The New Year is a time for renewal, starting fresh and letting go of the past. Many people use it as a marker to get their “life organized” and soon find that their New Year’s resolutions don’t last past February. Taking a different approach to getting your resolutions to last is all about being intentional and focusing on your main priorities.
Intentions for the Year – What’s the Big Picture?
Write how you would love your spaces to be organized and how you want to be spending your time. Keep it simple and be realistic — you only have so much extra time out of your daily routine to accomplish this, so make the goal attainable.
For example, you want your whole home to be organized in one month when every surface is covered? Slow down. Make your goals realistic so you can achieve them. Which area of your house is priority to organize first, and what types of things are in that space?
Next, think about what’s stopping you from having the space you want and the time to do things you love. What’s literally in the way: books, clothes? What about your daily routine: where are you wasting time? Looking for things, surfing the net aimlessly?
After you’ve thought about your big picture:
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Create a list of all the spaces you want to have organized.
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Break this list into steps, so you have a set plan to follow. Eg. to finally organize your bedroom, you will need to organize: 1) clothing, 2) books, 3) paperwork, 4) sentimental, etc.
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Tackle your time: prioritizing your goal and block out time each month to work through the list you have created. Be accountable to the time you block out — life is busy and unless we commit to making the time, we don’t have time.
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Reflect on your goals: When you begin organizing, always look over the goals you wrote down. Reflect on the space you want, and be honest about what you can let go of.
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Live it: Once you’ve finished organizing a category, take note of how you feel. It takes time to process and let go of the emotional ties we have to our belongings, and being aware of this will make sure you commit to your goals.
Whether you want your home office to be a place of production this New Year or more time to focus on your well being, your New Year’s resolution can last when you commit to a realistic process, and follow your growth.
Check out the next newsletter with 5 key tips to help the process last throughout the whole year.
Let me know what your New Year’s Resolutions are and if I can help!
