As the end of the year gets closer, I like to start planning for the new year — what goals I want to accomplish, things that I want to cut out from my life, and just overall improvements I want to make. It’s exciting to start fresh on the first of the year and know that you have a “clean slate”. Of course you can start a new goal at any time, but a new year definitely brings a special kind of motivation.

GOALS TO ACCOMPLISH FOR 2019

I use my Erin Condren Life Planner every day to help keep me organized and on-track with my  daily tasks, weekly reminders, and my longer-term goals. I love it because I have one central location where I literally can plan my life. It’s cool too because I can look back at the end of the year and see what my goals were and all that I accomplished.

SET SMART GOALS

I’m so excited to use my new life planner for 2019. I did a whole review on the 2019 Erin Condren Life Planner, but basically there is a section in the front with 12 boxes that I use to write out my goals for the year. I use one box for each main category that I have a goal — this year a few that I had were: Health & Fitness, Blogging, Financial, Home, and Travel/Fun.

I love to reflect on my current goals and see what I’ve accomplished, what needs to be tweaked, and what I want to carry over to the next year’s goals. It’s so satisfying to be able to check off a goal and then look back at all you’ve done/the progress you’ve made that year.

I do a rough draft of my next year’s goals in the back of my current planner until I’m ready to use pen in the new planner. It’s great to really take some time to think about what you want for the next year and give yourself enough time to get ready.

When you create your new goals, it’s important to make them SMART — Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Taking the time to really plan out your goal will help you be more successful. So what does a SMART goal look like?

Maybe your goal is to “lose weight”. Make your goal SMART:

• Be specific — “I want to fit my favorite jeans”
• Make it measurable — “I want to lose 50 pounds so I can fit my favorite jeans”
• Make it attainable and realistic — “I want to lose 30 pounds so I can fit my favorite jeans”
• Add time frames — “My goal is to lose 30 pounds by July 1st so I can fit my favorite jeans”

Don’t let your new goals die halfway into January; make SMART goals and then really sit down and make a plan for accomplishing your goal. In this example, we have a great SMART goal to lose 30 pounds by July 1st, but how are we going to do that? I like to break down a big goal in to smaller SMART goals.

A SMART action plan for this goal might be: “Eat at a 500 calorie deficit at least 5 days a week and exercise for 30 minutes once a week.”

Set milestones for yourself, track your progress and celebrate your accomplishments along the way. It’s super motivating to see how far you’ve come towards a goal. I used SMART goals and my Erin Condren planner to track my progress when I lost 30 pounds in three months and I still feel accomplished in reaching that goal.

TIPS FOR ACCOMPLISHING YOUR GOALS

• Write out your goals. When you write things down, it triggers something in your brain and really helps it to sink in. I feel like writing out my goals, make them real — I’m committed; there’s pen on paper.
• Figure out what motivates you and remind yourself why you want to reach your goal every day. I like to put a daily reminder on my phone or just write something in my planner each week to keep me focused on what I am trying to do and why I want it.
• Find a community who will support you and encourage you. It can be hard to make a change, and even harder if you don’t have the love and support from friends/family/others going through the same thing.
• If you have a bad day and mess up on your goal, don’t quit. Start back up again and take it one day at a time.

PURGE THE JUNK FROM YOUR LIFE

This time of year, we are bombarded with ads and holiday sales. It’s great to be able to give/get gifts, or just get a deal on your favorites, but all this focus on “things” has been almost depressing for me. I saw someone on Youtube showing a Black Friday haul and talking about being “scared to look at the credit card bill”. I am so grateful that we were able to pay off all our debt (cars, student loans) a couple of years ago, and I never want to go back to having debt. So when I hear about being scared to get the bill for a haul, I feel sad that people are going into debt over things they don’t need.

I only want to buy things that bring me joy and that add value to my life. When I am getting ready to buy something, I’ll research a ton and read reviews; I want all of my purchases to be intentional. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy anything or that shopping is bad — I think you should be able to buy whatever you want as long as it’s in the budget (i.e. you can afford it with cash), and that it’s an intentional purchase. So many times, especially this time of year, I think people can be swayed to make an impulse purchase which isn’t inherently bad, but it’s not how I choose to do my shopping anymore.

If you have clutter in your life, consider donating it or throwing it away. If you have things you don’t use, but are holding on to “just in case”, consider putting a date on it and then donating/throwing it away if you haven’t used it by the next time you come across it. It only takes away from your life when you hang on to things you don’t love and use.

TIPS FOR PURGING THE JUNK FROM YOUR LIFE

• Go through your closet and donate clothes you haven’t worn this year. Only buy new clothes when you need something (a cold weather jacket), rather than trendy items that you already have another version of (another pair of boots).
• Ditch the old makeup/skincare. If you have a lot of beauty products that you don’t use often, they may have expired. Don’t keep old, expired items that don’t bring value to your life. Plus, by having a smaller selection of beauty items, you’ll be more likely to use them all before they expire.
• Get rid of any knick knacks that are literally cluttering up your space. If you have a junk drawer, or little cutesy decorations that don’t serve a purpose, consider only keeping they quality items that you love.
• Sell the things that you don’t use. I love listing something on eBay that I no longer use because someone else can enjoy it and I can make back a few dollars.
• There will always be another sale; don’t feel compelled to buy something right now. Be intentional with your purchases.

Assess the things that you are putting time, money, and energy into and make sure that those things are worth your investment. Is this adding value to your life? Is it serving you? It doesn’t even have to be a “thing”, it could be a project, or a person. If it doesn’t give you energy, dump it in 2018, and make room for all of the good in 2019.

OVERALL IMPROVEMENTS TO HAVE THE BEST 2019

Visualize how you want your year to progress. Are there things that you want to do better or habits you want to break? I have read that it’s helpful for some people to set a theme for the year. Maybe you pick a word or a song that you want to help set the tone for your year — I haven’t done this before, but I think it would be a good way to remind yourself of your goals and help to keep you motivated throughout the year. Anytime you hear your year’s theme song or you write out your word for the year, you are are reminded of your motivation; it’s just another way to visualize your year.

Make positive improvements this year — read more books, start a blog, learn a new skill, break a bad habit, or work on creating a more proactive mindset. Whatever your positive changes are, really spend time to be the best person you can be.

TIPS FOR HAVING THE BEST YEAR

• START NOW. Make your changes today. Whether you are reading this before January 1st or after, start your new habits, goals, or projects today.
• Focus on being grateful for all you have now. Celebrate the good things in your life each day.
• Be mindful in the present moment. Cut out distractions and appreciate what is going on right now.
• Challenge yourself to be more positive; don’t dwell on negative things.
• Declutter your space and create a more productive environment.
•  Be proactive — create solutions and opportunities for yourself.

I hope this post has been inspiring and informative in helping you set goals, purge junk, and make overall improvements to your life this year. Let’s make 2019 the best year yet!