Planning for a New Year

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Planning for a New Year

Decide the goals you want to accomplish

First, list intentions:

  • Intentions aren’t about the action plan—they’re the values and desires behind the plan.
     
  • While intentions can serve as the foundation for goals and resolutions, they’re also free of any timelines, numbers, or measurable results. The goal might be to cook one new meal a week, but the intention or value behind it would sound like nurturing creativity or taking care of my health.
  • Some intentions may include: increasing thoughtfulness, improving time management, being kinder, strengthening friendships, etc.
     

Then, set goals that support your intentions:

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  • Are there any goals you'd like to work toward?
  • Are those goals short-term or long-term goals?
  • Try to prioritize 3-5 goals that you can focus your efforts on and remember that these goals might change throughout the year or start to look different as time goes on.

Take a look at our resources section for more information on intention and goal setting.

Develop a healthy routine

It can be difficult to get back into the swing of things after the holidays, but developing a routine to enter the New Year with is a great way to get back on track mentally and physically.

Here are some ways to start developing a routine:

  • Personalize your routine: Having a routine that is personalized for you and your everyday life can make it easier for you to stick to and keep up with.
     
  • Simplify your routine: There are so many ways to set a routine but if you focus your efforts on one single thing per month, by the end of the year your routine can look exactly how you envision it.
     
  • Stack your habits: Adding one new habit onto something you already do can make it easier to change your routine in the long run.
    • For example, if you listen to music at a certain time every day, you could add in the habit of cleaning up your space while you do so.
       
  • Add in self-care: Self-care comes in many different forms, but make sure to prioritize something for yourself every day.

Self Reflection

Self-reflection is taking the time to think about, meditate on, evaluate, and give serious thought to your behaviors, thoughts, attitudes, motivations, and desires.

Reflection is something you can do by yourself on your own time where you can create a peaceful space for yourself to look back on any challenges you had over the previous year and areas where you grew. Where you can dive deep into your thoughts, emotions, and motivations and determine the “Why?” behind them.

You could start by asking yourself questions about yourself and your values.

Journal or write about your thoughts: Expressing our emotions and thoughts through writing can be beneficial for our mental health and it can help us make sense of what we may be feeling or thinking.

Keep track of your progress

Keeping track of your progress can be motivating because it shows you where you started and how far you've come.

After setting a goal, keeping track of your progress can guide you to achieving that goal. It can help you understand what types of actions led to your progress and which methods have worked best for you and which haven't.

Additionally, keeping track of your progress can help you form a schedule surrounding your habits and cultivate a routine that works best for you.

Here are some ways to keep track of your progress:

Be gentle with yourself

It's completely okay if you're not ready to think about creating a new year's plan or if you're questioning where to start. If you choose to create a plan for the new year, remember that life happens that your plan may change or look different as time goes on.

Think of your plan as a road map. You can pick up where and whenever you left off, or change your goals, priorities, and destination at any time.

Resources: