art journal spread by the end of the week. This is a habit I plan to continue.

I have ordered myself the Julia Cameron The Artist's Way and companion Daily Artist's Way full of 365 daily meditations. My goal is to begin morning pages again and follow The Artist's Way as my own personal curriculum. I have incorporated this journaling habit in the past so I know I have it in me to do!

I hope to continue my morning fitness habit and walk consistently with my weighted vest, which I purchased last year.

Need some tips to establish better habits too? Check this post out: Habits are Key to Goal Success

What are you incorporating in your daily practice for the upcoming year?

4 Ways to Prepare for the New Year

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