10 Things to Do Before the New Year

As we get well into the holiday season, it’s time to start thinking of the new year. Most people usually head into January with a lot of goals and resolutions, but they end up burning out pretty quickly. This is usually the case for me as well, however before the start of 2023 I took some time to organize my life a bit before going full-on into the new year with my goals. This helped me immensely throughout the year, and I accomplished many more of my resolutions than I ever have before! With 2024 quickly approaching, I’m sharing what I did last year and what I plan to do this year to organize my life and prepare myself to accomplish even more in the new year.

Reflect on Your Accomplishments This Year

Reflecting on your accomplishments from this past year is one of the most important things to do before the new year. It’s so easy to get sucked into a negative mindset if you didn’t accomplish all of the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t appreciate everything else you were able to do! Taking the time to honestly look back on what you accomplished and give yourself a pat on the back will not only give you a sense of pride, but it will help motivate you to accomplish your new goals because you know you can do it!

Reflecting on your accomplishments can also help you evaluate what works for you and what doesn’t. This can help you set new goals and plan for them according to how you respond best. For example, if you set a goal to read 50 books this year but only accomplished 25, maybe you adjust your goal to a lower amount for next year; maybe you need to switch up the type of books you read; maybe you need to switch to a digital format instead of a paper copy or vice versa; or, maybe you need to break your goal down into smaller steps to push you to accomplish more. Setting aside some time to honestly reflect on what you did accomplish and narrow down the whys behind it will help you make so much more progress in the new year!

Write Out 3 Goals for the New Year

In my own experience, I find I get a little over-ambitious at the start of the new year and I set WAY too many goals for myself. I always want to push myself to be the absolute best I can be right from the get-go, which is incredibly unrealistic. If you overwhelm yourself with too many goals, you just set yourself up for failure right away.

Instead, brainstorm a list of everything that you want to accomplish this new year, and then break them down into two or three main categories. For example, maybe you want to save money, pay off your credit card debt, and buy a new couch. These three smaller goals could fit into an over-arching goal of “I want to be better with my money this year.” Another example could be that you want to cook healthier meals, lose 10 pounds, become more flexible and work out 4 days a week. These goals could be grouped under “I want to live a healthier lifestyle.” So now, instead of having 7 separate goals at the start of the year which can be overwhelming, you have 2 bigger goals to work towards. This relieves the pressure of making progress on each individual goal right away.

Once you have your three main goals, you can break them down into smaller goals that are easier to accomplish. When you’re breaking down your goals, it’s important to have a timeline and a way to measure your progress. Without a timeline, you may end up procrastinating your goals until the end of the year which is not going to give you many results. Or, it could cause the opposite problem where you feel pressured to make a ton of progress right at the start of the year, and you’ll end up burnt out and unmotivated. This is also why it’s important to have a way to measure your progress. One of the best ways to motivate yourself is with your own progress!

Get a Planner

One of my favourite things to do in preparation for a new year is to set up a new planner! It’s always so fun to start writing in dates and goals and getting yourself organized, but it won’t help much if you don’t use it throughout the year!

When picking a planner, you need to make sure it’s the right kind for you. And that can mean a lot of different things. If you’re constantly on your laptop or phone, you may want to choose a digital planner in the form of an app or even just Google Calendar. If you prefer something physical, you should probably go for a standard paper planner. If you like a mix of both and you have an iPad, it might benefit you to try out a digital planner that you can write on in Goodnotes or Notability. Either way, it’s incredibly important to pick the right version so that it’s always accessible to you and you’ll be more likely to use it.

Organize Your Closet

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been STRUGGLING to find outfits I like and feel good in. This can always put a damper on whatever plans you have if you don’t feel confident in what you’re wearing or if you’ve taken so long to figure out an outfit you’re sweating and exhausted before you even leave the house!

When you’re doing a purge of your closet, you want to make sure you’re being harsh and realistic with yourself. Get rid of anything that doesn’t fit and doesn’t make you feel confident, that way it won’t even be an option for you to struggle through. Organize your space in a way that works for you- maybe you prefer to organize by colour; or maybe you prefer to organize by season. Either way, figure out what works best for you to make it easy for you to find the items you’re looking for!

Another good idea is to pre-plan some basic outfits. If you’re in a rush, you don’t want to spend extra time stressing about what to wear! A good goal is to develop a capsule wardrobe that allows you to mix and match some basic pieces to create a ton of different outfits. Sort through the items you already have and figure out what items you need to develop a solid base for your capsule wardrobe. Then you can add fun pieces and accessories, but you’ll always have the basics to revert back to. If you have a hard time thinking of outfits in the moment, no matter how many solid pieces you have in your closet, take some time to try outfits on and take pictures so when you’re in a rush you can look back and already have pre-planned outfits.

Try Out Some New Recipes

One of the most common New Years resolutions is always something about health, whether you want to lose weight or just simply eat healthier. Personally, figuring out healthy meals that aren’t the same over and over again is a struggle for me, which can put a damper on my motivation. Sometimes its just easier to order in when you don’t know what to make!

If you have some time in between all of the holiday goodies you get to enjoy (as you should!) take some time to compile a list of healthy options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Make sure it’s an extensive list- you need options! And when I say healthy, I don’t mean just salads and veggies all the time. I love looking on Pinterest or even Tiktok for some creative and healthy versions of meals that I enjoy (like tacos or pasta) but aren’t exactly the best for you. These healthier versions of my favourite meals keep me motivated to continue eating healthy because I actually enjoy them, and I don’t have to worry about whats going into them or how many calories they have.

A good idea is to try out a few of these recipes ahead of time to make sure you actually like them. We all know that healthier versions of our favourite foods don’t always satisfy that craving we have, so finding those particular meals that do will help you on days where your motivation is lacking and you’re finding yourself opening your UberEats app.

Resolve Conflicts

Going into a new year with unresolved conflict just brings bad energy right off the bat. You don’t want to bring negative vibes with you when they could be left in the past. Part of growing and pushing yourself to be better means having those hard conversations that you’ve been avoiding. And of course, there are those conflicts that you simply cannot resolve with the other person. But resolving conflicts doesn’t necessarily mean having a face-to-face conversation with someone. It also means taking a look at the situation, seeing how you reacted and what you’re proud of or what you could do better in the future, and then making peace with yourself about it. Resolve the conflict internally if it’s impossible to do in the real world. Move on from negative situations so that you have room to grow and flourish in the New Year.

Get a Journal

One of the best resolutions I had at the start of last year was to journal more, and I’m so happy I did. Not only is journaling a great way to record your memories, it’s a form of self-therapy. You have the ability to get your thoughts and feelings out in a way that’s private and entirely for you. I set aside 10-15 minutes each night to write out what I did that day and how I was feeling. Some days were repetitive and some days I only wrote about half a page, but just the simple act of sitting down and writing out how I felt and what I was thinking for the day improved my mental health drastically.

Again, journaling can come in many forms so you need to figure out what is best for you that will help you stick to it. I personally prefer to write in a paper journal instead of a digital format (although I guess you could consider blogging a form of journaling as well!) and I find so much satisfaction in flipping through the pages and seeing the difference in myself from the beginning of the year until now. It was also a great motivator while I was doing the 75 Hard Challenge because it was a way to hold myself accountable while simultaneously reflecting on my accomplishments through each day of the challenge. Whatever it is you’re journaling about, make a point of doing it each day until it becomes a habit!

Get a Head Start on Your Goals

Why wait until January 1st to start your goals? Not everyone celebrates the holidays in the same way or even at all, so if you have some free time and your motivation is kicking, start now! I always get so excited and motivated when I plan out my goals, but I give myself excuse after excuse during the holidays to be lazy and to just wait for January to start working on my resolutions. And hey, relaxing during the holidays is perfectly fine! But my motto is don’t pressure yourself either way. If you want to relax and eat yummy treats, go for it! But if you’re feeling the motivation now and you don’t want to wait until January, start now!

Create a Cleaning Schedule

One of my biggest issues this year was keeping up with a cleaning schedule. I fell into the “Sunday reset” routine from all the Tiktoks I was watching, and thought that dedicating one day each week to cleaning was the best solution to keeping my house clean. But what happens when a Sunday comes around and you just feel like being lazy? What if you went out the night before and you’re hungover? What if you have plans?

Creating a cleaning schedule ahead of the new year will allow you to plan out little tasks you can do each day to break down your cleaning list and actually give yourself more free time. Write out a schedule that fits with your life, head to Canva to make it into a cute design, or even find some free printables on Pinterest! Then, stick to it! You’ll have a clean space without the pressure of saving an entire day to do it.

Write Down What Makes You Happy

The most important goal you should have every year is to be as happy as possible. When you’re planning out your goals for the year, make sure they center around making you happy, not for any other reason! Don’t set a goal just because someone else told you to do it. Goals need to be set to push ourselves to be better, but also to move us in a direction that will make us happier than before. Even if you’re not a New Year’s resolution person, you should be focusing on doing what you love and what brings you joy this year.

Before the new year starts, write down a list of everything that makes you happy. This list can be as long or as short as you want it to be, and you can keep adding things to your list throughout the year. Think of anything and everything that lifts you up, whether it’s your favourite books or a friend or an activity that you love to do. Then, display this list somewhere in your space where you will see it often. It will be a reminder to focus on doing more of what you love this year!

What are you going to do to prepare for the new year? Let me know!

Looking for some inspiration for your vision board? Check out how I made mine this year!