Happy New Year friends!!!! I can’t even put into words how excited I am for 2018 to be here. 2017 was an amazing year and will be a tough one to beat, but I truly believe God has so much in store for this year – for me, for you, for LKS…and I can’t wait to see all of that come to fruition!
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One of my favorite things about this time of year is setting goals for the coming year. Do you guys make New Year’s resolutions? I’m personally pretty obsessed with it haha. BUT, let’s be real! January 1 is just another day on the calendar. There’s nothing magical about this date. But, I do think there’s something exciting about a fresh start, a new year, a clean slate. So, I always take the end of December and pretty much the whole month of January to really evaluate the previous year, and set goals for the new year.
I shared a little bit about my “year end review” process on IG stories last week and had several of y’all ask me about this process. I’m definitely NO expert here, and am continually researching the best way to set goals, etc. But, I thought I would share a few tips with y’all today on how to set the most effective New Year’s resolutions.
Before you start making your New Year’s resolutions…I think it’s crucial to review last year. This can be a pretty daunting task because hello, it’s been a year. I can hardly remember what trip I took 2 weeks ago, much less 50 weeks ago haha. So, to help you review your past year, break it into categories. I break my year into two (very broad) categories: Life (personal) and Blog (work). After that, I make a list for “what went well”, and then “not so great”.
So a few examples. On my “Life” list of “what went well”:
- Ran a marathon
- Moved to Colorado
- Traveled a ton + saw new places
- Found a church in Boulder we love
- Started taking good care of my skin
A few things on my “life” list of “not so great” (my lists are CRAZY long ha so this is just a snippet):
- struggle with sleep for the majority of 2017
- disorganization at home from always being gone
- spent too much $$ eating out, because never home
When you’re making these lists…give yourself time. Everything from the past year won’t come flooding back to you within 10 minutes. Make yourself a cup (or pot lol) of coffee, get cozy, and let the juices flow. (btw I actually hate that expression lol but gets the point across!). Write down EVERYTHING that comes to mind! The more things on your list the better.
After you’re done with the ‘what went well’ and ‘not so great’ lists…before you move on to goal-setting…stop. Pause. Thank the Lord for the previous year – for the ups and the downs, for protecting you, for family. He is so good, and we truly have so much to be thankful for.
NOW onto the New Year’s Resolutions. Start a new blank page in your journal or notebook and brain dump every goal or resolution that could possibly come to mind – no matter how big or small! I actually started a note in my phone in December called ‘2018’ and I add stuff to it ALL the time – anytime I think of a new goal or idea for 2018. This doesn’t need to be a one time “january 1” deal. It can (and should be) ever growing. So, write all of those goals / intentions / resolutions out!
After you’ve done the brain dumping…go back and look at your list, and try and make your goals as specific as possible. For example, if one of your goals is “do yoga more”, maybe edit that goal to be “yoga at least one time per week”. Or if you have a goal to lose weight in the new year, try and set a goal like “lose 5 pounds in january”. In my opinion, goals are much easier to attain when they are measurable.
After you’ve brain dumped your goals, and then made them more specific (over the course of a day or a week or however long!), I like to break down my goals into categories: faith, fitness + health, business, personal. These are usually my main categories but you can of course choose your own! After you have your categories, begin placing your goals into categories. (ie: ‘yoga at least one day per week’ would be in your ‘fitness + health’ category)
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Outfit details: cableknit sweater here and here | velvet skirt here and here | OTK boots here and here | earrings | crossbody purse
So, to recap our steps so far:
- Review the previous year, good and bad
- Spend time thanking God for how good He was in 2017 and will always be
- Brain dump any and all goals into a blank piece(s) of paper
- Make those goals specific / measurable
- Break your goals down into categories
The very last step for me is to highlight maybe 2-3 things in each category…the goal (or goals) that are my top priority for 2018. Stay tuned for Friday’s post where I will share some of my personal resolutions for 2018!
Like I said, I am no expert in this area! This is just a process that has helped me, that I really enjoy doing every year. If you’ve found a process that works for you in creating new year’s resolutions (or goals in general), please share in the comments below!
Hope you guys had a wonderful New Year’s Eve and are feeling as hopeful and excited for the New Year as I am!
xo Lauren
