5 Actionable Steps To Start The New Year Off Right
Where has the year gone? It’s wild to know we are about to head into 2021. This past year was a rough one to say the least so here are 5 actionable steps to start the new year off right & make 2021 the best year yet!
Step 1: Put Pen to Paper
Take a quiet evening, turn on low background music, set your phone aside and put pen to paper. Write down your answers to the following questions. There is no right or wrong answer, this activity is to simply help you reflect on where you’re at, hone in on what’s truly important to you and what you’d like to see happen in 2021.
REFLECT & GOAL SETTING ACTIVITY FOR 2021:
What are the top 5 things you currently value?
Did you accomplish any goals this year that you are proud of? Yes or no, what are they and why are they your goals?
What does your ideal life in 2021 look like?
Do your current top 5 values align with your ideal life in 2021?
What do you currently prioritize? Is there anything you need to start prioritizing more in order to better align with your 2021 goals?
Does anything currently hold you back from doing what you want to be doing?
What are three ways you can start doing something now to help you get to where you want to be?
What books did you read this year? List 3 books you’d like to read in 2021.
What brings you joy? How often do you do this? Can you do this more?
Are there any hobbies you would like to pursue that you haven’t started yet? Or current ones you would like to spend more time doing? Can you schedule one hour in your calendar this week to dedicate to this hobby?
Are there any poor habits you have that you would like to stop?
How do you feel/think about yourself when you’re by yourself? Is there something you can start telling yourself that will make you feel more positive about yourself?
What would you like your health to look like in 2021? What is your plan to get there?
What would you like your relationships to look like in 2021? What is your plan to get there?
What goals would you like to accomplish in 2021 and by when? What is your plan to get there?
Is there anyone or professional you need to reach out to who can help make your ideal 2021 life a reality?
Can you reach out to them now? If not, first thing tomorrow?
This activity should take a few hours and will help you see where you struggle and where you want to go. It can sometimes be hard to be honest with yourself.
Just remember that growth and change only comes from working through discomfort.
So get ready to be vulnerable and remember to talk kindly to yourself through it. Life is a lot easier when you have a clear vision for what you’re working towards and a plan to get there.
Step 2: Break Down Your Goals Step by Step
Now that you’ve done the ‘Reflect & Goal Setting Activity’ you are ready for step 2. Actions speak louder than words, right? So now that you’ve written out what you’d like to accomplish in 2021 we need to break down the goals step by step with deadlines in order to make these goals achievable. You may have multiple goals in each category and that’s alright, however if you put more focus on fewer goals, you’re more likely to be successful. So prioritize the goals that you MUST focus on first. These ones will have the biggest impact for positive change in your life. Once those are accomplished you can work on the additional goals. Which goals of yours are the highest priority? Once you’ve figured that out, use this worksheet to create an action plan & break down step by step what you need to do to achieve it.
*Fill one worksheet per goal
Goal Action Plan Breakdown & Deadline Worksheet:
What is your goal?
Why is this your prioritized goal?
When does this big goal need to be accomplished by? (this can be months to many years away)
(Now think backwards.)
YEARLY GOAL:
What can this goal look like by January 2022? In other words what would you like to have accomplished by January 2022 to reach this goal?
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MONTHLY GOALS:
What actionable step/steps must you do every month to stay on track to reach your yearly goal?
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WEEKLY GOALS:
What actionable step/steps must you do every week to stay on track to reach your monthly goal?
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DAILY GOALS:
What actionable step/steps must you do every day to stay on track to reach your weekly goal?
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CONSISTANCY & ACCOUNTABILITY TRACKING:
What actionable step/steps must you do every day to stay on track to reach your daily goal?
(This is typically along the lines of how you plan to stay consistent, like how you plan to schedule/track your goals, if you need to block off time in your calendar each day or each week, if there’s someone who can hold you accountable, if you can set reminders, if you need to set aside ‘you’ time to meditate or do something else that will help you feeling well and motivated.)
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Now that you have worked backwards starting from your dream goal, it’s time to simply focus on those daily goals.
Just remember to dream big but focus on taking small steps to get there.
When you dream big you don’t limit yourself and what you deserve. And when you don’t focus on the end goal and only focus on the next step, you can create little wins along the way, making you feel proud of yourself thus creating more motivation to continue on your path of reaching your big dream.
For example: If you have a goal to loose 30 pounds, instead of focusing on ALL the weight you want to loose, think about the next healthy meal you can make. One meal at a time. Each healthy meal you eat is a win and you should be incredibly proud of yourself with each meal. If you mess up, that’s okay, just keep going and planning out your next actionable step, consistency is key.
Remember that the biggest changes come from the smallest daily actions.
Step 3: Get Your Finances In Order
If your finances are in order, then go you!! However if your finances aren’t in order you may feel totally overwhelmed and stressed out, hindering you from being able to accomplish anything. If this is the case, have your ONE goal be about your finances. Don’t focus on anything else other than your actionable plan to fixing your finances. Use the worksheet above and write out your plan with the additional questions:
How much debt are you in?
How much money do you make?
What are your total expenses?
Where can you cut some expenses?
What automatic payments are you paying? Can you cancel any of these?
Can you move to have cheaper rent/cost of living?
How much can you save each month to pay towards your debt?
Once you know the answers to these questions you will be able to calculate when you will be debt free. Write down that date as your overarching big goal. “I will be debt free by ______” if I do these yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals. Don’t get bogged down. Sunny and I paid well over $60,000 worth of debt over the course of two years. It’s not easy but we’re so happy we buckled down and faced the numbers. Here’s the financing book that helped us create a plan to get debt free and what to do with our money after debt!
Step 4: Create a Vision Board
Humans are visual creatures. It may surprise you how powerful a visible daily reminder of your ideal life can help move you towards that direction. Print out images and quotes from google, cut out photos and words from magazines and have a little fun arts & craft project to start the new year. Find things that represent your big goals along with things that represent those smaller goals you plan to work towards after your big goals. Be shameless and don’t be afraid to put an expensive car or something of monetary value that you dream of having. It’s okay to show yourself what you’re working towards. When you’re done hang it on your wall somewhere you will see it everyday. When you see your goals in your home it’s not just in your head and will help you manifest your ideal future.
Step 5: Practice Gratitude & Read More Books
In my opinion, the secret to success in life is to be at peace with yourself. After all, success doesn’t have to come in the form of making money. These steps are two scientifically proven, actionable activities you can do on a daily or weekly basis that are designed to change the way your brain works and thinks thus changing the way you feel and having a massive impact on your overall life.
1. Practice Gratitude Daily
Gratitude has been shown to:
improve physical health
improve psychological health
enhance empathy and reduces aggression
improve sleep
improve self-esteem
WOW! WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO PRACTICE THIS?!
The best part is you only need to dedicate a few seconds to minutes a day doing this to get you on track to being your best and happiest self. It’s not a big commitment and the benefits are tremendous. Every morning when I wake up I spend a few minutes on the “5 Minute Journal App”. It gives you simple prompts to fill out and puts you in a positive mental state to start your day. Below is the hard book cover if you prefer to write your daily prompts.
Gratitude is a powerful thing, because if you are grateful you can not also be anxious or angry.
2. Read Positive Quotes or Personal Development Books Weekly
Reading personal development books has been shown to:
Heightens self-awareness
Magnifies empathy for people
Kindles hopes and dreams
Advances critical thinking
Stimulates creativity
Establishes professional credibility
AGAIN, WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO BE DOING THIS?!
I dived into personal development books about 5 years ago and it’s safe to say my life has changed for the better. It’s something I’ve grown a great passion for, hence me being able to write this blog post. When Sunny and I first met he thought personal development books were bogus. The reality is, often times the books aren’t teaching you something you don’t already know. It’s what you already know however when you absorb it into your mental space weekly you will see notice your life changing for the better. It’s honestly magical and since Sunny and I met he’s dived into these types of books, loves it now and sees the value in them. So give it a try! Here are some Sunny and I love and highly recommend.
