Plan Your New Year Like a Boss

  We're fresh into a new year, a new season, and a new decade, everyone! And you know what that means, right? Of course you do! If you haven't done so already, it's time to PLAN YOUR NEW YEAR - LIKE A BOSS!

  This is one of my favorite things about December/New Year's and the wrapping up of a year. I love to plan, make lists, goal-set, journal, you name it! And this is a time specially considered for these things. Of course making goals and resolutions and all that good stuff is totally acceptable year-round, but it's super satisfying to get these things accomplished right as the new year rolls in, at least I think so. So today on the blog I'm going to be showing you what I do to plan my New Year, and what that all entails. Let's get into it!

  STEP #1: TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR YEAR

  It's hard to know entirely what to expect in a new year, but there are usually a few things you can plan for ahead of time. This step is all about taking an honest look at those things that are coming up, and figuring our what parts of the year will be your busiest. This may include:

• seasons of high-school or college in the spring and fall semesters. 
• your working hours, which may fluctuate depending on your employment or the job itself.
• vacations and travel plans. 
• holidays (Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc).
• moving, relocation, or other such possibilities.

  Keep all of these things in mind and, if possible, get them written down on your calendar/planner now to remember and recognize through your planning process. If you have particularly busy seasons (like school, or a long vacation), this will be important to do, as it will greatly affect how your year plays out. 

  I don't attend school these days and I don't have what would be considered a regular, full-time job. However, I work at a summer camp from July-August and typically keep these months free of my writing projects and other pursuits, as I am way too involved in my job to get much else done. I also like to take December off from my projects to rest and recuperate from the year, and enjoy the holiday season as much as possible. This will look different for every individual, but do make sure you keep these things in mind while creating your new year plans and goals.

  STEP #2: COMPARTMENTALIZE

  Now, if you're at all like me, you probably tackle multiple different activities, projects, and pursuits in your life. Maybe you're into writing and music, or deep into post-secondary but love to read and paint as well. I find the greatest tragedy of life is the fact that I am attracted to so many different things that I would love to pursue with my whole heart. The good news is, you can try your best to do that! Especially if you carefully manage your time.

  Compartmentalizing is all about dividing up your goals into these different categories of life. I find this really helpful in terms of organizing my thoughts and making sure I don't leave out anything that I want or need to do. The various "compartments" will look different from person to person, but the end result will be the same: tidying your thought process to accomplish goals in each facet of life.

  Your compartments may be; SCHOOL, TRAVEL, WORK, HOME, ART. While someone else's will look quite different. For an example of layout, here are mine...

  Once you've compartmentalized your different pursuits, start writing down all the things you want/need to accomplish in those areas. For instance, in your HOME category, you might need to reorganize your spare room, paint the kitchen, and landscape the front yard. Or, if you had a WRITING category, you might think about outlining your new novel, finishing a first draft, querying agents, or marketing your new release.

  STEP #3: PRIORITIZE

  Now we're going to take these individual lists and decide what is most urgent and important. In other words, which of these goals are your PRIORITY? What would you most like to see accomplished by the year's end? This can be hard to decide, or at least, I find it hard! After all, if I've bothered to write it down, it's probably important to me, right? While this might be true, I think we can all agree that doing literally everything we want is not super realistic, and unfortunately, the things we DON'T want to do often take precedence over random things we would LIKE to do. Hence, developing your prioritized list. 

  This doesn't mean that we shouldn't keep all our little hopes, dreams, ambitions, and goals locked away for some random day in the future when we might have free time. It just means taking an honest look at our lives as they are now and planning the appropriate strategy. So don't brush off those little things yet! Simply move them to the bottom of the list. 

  Don't forget that BALANCE is key to your priorities. While we have tasks in life that really do need our attention right away, before many of the things we want to do, if we never take time to focus on the things we want, we will quickly become burnt out, overwhelmed, and lose our focus. Likewise, only focusing on your personal priorities will likely end up going really poorly when we neglect our necessary responsibilities. So keep that in mind as you straighten out your list!

  Here is what my finished product looks like...

  STEP #4: DIVIDE YOUR SEASONS/MONTHS

  Now that we've compartmentalized and listed our goals, we're going to take a look at them individually. For this example, I'm going to focus on my WRITING goals, since it's probably the most relevant to my readers.

  Taking my writing goals, along with the information I collected from Step #1 (taking a look at my year), I'm going to divide up said year into either Seasons or Months. I personally prefer months, as I can be more specific and narrow it down a little more. But either will work!

  I focus my big projects in months and seasons that aren't as busy as others. As mentioned, July and August is basically off-time for me, at least in terms of my projects. And I like to take December off for recuperating and for Christmas. This will look different for different people, but be sure to consider your busiest seasons thoughtfully and honestly!

  STEP #5: CREATE ACTIONABLE STEPS

  After we've divided the year, we are going to break down our goals into actionable steps for each month/season. This year, one of my writing goals is to write the first half (30 chapters) of The Promise, the third installment in the fantasy series I've been working on (for much longer than you need to know hahaha). 

  To complete this goal in the timeframe of the year, as well as leaving myself availability to work on other things, I've decided to write 4 chapters per month from February-June, and then again from September-November. That will leave me plenty of wiggle-room, and keep free the three months that I need to step away from my projects. 

  Another one of my writing goals is to outline The Revenge (the 4th installment in said fantasy series). Since this is a smaller task that I can do anywhere, with or without my laptop handy, I've scheduled this for the months of July and August, where I can fit it in between camps and when I have spare time in my cabin.

  Step #5 is all about being honest with yourself, with what you need and can do to make your goal happen by the end of the year. Creating actual steps and "mini-goals" is really important for being able to reach your BIG GOAL. These steps give me the guidance and motivation I need to maintain momentum throughout the year. And the variety of projects throughout different months and seasons will be refreshing for my creative spirit. 

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  And that's my 5 Step process for planning my new year! It does take a bit of time and effort to sit down and really think critically about your time, but I have found it to be incredibly helpful at keeping me on track and helping me actually stick to my goals. Of course, what you plan out in January won't necessarily be your exact, strict schedule by September, allow yourself to grow and change and make new goals and plans - after all, life is spontaneous and full of unknowns!

LET'S TALK.

So there you have it! How to Plan Your New Year Like a Boss! What are your 2020 goals or resolutions? Are you a planner-type or do you generally live life as it comes? What have you found to be the most helpful way to plan your year? Let me know in the comments below!