7 Things To Do Now To Prepare For The Next Year

If you have intentions to make the new year your year, don’t wait for New Year’s Day. Instead, make time this month to set yourself up for success. 

If you start the next year on a launchpad rather than a standstill, you’ll accelerate into January with focus, clarity, and determination. 

Here are SEVEN things to try…

1. Review your year.

The current year is full of lessons and learnings. Make space for a deep-dive review of the year that’s about to close, and you can take the best bits with you. 

We’ve created a comprehensive journaling tool to help you close out the year. Download here. 

2. Get clear on what’s most important. 

There’s so much that could fill your time. But imagine who you’d become with more clarity, focus, and movement in the direction of your top priorities. When you define your core values, you create an inner compass that aligns you with what matters most. 

It’s easy to define your THREE core values with this fun deck. 

3. Set a context for the next year. 

Activate your Reticular Activating System to identify the things you want to call into your life. 

When you define a word for the year ahead, you empower yourself to say YES to the things that matter and NO to those that don't align.

This episode of Writing Your Best Self describes finding your focus word. 

4. Review your habits. 

James Clear says, “you get what you repeat”. 

Do your habits help or hinder you? Are there some new practices you want to integrate into your life to ensure you can thrive? 

Be honest with the things you do on autopilot and decide if it’s time to make some tweaks. 

5. Make a Live List. 

Goals are brilliant for injecting focused activity into your life. But who do you want to BE and how do you want to FEEL? A Live List is a powerful journaling tool that guides you to explore how to live a more intentional life. 

In the words of Oscar Wilde, “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist.” 

Create a Live List, and you'll find it easier to experience that 'rarest of things'. Get the low-down on creating your Live List along with a template to complete inside this digital tool. 

6. Create your support structure. 

Jim Rohn famously said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”  Who will surround you in the next year and help you thrive? For example: 

• Is it time to join a mastermind?
• Would you go further with an accountability buddy?
• Do you want to find more online groups where ‘your people’ hang out? 
• Does your friendship group nourish and support you? 

7. Set a three-month goal. 

Goals give you a clear direction to focus your time, energy, and resources. Goals help you feel accomplished and productive by empowering you to achieve the things that matter most. 

The trick is not to leave your goals to chance. Instead, architect them - it will maximize your chances of success. The Self Journal contains all the planning, tracking, and review templates you need to crush it. Best of all, it's a three-month focus - long enough to achieve something significant and short enough to push off procrastination.

What could you achieve by the end of March next year? Here’s to making the new year your best year yet.