Who doesn’t enjoy this time of year? I love planning and getting geared up for the new year. It’s a wonderful time to enjoy the holidays, reset, reflect, and practice gratitude. These 5 tips will refresh and renew your life as you enter into the new year:

1. Reflect on these five transformational questions:

    1. What are you leaving behind in 2020?
    2. What did 2020 reveal to you?
    3. What are you choosing to implement in 2021?
    4. What did you struggle with?
    5. What can you do to make that struggle less troubling for you next year?

Spend some time answering these questions to reset each aspect of your life including personal goals, business/career goals, health goals, financial goals, and relationship goals.

2. Do a digital declutter

How many of us have apps we don’t use? Or just way too many photos or notes saved? It’s time to spend a couple of hours clearing out your phone to reset your digital space. Delete the apps you no longer use. A good way to approach this is if you look at an app and you don’t even know what it does, delete it. While you’re at, spend some time creating organized folders so your applications are organized and easy to find. Next, delete some photos! I personally have over 17,000 photos.

You absolutely do not need all 25 of the selfies you took, when you only like one. I’ve blocked out a couple of hours to listen to some audio and remove thousands of photos from my phone. Lastly, delete contacts, notes, emails, messages, and anything else that is clogging your storage and you no longer need. Additionally, unfollow people on social media who are not positively impacting your life. We’re about positive energy in 2021!!

3. Do a deep clean of your entire home

This isn’t your regular weekly clean, this is a time to get deep into all the crevices of your house. Remove the clutter that is tasking up unnecessary space. Throw away the mail and all the paperwork you no longer need. Clean out your closet. If you haven’t worn something in the last couple of years, consider selling it online through Poshmark, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, etc.

Or you can give it away to charity. I personally give away bags of clothes every season to the Lupus Foundation. Clean out your fridge, washing machine, under your bed, dishwasher, etc.  Pick things up one by one, consider if it has a functional purpose, then if it doesn’t remove it. While you’re tidying up, make sure to organize all your things, make them easy to see and find. While you’re doing your deep clean, consider implementing the Marie Kondo method.

4. Schedule a life admin day 

You don’t want to go into the new year with a long list of small to-do’s you’ve been putting off.  A life admin day is when you tackle all the administrative life items that you’ve been putting off. Book medical appointments you’ve been putting off. Finally, sit down and find a therapist. Set up your budget and recap on where your expenses went this year. Update your billing address for your credit cards.

Organize all the papers and files you have in your physical space. Go through your recurring subscriptions. Determine which ones are necessary and which ones can you share with a loved one to save on costs. Start by making a list of the most important life admin tasks you want to accomplish then schedule it into your calendar and get going. Determine a reward for yourself if you complete the tasks, to further entice yourself to get them completed.

5. Identify your intentions for the new year

I love the idea of going into the new year with one word or a couple of words that you will embody for the next 12 months. Get crystal clear on your intentions for the year. Then focus on clearly planning the details of your Q1 instead of trying to plan for all 12 months. I started planning quarterly in 2020 when I invested in the BossBabe planner and it’s been a game-changer. I got more goals done this year (in a pandemic) than I can remember ever getting done in another year.

By planning the first three months of the year clearly, you can get it off to a great start then use your results as a benchmark for Q2, then Q3, then lastly Q4. When I plan for the quarter, I start by writing out my top 5 goals. Next, I write out the steps needed to complete them and assign a due date to hold myself accountable. This process can be a little daunting, but the challenge is absolutely worth the long-term success.