Happy New Year! Welcome to 2024!!
I’m not much of a New Year’s Resolutions fan. I prefer to use the new year as a time to reflect on the past year and plan and make goals for the new year. New Year’s resolutions are often broken or forgotten within weeks of the new year. Plans and goals keep you going stronger the entire year for a better, happier, and successful YOU.
• One: Word of the Year. Instead of a long list of New Year’s resolutions, I’m a fan of picking a personal Word of the Year. This word should represent how you want to live your life in 2024 both personally and professionally. Brainstorm a few words and then pick the word that speaks to you. Then post this word somewhere where you will see it every day.
• Two: Vision board. Creating a vision board can be a fun and inspiring process. Think about where you want to go. Sit with magazines and find images or quotes that represent your vision. You can create a vision board for your year or for a specific business project. Gather a bunch of friends together and make it a fun event – drinking wine, chatting, and creating your board.
Need some help? Try FutureBoards: Learn How To Create a Vision Board to Get Exactly the Life You Want This book has inspired me to put more into my yearly boards.
• Three: Update your bucket lists or dream lists. If you don’t write it down, you’ll never do it. I find this to be true. Don’t waste your time sitting at home spending too much time on your phone. Use your lists as a way to inspire things to do with your time. Get your family involved and plan outings. Learn new skills. Start a new hobby. Travel. I have my own Bucket List and Travel Bucket List that I continually update and each summer we create a Summer Bucket List for our family.
• Four: Plan your year. Yes, plan your entire year. Pull out your planner(s) or purchase new ones. Sit down with your family and plan. Start with important dates like holidays and birthdays. School schedules and kids’ activities. Schedule vacations.
• Five: Budget check-in. The new year is always a great time to check-in with your budget and re-evaluate. Consider upcoming activities, events, and home projects. Adjust your business goals so that your income can cover your budget and/or adjust your budget to meet your income. If married this is an essential project to do with your partner. Monthly or even weekly check-ins throughout the year are essential to success.
• Six: Update your LinkedIn profile. Employed, self-employed, looking for work or not working, everyone should have a LinkedIn profile and keep it updated. You never know when things will change and it’s always good to be prepared. And you never know when a new opportunity may be presented when you’re not even looking for one.
• Seven: Update your resume. No matter your current employment situation everyone should have an updated resume. An expected opportunity may come your way where you need to submit a resume. Or your current situation may change unexpectedly. Update it and have a few people review it for feedback. Even if you’re not looking for a new job, you may want to see what opportunities are out there. Post your resume to Indeed .
• Eight: Plan your business goals. Whether you are employed or self-employed this new year is a great time to set goals for the year. Stretch. Include goals you know you can obtain and some that are a reach. Having goals helps you to plan your year, months, and weeks for success! Maybe you want to make a career change. Figure out what you need to do this – job search or add some skills to your resume.
• Nine: Declutter. Clutter is stressful and adds time to your daily routine. Takes more time to clean your home. Takes longer to find something you need. Having too many clothes leads to taking more time to plan your outfit.
Declutter for a less stressful year. Declutter to free up time. Clear out items you no longer love or need. Donate or sell to clear out your home (but don’t leave them in the trunk of your car for months – make a plan and do it). I sell things on eBay, Mercari, Poshmark (use referral code THESASSYSAGUARO for $10 off), Depop, Etsy, and Facebook Marketplace. The rest is donated through our local Buy Nothing Facebook group. Books I take to a Little Free Library in our community.
• Ten: Clean your home. Start the year refreshed with a clean home. I always feel happier when my home environment is clean. Makes me smile. Makes me feel less stressed. I’m open to entertaining more often because I’m not embarrassed by the dirt and dust. This is the perfect time to treat yourself and hire a cleaning service.
• Eleven: House maintenance. This is a perfect time to do some quick maintenance like replacing burned-out light bulbs, swapping out air filters, and replacing smoke detector batteries (so important!). I don’t know about your home but mine has been getting darker and darker as bulbs burn out. Time to go room by room and make a list of bulbs that are out and go shopping. I find when I don’t do this, I end up stocking large amounts of the wrong sizes. This is also a great time to update to LED for energy savings. I’m also in the process of changing to Daylight bulbs over Soft White. I prefer the white brightness in my home. Makes me feel more energized and happier.
• Twelve: Make a list of home repairs or projects for the year. We all have things we want to do for our home. If you own your home you may want to plan some remodeling projects. Whether you own or rent, there are usually some repairs that are needed. Maybe you also want to update your home decor. It’s your home, where you and your family spend most of your time and create memories. Love your space. It should bring you happiness. Use this list when creating your budget for the year so you know how much money to allocate to your home. Also use the list when planning out your year – what home projects will you work on each month.
• Thirteen: Update your emergency contact list. Everyone should have an emergency contact list somewhere in their home. Ours is posted on the inside of a kitchen cabinet. Useful for babysitters or house sitters. Useful for family members in an emergency. Make sure to include your own home address and phone number. In an emergency, people may forget some of the basics that may need to be given to 911. Have contacts like family members, neighbors, doctors, veterinarians, and poison control. Update these at least yearly – people move and contact numbers change.
• Fourteen: Schedule medical appointments for the year. When was the last time you had a routine physical? Make sure to schedule those routine checkups and not only see doctors for emergencies. Stay healthy! Family doctor, dentist, orthodontist, eye doctor, and specialists.
• Fifteen: Back up your computer. Just do it! You don’t want to lose all your photos and important files. Use an external drive or a backup service. Your computer could crash. It could get stolen or lost. Damaged in a house fire or flood. You never know so be prepared. I recently started using BackBlaze service. It’s online and automatic. I don’t need to think about it and my files are always backed up. Besides being automatic, I also love that the backup is not in my home so I don’t need to worry about losing a backup due to theft, fire, or natural disaster.
disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and purchase, I may receive a portion of the sale. These are ALL products and processes I do and use myself. All opinions are my own.