Mmmmmm, a new year approaching….

and, I don’t know about you, but this week between Christmas and New Years is one of the most DISTINCT times of year. Like the energy is so potent & so unique.

am I still in holiday sloth mode drinking cocktails and eating cookies all day? not really???

but am I feeling ALL FIRED UP and “new year new me” energy yet?? um, noooo?

what’s left is a kind of awkward push-pull between rest, recovery AND planning, productivity.

And while this can feel a bit confusing— with time, this week has become one of my FAVORITE weeks of the year— and I think it’s because I allow for both of those feelings to exist. Like, I CAN rest and relax and enjoy for most of the day *and* do 1-2 productive, organization, and mindset things per day that will set me up for success & a fresh mindset come January 1st.

Because, while I don’t subscribe to the messages of having to reinvent the wheel and makeover your whole life ever new years— I can’t deny ya girl looooves an opportunity for a fresh start, fresh goals, and a fresh mindset.

And while there is a lotttt of self-improvement magic that can happen on January 1st, I actually really dive into my “new year’s ritual” between December 26th and December 31st to set myself up for success going into the new year. These 9 things are all simple (yet tangible) tasks and self-care practices that I lean in to during these final days of the year to clarify, reflect, and set my intentions for the new year. Let’s dig in, shall we?

1. clearing physical space

Mmmmm, there truly is NO better time to declutter, get rid of excess, and organize your physical space. It feels soooo lovely to enter a new year with a peaceful, clean, tidy environment. It’s such a physical (and energetic) shift. Now, this doesn’t have to be a huuuuuge undertaking or mean Marie Kondo-ing your whole dang house, but I do recommend prioritizing the organization of a few key spaces you want to detox and organize (your closet, your messy pantry, your mug cabinet, under the bathroom sink, your car, etc.). Set aside a few hours, put on a good playlist, and get sortin’!

2. clearing digital space

Going off of the physical space, I usually take the end of the year to clean and tidy up my digital space. In our high-tech world we use our devices pretty much every day—shouldn’t they be easy-to-navigate and organized? Before the new year, I will typically set a few hours aside to go through the files on my computer/phone and organize, eliminate, and create clarity around the files I have accumulated over the last year. This sounds so simple, but I promise it makes such a difference!

3. holding my own lil goal-setting retreat

Mmmmm, my FAVORITE step. My triiiiied-and-true goal-setting ritual. This is where I set aside one day and really dive in and have a sacred, tangible time reflecting on the past year and setting my goals, intentions, and habits for the new year. I call this a “retreat”, but realllllly, it’s just me camped out at my kitchen table and setting a vision for the upcoming new year—alllllll the tea, good music, candles, cozy clothes, and a day just for me and my self-growth. During this time, I take inventory on the previous year, clarify my goals, and create tangible plans to reach them.

How exactly do I do it? Welllllp. Every single year, I do the exact same 6 steps to set my new year’s goals. This process is what I have used to accomplish my financial goals, health goals, self-care goals, work goals… and not to toot my own horn, but I really believe this little process is the secret sauce to *actually* accomplishing my new year’s resolutions year after year.

If you are interested in having your own goal-setting retreat before the new year, I hiiiiighly recommend checking out this lil workbook set that I created which gives you guided journal prompts, my 6-step goal-setting process, annnd habit tracking sheets to set yourself up for success (oh, and not to mention, it’s 30% off when ya grab them all together….)

If nothing else, my one-day goal-setting retreat is what makes me feel equipped, peaceful, and ready for the upcoming new year. It really is such a beautiful, reflective, and empowering process. Eeee! I’m getting excited just typing about it, ha!

*The Productivity and Manifestation Workbook Bundle: Your Goal-Setting Starterpack (Save 30%!)*

4. prioritizing quiet time

Another thing that I do before the new year is prioritizing quiet time every day. Quiet time, in general, is something that is easy for me to put on the back burner in my everyday life. However, during these few special days before the new year I commit to daily quiet time—whether that is journaling, spending intentional time in prayer, practicing daily mindfulness, or getting cozied up and reading… this daily quiet time really helps me feel calm and centered and make peace with the year that is finishing.

5. handling outstanding logistic tasks

Mmmmm, this sounds boring, but it is actually SO freeing. I set aside a few hours to do all the tedious things that i have been putting off before the year ends—sending in returns, scheduling appointments, etc. I will also do a superrrr thorough look at our finances, set any new year’s savings goals in Qapital (not sponsored— just a refer-a-friend link), see where we are at money-wise, set goals, take inventory, etc. It feels SO good to check these logistic things off before the new year and start the new year knowing that all those little details are taken care of.

6. having less screen time

Sounds soooo simple, but this is HARD for me. It takes a lot of diligence (...annnnnnd strict “screen time” limits in my settings, ha!) but I am really trying to put my phone on airplane mode more and live more screen-free.

This is something I am constantly working on, but especially during the sacred few days before the new year… One mindset shift that is helpful for me is to stop thinking about “being off” from my phone and instead plan when I will “be on” my phone.

It sounds so silly, but by putting my intention on when I will use my phone and creating a bit of structure, it creates it easier to take some peaceful off-screen time. Eliminating the time I waste daily on my devices allows me more mental space (and, let’s be honest, time) to be intentional as I prepare for the new year.

7. normalizing my sleep schedule:

Okay, another small (yet very practical) thing I am doing to prepare for the new year is getting my sleep schedule on track now and not waiting for January 1st. I have some big goals for 2022, and it won’t help if I am wasting time sleeping in every morning! I am being diligent about going to bed around 10:00 each night (then I read for about a half an hour), and then waking up early to get my day started rockin’ and rollin’!

PRO TIP: If you have difficulty waking up (*raises hand*), you guys haaaaave to try this alarm clock. It gradually lightens the room and plays gentle music to wake you up. I never thought this would work for me because I have always been a full-volume, set 784392748 alarms, harsh noise kinda gal, but WOW—this works so well. Not only do I easily wake up to it every day, I don’t feel the need to snooze because the gradual brightening of the room eaaaaases me out of sleep instead of jolting myself awake with my phone alarm. Phew, sorry for rambling, buuuuuut I just really love this alarm clock and am thankful I’ll have it to support me with a healthy sleep schedule in 2022!

8. setting myself up for success & organizing my habits :

This is where I look at all those big, beautiful goals I made and create “checkpoints” to make sure I stay accountable and on track. Because here’s the key about new year’s resolutions—right now you are motivated + jazzed up about these goals, making it easy to say “oh yeah, I’ll totally accomplish this.”

…but life happens.

And I have found that it is CRUCIAL to have reminders and accountability boosters put in place before the year even starts. Work schedules get busy, plans change, new responsibilities emerge. So if you harness allllll of this positive goal-setting juju right now and create a tangible way to track your progress, you are setting yourself up for when life gets busy + these goals may subconsciously go to the back-burner.

Whether you are a pen and paper girl like me (the TFB habit tracking sheets are everything), or the brand new GOOGLE SHEET digital habit tracking sheets (so many of you requested this!) use your planner, print out a giant wall calendar—whatever works for you, take today to create an accountability + reminder system for your goals moving into the new year!

9. picking my word of the year

Annnnnd the final step—picking my word of the year. I have done this lil ritual for a long time. I simply pick one word that I want to exemplify in the year ahead. The word I pick changes every year and is always intuitive. I usually pray and think on it, and in my gut I just know what I want my word to be. Some examples in the past were “zest,” “simplify,” “presence,” etc. It may sound silly to you, but it always serves as a simple, concrete way to remind myself of my overarching focus for the next year. I will typically write it down in my planner, write it on paper, put it on my desk, etc. If this sounds up your alley, I hiiiighly recommend it!

in a nutshell:

Alllllright my friends, 9 simple habits and self-care rituals to set yourself up for the new year. While you can absolutely do these January 1st, I think it is so powerful to eaaaase yourself into the new year with your goals, intentions, and energy solidified and fresh.

It’s important to note: nothing about these 9 tasks above is rigid or black-and-white, it’s more about what you need to set yourself up for success as you enter the new year.

Treat the ideas above as a ritual—not a chore. Whenever you dive in, make it sacred. Brew a cup of tea, put on your favorite playlist, ask your hubs to watch the kids, whatever you gotta do—the deeper you are able to embrace “me time” throughout this process, the better!

Soooo, my friend—pick out a few (not necessarily ALL) of the tasks on this list and COMMIT to them. Do them fully, set your intentions—and your 2023 is going to reflect that. Never, ever forget that these small decisions can accumulate to big impact.

Time to let the magic unfold. I can’t wait to see what the new year has in store for you, friend.

With love,

Kate

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The 9 Things I am Doing to Mindfully Prepare for The New Year