We are about entering into a new year.
On my part, I am always happy and I have this sense of gratitude anytime the year comes to an end.
This is because I consider it indeed a privilege to be alive, healthy and bouncing like the baby girl that I am.
I also see it as an opportunity to reflect on past victories, how and what brought about them so as to replicate them.
To reflect on anything that got me sad, so I can run far away and avoid it like the plague it is. There are those who find matrydom in suffering, I don’t intend to be one of them.
Proper planning prevents failure they say, and though even with planning you may still encounter failure, the margin is much more lower.
So here are 5 tips on how to plan and prepare for the end of the year and the beginning of a new one.
1) Discard bad habits and focus on maintaining healthy habits
If you do have bad habits, here you are with another opportunity to work at doing away with them.
You don’t also have to wait for the year end to do this.
I know you told yourself last year, and the year before that you were going to stop that bad habit, and maybe you actually stopped for about two weeks.
But research has proven that just saying and willing yourself to stop a bad habit will not make you stop.
You have to write down your triggers, what causes you to get into such habits and then actively set out steps to counter them.
So let’s say, your bad habit is sleeping late, and it is affecting your productivity.
You can identify what causes it, like excessive use of your phone, or not having clear boundaries with people who call or need you at past 10pm.
You can take steps such as, stopping the use of your phone from 9pm at most, making sure you don’t not pick calls at late hours or even completely switching off your phone and other electronic devices.
At first, it may not be easy, but with time, people will learn to respect your boundaries and you get to experience a good night rest.
There is no joy in constantly complaining about your bad habits to gain sympathy, especially if you can do something about it.
There is no good habit that cannot be learnt, and there is no bad habit that cannot be unlearned.
2) Have a plan for your life
Write down realistic goals and visions for the new year.
If you had goals set for the year ending, how did you do? For those goals you could not achieve, what stopped you from achieving them? How can you incorporate them into the coming year?
If there is anything I was more aware of this year is that, if you don’t have a plan for your life, you will be tempted to follow anyone who has something smart to say.
You alone know what you desire out of life, and if you don’t know, now is a good time to sit back and ask yourself what you really want.
If you are a Christian, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you.
All lizards crawl on their belly, so we don’t know which one has tummy ache.
What makes you happy?
What do you love doing?
In what do you derive the most satisfaction from?
How does this fit into your short or long term goals?
There will always be advicers. There will always be smart people with smart things to say.
If you listen to what A, B and C has to say, implementing things in your life just to make everyone happy, very soon you will be frustrated.
You will end up in suituations you never envisaged.
I give this example of going shopping without a shopping list or a budget.
Then imagine going along with someone, you will come back home with things you do not actually need.
So as much as you listen to what every Tom, Dick and Harry has to say, always go back to your goals and see how and if they fit.
Listening to everything and everyone is even a problem sometimes, especially for those easily influenced and not strong enough to know when to actually stop listening.
3) Take stock of your relationships
What relationships have drained you this year? Are there people you need to do away with?
It’s cliche, but 20 children really cannot play together for 20 years.
Even if they do, the dynamics of those relationships must adapt and change over time.
Yes, it’s great to maintain relationships, relationships are currency, but not to the detriment of what is important in your life.
Also, we can still maintain relationships, while keeping boundaries.
I am very big on boundaries, because if you don’t have boundaries, your relationships will actually suffer.
On the other hand, are there positive relationships you need to cultivate more of?
You may need to work on that.
Always remember, there are those who will praise you even as they see you plunging to your death, and there are those who never see anything good in what you do.
I will say stay away from both categories, but then again you also free not to.
That’s the beauty of life.
4) Declutter your house and life
Bring down all the curtains and wash them.
Remove bed covers, chair covers, blankets and wash them all.
Clear the cupboards, arrange the tables and bookshelves.
Throw away all the accumulated papers, receipt and the empty containers of products and perfumes used (I am talking to myself).
Re-arrange and change the placement of things in your house if you can.
The satisfaction I get after a deep clean of my little cubicle is amazing, and that’s a feeling you want to start the new year with.
Also, tell me why I have almost 10,000 emails in my inbox.
The end of year is a good time to delete, delete, delete.
Unsubscribe from all those mails.
Don’t worry. You are not buying any of those things, you don’t need those things, don’t deceive yourself.
In arrangement, find ways to make your life simpler.
I watched a video where someone put a QR code on storage boxes, so they scan what it is inside without opening the box.
It was really cool, and that’s something you can adopt if you have storage boxes and a storage room.
There are also clothes you haven’t worn in years and probably never will.
You have been telling yourself that one day it will be useful, but that is just the spirit of hoarding whispering to you, bind it.
If you can’t find people around you to give them to, donate them to charity.
5) Rest
Its might sound crazy, but put on some good music and dance.
Life is BEAUTIFUL. Life is AMAZING.
Take yourself out, go to that fancy restaurant and order yourself a nice meal.
Do that manicure and pedicure, do your hair, buy that dress you have been eyeing.
Sleep, watch movies, try out new recipes.
You have worked hard all year, you deserve to rest
For you who thinks the year wasn’t exactly as you would have loved it, don’t worry, you are alive, there is hope.
In conclusion, the end of the year is a time for reflection and stock taking.
It’s a time to review, adapt and re-adjust accordingly.
How do you plan for the new year? I will like to know
And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.
Job 8:7 ESV
