At the end of 2020, after the Covid-19 pandemic had rocked my world in a way I did not see coming, I decided to plan more intentionally for the incoming year. 2020 was a rocky year for me professionally and financially; I was hoping for a better 2021, so I decided to seize the day. And 2021 came through for me in the most amazing ways.
I’m not saying you won’t have a good year or achieve your goals if you don’t do some reflection or planning. However, identifying your goals, breaking them down into smaller tasks or projects and writing them down can help you be more intentional and actionable about the goals you set.
I made a vision board for 2021 for the first time ever and at the end of 2021, I saw clearly how I had achieved most of the things on the vision board. I stuck to planning more intentionally after that.
If you have decided to be intentional about 2023, here is my reset checklist and some templates to guide you. I hope you can use them and feel free to ask me any clarifying questions. Happy New Year!
Reflect on the Year Ending
Write about the year you have had - I find writing a ‘story’ about my year a great way to reflect on the way the year went, and even remember wins or losses I may have forgotten. This does not have to be a spectacular piece of writing. Pick up your notes app or a pen and paper and just start writing from January, as you remember. How did you feel at the beginning of the year? Then what happened? How did February go? Did you fall in love in March? What challenges came with May? Just write.
Use year-end reflection prompts - Another helpful way to reflect on the year, if ‘just writing’ does not come to you naturally, is to answer reflection prompts. There are a thousand and one posts on the internet offering similar prompts but here are a few I love and will be using some of:
What did you try for the first time in 2022? What made you feel pure joy? How did you give back? What is your best memory from the year? What are your top highlights from 2022? What were your biggest challenges this year? What are you most proud of accomplishing in 2022? How did money impact your life this year? How did you manage stress in 2022? How did you step out of your comfort zone this year? How have you grown this year? What did you get better at? Who or what had a major impact on you this year? How did you engage in self-care?
Assess the goals you set for the year: Whether you had detailed goals set out for 2022 (like me) or just a vague idea of what you would like to achieve, take some time to assess where you are against those goals and see what you were able to achieve and what you weren’t. Congratulate yourself on the goals achieved. Well done, friend. Put the unachieved goals in an invisible ‘parking lot’. You will need them when goal setting for 2023.
Plan for the new year
After you have taken some time to sit with your reflections on the year ending, it’s time to look forward to the new year.
Write down your goals for the new year: I started doing this two years ago and it has helped me to stay accountable and consistent. I created a template on Microsoft excel and categorized my goals into personal, professional, health etc. and then set realistic and achievable goals for the year. Every couple of months, I come back to the sheet to check in on how I’m doing and remind myself what I need to pick up or do better with. Ideally, I would check this more regularly. Having a written reference for the things I want to do has definitely been more productive than in previous years when I just freestyled. You can download my template here, and customize it based on the categories that apply to you. I have added examples to each category, so go ahead and add your own goals or categories. Don’t forget to also include those unachieved goals from 2022 if they fit into 2023’s plans.
Create a financial plan for the new year: I am a very financially accountable and responsible person, so having a money plan is critical for me. I won’t be sharing any templates here since I am still figuring out what works well for me. Basically, I estimate my projected income for the year (based on my current income and/or any new plans), I estimate my recurring expenses and any major expenses I would need to make during the year including rent, travel, new gadgets etc, and then I estimate my projected savings. This gives me an idea of what disposable income and savings I would have for the year, and keeps me accountable even when plans shift.
Vision Board!: This is the most fun part of this whole exercise. A vision board is basically a physical representation of your goals or wishes. Many people make physical vision boards using magazine cutouts and other pictures, but I find it easier to make one online. A digital vision board means a wider range of picture options. I also love using my vision board as my desktop screen saver to remind myself of what I want to do/achieve. The idea is to use your already created projected goals as a guide, and create a vision board that represents the goals you want to achieve. For example, if your goal is to rent a new apartment, or buy a new car, get photos that represent those goals and add them to your vision board. Here’s the Canva template I will be using this year. This other template is also great if you’re designing on your phone. The idea is to replace the sample photos with photos that represent the 2023 you wish to have. Canva is pretty easy to use and you can find tutorials online.
Declutter and Clean
Declutter: Decluttering at the end of the year is a great way to let go of the old and make space for the new. Go through your wardrobe and take out the clothes/shoes/bags you didn’t reach for at all in the last 12 -18 months, unless they are seasonal, for very special occasions, or have a memory tied to them. Give out those items to people who would need them the most. I have been donating used clothes in good condition through HelpCentral for a couple of years now. Using their website, you can select a charity and they will pick up the items for free and deliver them to the charity. PS: Only give out clothing items in good and wearable condition.
This is also a good time to declutter your pantry, your skincare stash or your makeup stash. Look out for expired or nearly expired products and throw them out or prioritize them for use.Deep Clean and Organize: Deep cleaning at the end of the year might be cliché, but it feels good. Take some time during the last week of the year or the first week of the new year to thoroughly clean your spaces. If you deal with bugs or pests, schedule fumigation first. After cleaning, you can organize and/or re-organize. I promise it will feel good. I personally find cleaning stressful so I will be hiring a deep cleaning service.
That’s it, folks. This is my checklist for the new year reset. I hope you found something useful. Let me know what you will be doing to prepare for the new year in my Instagram comments.
Cheers to the New Year!
Thank you, Phi! Seeing your post motivated me to evaluate my year and set goals for 2023. I downloaded and modified your Excel template and I am literally using it right now. Will be using Notion to break them down into even more bits.
Just right in time!