I lobe that new you energy a new year brings. I like that a new year can signify a fresh start, but it doesn’t always have to start on Jan 1. You can start any time you’re ready to commit to yourself. There is so much out there about new year resolutions and intentions, so if you’re not ready right now, don’t worry, just save this post and refer to it later.

So, I’m not planning on sharing all of my New Year Intentions, but my number one intention is to finally do what makes me happy and not what I think “I should be doing” or “what everyone else is doing.”  Since I was in middle school, I cared a lot about what my friends thought about me or my peers I went to school with, I wanted to be accepted by everyone, and my family’s approval was on the top of that approval list. I can’t believe I’ve struggled with that until I hit 30, but I’m happy and proud to share that’s becoming a thing of the past. I’ve been in therapy for a year (for other reasons) and I’ve been learning about those younger years more – I’ll save that for another blog post. But since I’ve recognized that, this year I’m working on creating intentions that make me happy and help me be my best – doing me!

Intentions can be a lot harder then you think, but I started to create new intentions every month/every full moon and they actually stuck. I forgot where I learned about full moon intentions, but each full moon signifies the end of a cycle (a full 29/30 days) and it’s a great time to reflect on your month and see what worked and didn’t work for you. I like to reflect each full moon on what made me happy and what didn’t, also what’s going to make me a better me and do better. There is a bit more to full-moon rituals (your can do more research), but my way is simply, write in my journal what I liked, what I didn’t like the previous month, and what I want to work on in the next and then try by best to just do better the next.  I’ll be honest, it’s hard to set intentions and just go out and do what you want, it takes some mapping and planning, but I promise you can do it.

A couple months ago I learned it’s about our habits not the goal or the motivation. Good habits will get us to our goals and help us achieve whatever it is we desire. I’m not super motivated every single day, but a good habit helps me push through those days I’m not feeling it. A book that really helped me make sense of that was a Atomic Habits –I highly recommend. The book is a fairly easy read and it helped understand how to build and work on habits to get to my goals, dreams, or intentions. If I can do 1% better everyday in anything and all I do (i.e. washing dishes, cooking food, getting organized or reading) I will get better and getting better gets us to our goals. It’s that simple. Also, if I build on my regular habits and add new habits before or after my regular habits I’ll slowly get better at and closer to my goals. Those are a few of my favorite take aways, so be sure to read Atomic Habits for yourself.

Although, good habits are the core of any intentions, goals or dreams, there are a couple of other things that will get you ready for a successful year – whatever that means to you. This is what I call the work and prep. Below are 3 ways I got ready for the new year and steps that will help you get clear on what it is you truly want out of the year or simply your life.

Manifestation Board

This one is my absolute favorites and such a trip, because everything actually happens. I’m sure you’ve heard about manifesting, but maybe have doubts. Trust me on this – it surprisingly works. I like to create a powerpoint and label each slide a different category (ie. LOBE LIFE, CARRER GOALS, BATHROOM, BEDROOM, PERSONAL) and then find images that energetically excite me or feel right and then I create a collage. You can do this by hand and cut photos out of magazines, then attach them onto a poster board, but I like doing it digitally, because I have so much more access to images and less mess. Once you finish it, post it some where you’ll see daily and that’s it. As days or months, even the year passes you’ll start to see your goals happen. When you put energy towards the things you want, you attract them. It is pretty magical.

Deep Clean

Cleaning up my space is the first step to mapping my year, even my week. It’s key to going after my goals and getting things done yearly, weekly, even daily. It’s just so important on a daily bases to stay tidy – that was a big learning lesson for me in 2020. I wasn’t always preaching that. I tended to let things pile up, then dedicate a whole day (usually Saturday) to cleaning. It’s the most time consuming thing and exhausting thing and the big reason why I didn’t enjoy cleaning. I created some solid cleaning habits in 2020, so I’ve gotten a lot better at doing a little bit as I go. I’ve also become the girl that is so much happier and less stressed when my space isn’t cluttered. I’m sure many of you babes are more organized than me, but I wasn’t there till now, and this is huge accomplishment for me. I’m able to think, be, get creative, FIND my things, and enjoy my spaces better. And, that helps me keep a positive mindset when manifesting and working.

Planner

I’ve learned I don’t need a fancy planner, but a simple notebook, notepad, or my iPhone notes gets things done. Getting in the habit of mapping out my days and weeks has been game changer, so a planner is very helpful. I’m accomplished so much more, simply mapping my days out. You have to find what works for you. Planning used to give me tons of anxiety, but I’ve gotten so much better. I follow Vanessa Loder’s weekly planning session every Monday at 8:30 PST through the app insight timer, but she has a PDF too in case you miss her lives. There is something about writing things down and crossing them off that makes your goals a reality. Her planning has 10 steps, which seems like a lot, but it really puts me in a positive head space and helps me accomplish my todo list and looking back I’ve accomplished a lot in the past 3 months. So, my final tip is to plan what you want to accomplish this year, schedule it, add a reminder if necessary, and then cross it off your list. If you’re on the hunt for a new planner. I have a blog post that shares the planner I bought and some other one’s Instagram Ads marketed to me.

So, that’s it! 3 super easy ways to help you get ready the new year and finally go after what you want! I promise it’s all doable and I promise you’ll start seeing yourself live your best life!