The new year brings all the vibes of a fresh start, a new beginning. It’s a time where we can wipe the slate clean and start over. Making room for happier, healthier and overall better versions of ourselves. But without a solid plan in place this can be a little easier said than done. That’s why I like to follow a New Year Reset. It’s a simple plan that helps me let go of the past year so I can focus on fresh, impactful changes I want to make this year.
Around this time of year my head begins swirling with thoughts of vision boards, new year intentions and goals that I want to achieve weekly, monthly and yearly! But I find I can get pretty distracted without a vision. That’s why I began using a new year reset plan. It helps me get focused and better understand what I want for myself and a rough outline of how I will achieve it.
How to Create a New Year Reset Plan
Now is the best time to get started. What do you want this year to look like? How do you want it to feel? What do you want for yourself?
We need to begin creating the mold for how we want this upcoming year to look. Don’t let it just unfold. Decide now how you want it to play out. What new projects do you want to start this year? What do you want to accomplish? Ask yourself, what do you truly want for yourself this year.
Creating an outline for the year is a great way to begin putting the plan in motion. You need a roadmap to help guide you. It might not be perfect, but it doesn’t have to be! It’s somewhere to start. And that’s all that really matters.
I’ve laid out the ground work for how to accomplish a New Year Reset. This guide will help you to begin laying the foundation for what is necessary to turn 2024 into your best year yet!
It’s a simple process that will help you get clearer on your vision for the new year, ask yourself the important questions to help you find clarity and a fun way to help you learn and improve new skills and get you out of your comfort zone.
So without further ado, let’s dive in and learn how to make 2024 YOUR year!
Reflect on the Past Year
It can be hard to know where we’re going without taking a look back to where we have been.
Take some time to reflect on the past year. Use these questions to help:
- What surprised you this year?
- What new skills did you gain?
- What were some accomplishments you had? Big or small.
- What are some goals you set that you haven’t finished yet? Are some goals from last year rolling into this year?
Not all goals can be accomplished in a year. Some take much more time than that. Others will never actually be “completed.” They are an every day practice. Think things like exercise, healthy eating. Those things are never “done.” They are healthy habits that we need to be mindful of. They are commitments we make to ourselves everyday.
Use these questions as a guide to help develop new goals and habits or reinforce previous ones.
Reflection is one of my favorite ways to help shed a little more light on my vision for the upcoming year. It helps me realize where I need to focus more of my time and energy.
Journal Day and Night
We all know the profound impact that journaling has on our mental health. Untangling our jumbled up thoughts by putting them down on paper is such a wonderful release.
This year plan to take it one step further. For amazing results begin journaling both day and night. It doesn’t need to be much, just a little when you first wake up and a little before bed.
I’ve recently started doing this and I absolutely love it!
By doing this morning and night you are giving yourself the opportunity to go to bed feeling happy and grateful and allowing yourself to wake up feeling the exact same way.
With time you’ll begin noticing your happiness levels slowly starting to rise. It’s a place for you to overcome challenging experiences, deal with negative thoughts and begin creating space for positive self talk. Day and night journaling is the foundation for self-care and positive thinking and I highly encourage you to make this your new habit for 2024.
Create an After-Work Routine
This is a big one for me that I really plan on putting into practice this year.
Many of us have gotten the old morning routine locked down. If you are still working to perfect yours you can check out this post here.
But for me personally, the mornings are far easier to manage and control. Where things seem to get a little “out of my hands” is after work. It always feels like a mad dash to get dinner started, walk the dog, get things ready for tomorrow and still enjoy a little down time with the fam. All this while still trying to get to bed by 10pm.
In the blink of an eye those 4 hours have suddenly disappeared. I’m always amazed by how quickly I can lose track of my evenings. So this year I plan on creating an after-work routine to help me slow down and unwind, while at the same time setting myself up for a successful tomorrow.
Below is my plan for my 2024 after-work routine:
- Change out of work clothes
- Make the home feel cozy and inviting by lighting a candle
- Put on some music while making dinner
- Eat dinner at the table (not the sofa)
- Limit tv time. And screen time overall for that matter
- Carve out time to do something creative (read, journal, paint, color etc)
- Take a few minutes to get organized. Spruce up the kitchen, layout clothes for tomorrow etc
- Take the pup out
- In bed by 10pm.
I feel like this could be it’s own post. After a few months of giving this a try I’ll keep you updated on how it’s gone and how it’s evolved.
Create a Rolling List of Fun Activities
Too often than not my fiancé and I would find ourselves bored on a Sunday afternoon wracking our brains trying to figure out what to do. Completely forgetting about that new restaurant that just opened or the fun summer festival going on this weekend.
We got tired of missing out on all the fun.
So my fiancé, Paul, began creating what we call The Fun at Home List. Any time we hear about a new restaurant, live music, anything that sounds like fun, we throw it on the list. It’s simple a note on our phone that’s shared between us so we can both add to it whenever we want.
Now of course we can’t make it to everything on the list (each year it gets pretty long) but it’s amazing to have on hand during those Sunday afternoons when we want to go out and do something, but just don’t know where to go. Instead of just falling into our same old routine, we hit up the fun at home list and see if there’s anything going on around us that weekend.
Not only is this a great way to get us to try new things happening around our city, but it’s also super fun to look back on the list at the end of the year and see what all we did.
You’ll be amazed by all the new experiences you’ve tried during the year. It’s a wonderful way to keep track of what’s going on around you and a great way to mix things up and meet new people.
No longer are we ever left feeling bored with nothing to do. Now we have a one stop shop to help us decide how to spend a fun weekend.
Become a Student Again
I don’t mean going back to school (although you totally can if that’s something you want to accomplish this year!) But I’m talking about finding something new that has always interested you and taking some time to learn a new skill.
Hobby’s are so important and learning something new helps our minds grow, improve memory, improve self esteem and even our overall happiness!
You can even utilize the Fun at Home List to help you. It’s a great way to get you to think outside the box. Maybe attending an art gallery helps spark a sense of creativity or maybe you were inspired at the coffee festival and want to begin making fun coffee drinks at home. Maybe you were blown away by the chocolate mousse dessert at the new restaurant you tried last week and now it’s a goal of yours to learn how to create it.
It doesn’t matter how big or small it is, learning something new is a great way to help alleviate stress and maybe even a create a new hobby for you to enjoy years to come.
Go one step further and block out specific time in your after work routine to make time to practice and perfect your new skill/hobby. Giving yourself something to look forward to after a long day at work is a great way to relax and let go of the stresses of the day.
Final Thoughts
I hope this guide helps you begin creating your own new year reset plan for 2024 and beyond. Approach it with openness, love, inspiration, clarity and focus. Create an outline for what you want this new year to look like and use it as your guide.
Don’t be afraid to try new things and push new limits. Make this year the best year yet!
Happy New Year everyone! Cheers to your New Year Reset! Here’s to making 2024 YOUR year!
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