How To Get Organised For The New Year

Last week I found myself writing a to-do list to get organised for the new year and I thought I’d share it with you!  

Below is a list of simple assignments to help you get organised for the new year. Do each assignment before 1 January in the order of your choice. You can space the assignments out as much or as little as you need and can skip any assignment that’s not needed (but don’t skip an assignment just because it’s challenging).

There’s no mention of new year’s resolutions in this blog post and that’s by design. Instead, I’ve chosen to focus on the things that will lay a strong foundation for a successful new year’s resolution or goal. It’s the little things that make all the difference!

Edit: You can listen to me give in-depth advice on each of these points in this podcast episode – Episode 6: How To Get Organised For The New Year.

Here are the assignments:

1. Commit to finishing the year strong

Heading into the holiday season it’s important to make a choice: do you want to enjoy the holidays and finish the year strong (yes it’s possible to do both) or do you want to completely let yourself go and piece your life back together in the new year? Both choices are completely ok – just make sure you’ve made one.

2. Book outstanding appointments

If there are any appointments you’ve been procrastinating on (like a car service, doctor’s check up or dentist visit) now is the time to make them. Don’t let outstanding appointments hanging over you in the new year! Figure out when you can do them and book them in. Also accept there might never be a ‘good time’ to go, you might just need to bite the bullet and be inconvenienced for a day. But it’ll be worth it.

3. Organise your digital life

Clean your desktop, archive old files, organise your inbox, delete unused apps, get a new background and clean those food stains off your keyboard (or is that last one just me?). 

4. Find inspiration

Unfollow and unfriend anyone on social media that doesn’t bring out your best and find new accounts that inspire and motivate you in a positive way (not from a place of guilt or envy). Search for podcasts and YouTube channels to inspire you.

You can follow me on instagram here, listen to my podcast here and watch my daily vlog series 365 Days of Personal Growth here.

Related: The 10 Best Podcasts For Millennials

5. Evaluate your finances

Now is the perfect time to review where your money has been going. Review your bank statement (I like to export mine from my online banking into excel) and identify the things you spend the most money on and the things you spend money on the most often. Decide if you want these trends to continue in 2018. Determine if these purchases are helping you achieve your goals.

6. Clean out your makeup

The end of the year is a great time to take a good, hard look at your makeup collection. What items do you love? What items haven’t you touched since last year? Is there anything you can let go of? It’s also a great time to identify any gaps in your makeup collection and to put some time aside to research hunt down the best product to fill it.

7. Declutter your wardrobe

Set a day aside to declutter your wardrobe. Take every item out of your wardrobe, give it a good clean, and only put back the things you love wearing or have a practical purpose. Store seasonal clothes. Donate and sell the rest.

Watch me clean out my wardrobe here.

Warning: Don’t leave yourself with so few clothes that you feel the need to rush out and buy new ones, as impulse purchases will likely leave you feeling dissatisfied in the long run. If you’ve fallen out of love with your current selection, identify the pieces you want to replace, do your research and replace them when you have the money. Lately, I’ve been loving this blog to help me find my personal style and create a wardrobe I’ll love.

8. Upgrade your surroundings

Take a look at the things you see and use on a daily basis and upgrade them if needed. Simple things like a new pillow, a desk plant or a decent hairdryer can have a huge impact on how you feel about your life.

9. Appreciate your accomplishments

At the end of a year we’re often so focused on the year to come and what we want to improve that we forget to appreciate the things we’ve achieved. Create a list of all of everything you accomplished this year, big and small, a take a moment to appreciate everything you’ve achieved.

Related: 20 Ways To Make The Most Of Your Twenties

10. Let go

Now is the time to let go of anything negative that happened this year. Know that letting go does not mean laying down or giving up, it just means making peace with the things you can’t control so you can focus on those you can.

Sam xx

Four years ago, I found myself trapped in a vicious cycle of procrastination and guilt. Whenever I tried to do simple life tasks (like going to the gym, eating right and organising my time) it felt like I was trying to move mountains!

After work, I was too exhausted to do anything more than make food and lay in bed watching another episode of my favourite show. I kept telling myself I deserved a break, but I never enjoyed it. I felt guilty for wasting my time but I didn’t stop (and when I did find myself with time to do the things I wanted, I just kept procrastinating – gahh!).

And I wish it stopped there, but then I beat myself up for procrastinating! I felt like I was behind everyone else and letting everyone down, so I procrastinated even more.

No matter how many hours I spent reading motivation articles on Pinterest or how many times I filled out a new planner, I just couldn’t make myself change – even though I knew I was the one stopping myself from progressing. And I had all the advice right in front of me!

And because this whole situation was frustrating AF (and I knew I was better than that, even though I didn’t have the evidence to prove it) I dedicated myself to figuring out how to stop sabotaging my own success.

After trying hundreds of different things, it finally clicked! And this year I’ve been able to quit my full-time job for blogging, I’m more productive and focused than I’ve ever been in my life and I’ve finally stopped feeling like I’m behind! Plus it’s actually easy to workout everyday and eat healthy (which I never thought would be possible).

And since everything I’ve learned has COMPLETELY changed my life, I decided to put the very best of it together in a step-by-step course!

My online course for procrastinators

Get Out Of Your Own Way is a self-paced online video course that gives you the tools and mindset shifts you need to stop procrastinating, follow through with all your plans and have the courage to finally pursue your dreams – even if your life is totally overwhelming and you have no idea what you want to do!

I’ll just let you know that this course won’t be for you if you’re looking for quick-fix procrastination tips (let’s be real – you’ve seen all those already and they haven’t worked) or you’re afraid to dig deep and uncover the real reasons you’ve been holding yourself back.

But if you’re ready to make a change and need someone to guide you through the very first step – it could be just the thing you need!

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE!