What I Am Doing To Get Ready For The New Year

The end of the year always brings a whirlwind of activity. It is a hectic season, and January will be here before we know it. We all know that once the calendar turns, the new year will start moving just as quickly as this one did. That is why now is the time to get ready for what is coming. If we don’t intentionally stop to process the last twelve months, we risk rolling into the new year on autopilot. I want to hit January 1st with momentum, clarity, and a sense of purpose.

Here is the framework I am using right now to get ready for the new year, and how you can use it too.

Reflection

Any planning session, especially for goal setting or looking ahead to a new time frame, requires a look back first. This is the opportunity to review the successes from the year and celebrate what worked really well. I use my Weekly Journal to walk through the year and see the highlights. I can always drill in to other documents for details if needed. This is as much about refreshing ideas in your mind as being a time for self-recognition. It will help in the later steps of the process as well.

Another great tool is reviewing your photo album. It captures personal and professional highlights at a glance. We all have a mix of locations we have pictures from now right in the palm of our hand. I love to look back at stores I have visited, people I have spent time with, and all the vacation and family pictures from the year. It is a reminder for balance and a trip down memory lane. It reinforces your purpose, and sometimes, makes you realize just how much you actually accomplished.

What Is Working Well, and What Should I Maintain?

It is easy to focus only on what needs to be "fixed," but success leaves clues. I want to identify the habits and routines that are currently working the way I want them too.

I ask myself: What am I doing right now that makes my life easier or more effective?

I look at all the routines I currently have running. Mornings, throughout the day, and evening habits that keep my on track. This exercise can serve two purposes. First, what are the ones you know you want to keep? Second, identify anything that isn’t working exactly how you want and set it aside for the next step. I work through my typical day chronologically to check each step off.

As part of this, I am looking at my own actions as well as the tools or resources I use at each step. My morning routine is feeling pretty good right now. I am traveling more now than I was at the beginning of the year, so I am accounting for my mornings a little differently. What happens on days I am at home versus days I am on the road. I have shifted a few things already based on this, and they are working well. I will be keeping those in place.

Next, let’s look at the items that might need to be adjusted.

What Do I Need To Change?

This step requires patience and honesty with yourself. What isn’t working and why. It is the ‘why’ part that requires being very honest with yourself. One of my greatest challenges is staying disciplined to my routines and timing. I continue to find myself distracted, or doing work that could be done at a better time. For example, I had been using some morning hours (my prime productivity time) to read articles. This is work that is probably better served for a lower energy time frame. I can still read and capture notes and ideas in the afternoon or evening instead of using my high energy, high motivation hours for that.

I also work through:

• Where did I consistently struggle?

• What goals did I miss, and why?

• What activities leave me drained rather than energized?

None of these, including being honest with myself, is meant to beat me up or shame the activity. Instead, this is designed to create real improvement. The best way to address opportunity area is still to face them head on.

It is also critical to prioritize these areas you would like to improve. You will not be able to tackle them all at the same time. That has been something I have tried and failed out before. I get excited to change some things, then disappointed when I try to do them all at once and end up missing on the changes and falling back into old habits. Take one at a time and work it to completion before taking on the next one.

What Do I Want To Accomplish By This Time Next Year?

Once I have reflected on the past and assessed the present, I look to the future. The final step is looking ahead and determining what I want to accomplish. This is where I write down my goals, ideas, and the big things I would like to achieve. However, I am careful here. It is easy to write down twenty massive goals, but that is a recipe for failure. I try to filter this list through a lens of realism. What can actually be done?

I create a priority list from these ideas. Then, I use one of my favorite questions to turn these dreams into plans:

"What needs to be true in order for this to happen?"

This question really helps to filter through the unnecessary steps and gets to what I really need to do. If I want to achieve X, what needs to be true?

• Do I need a new skill?

• Do I need to hire a specific role?

• Do I need to stop doing something else to make space for this?

The answers to "What needs to be true?" become the actual action items. They bridge the gap between "I hope this happens" and "I am making this happen." They can also help build a realistic timeline. When you see the steps that need to happen for something to come to fruition, you can establish the right time frames for each of those. Collectively, that allows you to see how long it will take. It also allows you to see the steps you need to get started on right away. It might be you require two years to really make a big change.

Refining the Process

I refined this process slightly to create the most effective method for setting up the upcoming year. I feel like this works well for me at this point, but I do make little adjustments from what I’ve learned over the course of the year. My morning routine has been the area I changed the most this year as my work has changed. Getting outside each morning and writing in my gratitude journal has been one of the best additions this year. I can use that to anchor some additional items to in the year ahead. Even the change I noted above about when I do my reading and article review will make a difference in how I approach my day and what I can achieve during my most productive hours.

How do you approach your planning process for the new year?

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