7 WAYS TO PREPARE AND PLAN FOR A NEW YEAR

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A new year is the best time for us to let go of the past, prepare, and plan for what’s to come.

Even though every moment is a good one for growth, a new year is a symbolic opportunity for us to move on from the past and make some changes in our lives.

There are things we can all do to help us transition into the new year so that 2024 is a good one.

To inspire you to take action and get organized to start the new year right, here are 7 ways to prepare and plan for a new year. 

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How to prepare and plan for a new year? 

1 – Reflect on the past year and think about the lessons you learned 

What better time to reflect on the past year than at the end of it, or at the beginning of a new one?

This step is crucial if you want to prepare yourself and plan for a new year. 

Schedule some time this week to think about your past year.

What have you accomplished? What good things happened to you?

This is the perfect opportunity for you to be grateful for the blessings you had.

You can also be proud of your journey, of all the growth and progress you’ve made. 

If you’ve made some things you wish you did differently, reflect on these “mistakes”.

What can you learn from them? What would you do differently? How can you avoid making them again in the future?

There are always things that do not go as planned and this is okay, do not blame yourself for that. But make sure to reflect on those now. 

There are so many life lessons we can learn over the course of a year.

Our lives can entirely change and look completely different so there’s always something we can learn. Do not overlook this step. 

2 – Declutter your home and life

A new year is a perfect time for you to declutter your life and start fresh.

Let go of things from the past year that are no longer serving you. That aren’t sparking joy, aren’t used, or that don’t contribute to your growth and wellbeing. 

There are so many benefits of having a clutter-free home and living a more minimalist life!

Minimalism gives you more clarity, calm, and can help you save tons of money. You spend less time cleaning and more time enjoying your life. 

So decluttering your home and life is an amazing way to prepare and plan for a new year!

You could start the process with a whole closet declutter. Or you could go through your digital life and delete anything that is not serving you anymore.

These 70 things to get rid of in your home might be great things to declutter from your home! 

You may also want to consider decluttering other aspects of your life.

Let go of toxic friends. Declutter your schedule and activities. This will greatly simplify your life, I promise! 

And if you’re having a hard time going through your belongings, you can find so many decluttering tips on this blog!

They’ll help you get inspired, and find the motivation to tackle the whole process of decluttering. 

3 – Deep clean your whole house 

The next step after decluttering your home is to deep clean your living space. Because I’m sure you don’t want to start a new year with a dirty house. 

After you’ve removed unwanted things from it, I find that cleaning is a necessary step to reset your home. Decluttering can get messy! 

Do not forget to vacuum, eliminate the dust, and wipe those dirty cupboards and drawers.

Deep clean your shower, your sinks, and your toilet.

Tackle the huge pile of laundry that’s been waiting for you and make sure it doesn’t accumulate again. 

A new year is also great to take some steps to create a toxic-free and healthier home.

Get rid of any products you’re using that contain harmful chemicals and fragrances.

Get into the habit of opening your windows and letting fresh air in.

You may also want to add some plants into your space as they’re amazing air purifiers. 

Deep cleaning and resetting your home is an awesome way to start fresh with a clean slate in the new year! 

4 – Do the things you’ve been putting off for a while

If you want to start the new year on a positive and productive note, please stop putting things off now!

There are many tips you can apply to stop procrastinating in your daily life! 

I know that there are some things, you just may not want to tackle. Because they’re hard. They’re boring. Or because you don’t know how to do them. 

But trust me you don’t want to have to complete old tasks from 2023 when 2024 comes around.

Get everything done as soon as possible because new things will come up in the new year.

And not completing them now will add a burden on you in the new year.

This is not a motivating way to start 2024! 

Now is the time for you to finally book all those medical appointments you’ve been putting off for way too long.

Please never neglect your health, this is what’s most important in life! 

Take action to finally repair all the broken things around your home, and if you can’t, get rid of them. 

If you still have things you’ve decluttered around your space, go to the donation center or post them online to sell them. Why are they still here? 

I love having life admin days!

Those are days when you do all the “admin” stuff you’ve been procrastinating on.

And I promise you’ll feel so accomplished after finally getting all those annoying things done! 

5 – Set intentions to start new habits

Whether you like coming up with new resolutions or not, a new year is undoubtedly the perfect moment for you to set new intentions and start new habits. 

I find that they help get back on the right track and be more in alignment with what you want to achieve and how you want to live. 

Take your favorite journal and write three intentions for the new year.

Choosing only three habits or resolutions for the new year will help you focus on those three and prioritize them.

They must be your most important priorities for the year.

If you write too many intentions, you risk getting discouraged and not achieving any at all. Which is counter-productive.

Once you’ve written those intentions down, commit to rereading them each week so that you stay focused and on track throughout the year! 

There are so many habits you may want to start incorporating into your life! 

You may want to start some healthy habits to incorporate into your mornings. It could be committing to cooking a nourishing breakfast every day.

Or you could set the intention to practice self-care daily, for instance before going to bed.

One of your goals might be to pay off debt. If so, promise yourself to apply some specific money-saving tips and to live more frugally.

It could be making sure you stop impulse buying for a whole year. 

There are many other habits you might want to break to live your best life in the new year! 

And you may even want to set intentions that will help take positive action and make the world a better place.

Why don’t you choose to purposefully take steps to help the environment in the new year and reduce waste? 

6 – Set personal and professional goals with an action plan and deadlines

New year resolutions and intentions are very important to properly plan for a new year!

But to fulfill them, you need to set specific goals for yourself. Both in your personal and professional life. 

While writing down your goals, be as specific as possible. It will increase your chances of actually achieving them. 

If you want to exercise more, set a specific goal to go to the gym three times per week or to walk at least 10,000 steps a day. 

If you want to achieve financial independence in the future, write down how much you need to earn in a year. How are you going to achieve that?

Set the goal to learn more about finances and money mistakes you should avoid to achieve this goal. What books are you going to read on the subject? When?

The key element here when writing down your goals is to include an action plan for each of them. Be as specific as possible.

Without a proper plan, you’ll be less likely to achieve all your goals. 

Deadlines are also super important as they give you a sense of urgency. But this only works if you truly commit to finishing the task before the due date. 

So choose the deadlines for all your goals, and write the due dates in your planner.

Be realistic and don’t impose on yourself deadlines that you know deep down you won’t be able to meet. 

Setting deadlines for when you need to achieve a given goal is one of the best time management tips to become more productive! 

7 – Make lists 

Lists are a key element for people who want to get organized in their life.

They help us keep track of the things we want to do and try without forgetting anything. 

You can make a list of anything you want. Here are some ideas of lists you could make: 

• Books you want to read (you may want to check out my favorite, Essentialism by Greg McKeown)

• Movies you want to watch

• Places you dream of visiting in the new year 

• New recipes you might want to try to cook

• Swaps you want to make to reduce waste in your daily life, in the bathroom, or in the kitchen 

• Gifts you would enjoy receiving so that your loved ones know what presents to give you 

• Courses you are interested in taking 

• Activities you’d like to try when you have time or when you’re bored at home 

Making lists of things you enjoy, want to try, and do in the new year is a great way to centralize your ideas. You can then come back to them when you’re looking for inspiration. 

You can also create lists with each step you need to take to achieve your goals.

Lists can be used in many different ways and I find them so useful to keep all my thoughts and ideas organized! 

There you go! Those were 7 ways to prepare and plan for a new year! 

I hope you could find this blog post useful and that it helped you get organized to start the new year with a clean slate!

Of course, you can apply these tips anytime during the year. But they’re especially useful at the end or the beginning of each year.

A new year is a perfect opportunity to start fresh, let go of the past, and start planning for what’s to come. 

What are some rituals you like to do to prepare and plan for a new year? 

I’d love to know how you get your life together!

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