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Reset, Reflect And Refresh For A Successful 2021
Let’s state the obvious: there are only 4 days left this year, until 31st December 2020. Which means that if you haven’t already tared preparing yourself for a successful 2021, it’s definitely time to do that. And to help you with that today I’m sharing with you my 8 ways to make the most of a fresh start in the new year.
The best is yet to come!
"In life, there are no shortcuts. All things are connected. For success, there is no fast lane. Work hard, focus your energy, practice, remain honest, truthful, loyal and committed."
1. Self-Reflection
The first step in the process of resetting and refreshing your life for a successful 2021 is self-reflection. This simple strategy will help you to define the current version of yourself, set goals with alignment with your values and create a clear vision for the future so you can start taking action towards the life you truly want to live.
Are you ready to embark on the journey towards your dreams? If your answer is yes, start by reflecting on what your 2020 was like, ask yourself 8 questions that you will find below and write down your answers.
- What went well?
- What didn’t go well?
- What goals did you achieve?
- What goals did you miss?
- What was your greatest achievement in 2020?
- What were the most important life lessons you’ve learned?
- What you are the most grateful for?
- How have you changed in the past 12 months?
2. Digital Declutter
Digital declutter is one of these things we all tend to procrastinate on the most until opening an email box or cleaning up our embarrassingly messy desktop makes us want to scream. At a time like this, you have to options; you can finally do a digital detox or you can run away and hide in the wilderness.
While the second option can be quite tempting, we cannot deny that at least half of our lives take place in the online world. For that reason alone, we should declutter and organize our digital life on a regular basis. And what better moment to do that than the end of the year, right?
So if you haven’t already done a digital declutter, here are a couple of things you might like to go:
Declutter Your Phone
- Uninstall apps that you don’t use
- Backup your files
- Make saving your photos to a cloud service automatic and clean gallery photos
- Review your contact list and remove
- Remove Notifications
- Optimise your battery usage
Declutter Your Email
- Open and read unread emails
- Delate unwanted and unimportant emails
- Organise your email folders
- Unsubscribe from unwanted emails
- Remove notifications
- Update your email signature
Declutter Your Computer
- Clean up your computer’s messy desktop
- Organise your files
- Back your files up
- Remove programs and apps that you don’t use anymore
- Update your computer
- Organize passwords and usernames
Declutter Your Browser
- Organise your open tabs
- Organise your bookmarks
- Remove unwanted extensions
Declutter Your Storage
- Put your storage devices in one place
- Pick your main file source (I use Google Drive)
- Organise your main file source
- Sync your passwords
Declutter Your Social Media
- Unfollow people that do not add value to your life
- Unfollow tags, groups, pages and lists
- Remove notifications
- Organize your social media life and focus on what brings you joy
3. Space Declutter
Another important thing to consider when resetting your life for a successful 2021 is to declutter your space. Because if you want to make a healthy fresh start in the new year you need to get rid of the clutter that is draining your energy. Too much stuff create chaos, confusion and distraction which is a contradiction to the idea of making a fresh start.
Your internal world and your external personal space together represent the field of your being. Or in other words, your personal space is the externalization of your current state of mind and vice versa. That’s the reason why you may feel anxious, stressed and overwhelmed when your surroundings are messy and cluttered. But when you do a clutter control, you feel better right away.
Staying in a clean and decluttered environment is what your mind, body and spirit need for making a fresh start in the new year. So do not hesitate on making your space clean, fresh and presentable.
Places You Can Sell Your Clutter
4. Mental Cleanse
To make the most of a fresh start in the new year you need to declutter your mind and cleanse your mental energy. Otherwise, difficult thoughts, unpleasant feelings and painful memories will continue to drain your energy. To avoid this, you need to do a mental cleanse. The best way to do that is to sit with yourself.
Sitting alone with your thoughts and true feelings can be quite challenging but it’s quite necessary if you want to restore your mental clarity, reduce stress and regain control over your mind during these strange times.
A great way to keep your thoughts organized is to write them down in a journal. The simple act of putting it on paper will not only free you but also allow you to let go of negative thoughts and difficult feelings accumulated in your brain over time.
However, if you don’t like journaling, don’t force yourself to do it. There are many other techniques for unburdening your thoughts and freeing your mind of the excesses that are as effective as writing.
To help you make your choice I divided all the thought organization techniques I know and I’ve tried myself into 4 different categories.
- Practical
- Do a brain dump
- Talk it out
- Make a list of every thought that enters your mind
- Physical
- Engage in physical activity
- Go on a walk
- Declutter your surroundings
- Creative
- Write a letter to yourself
- Visualize your thoughts
- Draw a mind map
- Meditative
- Connect with nature
- Meditate
- Try a deep breathing exercise (inhale calmness and exhale anxiousness)
Best Apps For Stress & Anxiety Relief Of 2020
- SuperBetter (Android / iOS)
- Shine - Motivational texts (Android / iOS)
- Pocket Yoga (Android / iOS)
- Calm Meditation and Sleep Stories (Android; iOS)
- Happify: for Stress & Worry (iOS and Android)
- Happier (iOS)
- Headspace (Android; iOS)
- Breathe2Relax (Android; iOS)
- Anxiety Reliever (Android; iOS)
- Self-help for Anxiety Management (iOS)
- Sanvello (Android; iOS)
- SAM App (Android; iOS)
- What’s Up? - A Mental Health App (iOS and Android)
- Self-help for Anxiety Management (iOS and Android)
- Smiling Mind Meditation for all ages (iOS and Android)
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Download Your FREE Printable Self-Care Worksheets!
5. Schedule Life Admin Day
Another important thing to consider while resetting and refreshing for the new year is to do a life admin day. Of course, it does not have to be a full day of tackling an admin type of tasks. It can only take a couple of hours. It all depends on how much tasks from your to-do list you’ve been procrastinating on. So don’t freak out! Instead, ask yourself:
- What is something you have been procrastinating about for a while to do?
- What tasks are making you delay completing them?
- What things from your to-do list you’ve been putting off?
- What tasks around your house you’ve been avoiding?
- What errands you need to get done but you’ve never felt like doing?
Have a brainstorming session to identify all this admin type of tasks that you need to get done but you’ve been avoiding. Then create a life admin day to-do list and schedule a day or couple of hours to get all these boring stuff done. Once you’ve got all these things done, you will be proud of yourself.
Life Admin Type Of Tasks
- Do the errands
- Respond to important emails
- Schedule appointments (that you’ve been avoiding)
- Schedule a health check
- Manage your memberships and subscriptions
- Organize your finances
- Update your Insurance policies
- Take a look at your personal banking
- Organise your tax
6. Evaluate Your Financial Situation
The economic chaos caused by the coronavirus pandemic forced us to rethink our spending choices, money habits, and our overall financial situation. Which in itself is a good thing. Because the truth is if 2020 hadn’t happened to us we would be still living on autopilot without even noticing it. We would be still living in our financial discomfort zone, spending money on unnecessary stuff and delaying important financial decisions until the very last responsible moment.
Now, it is clearer than ever before that financial wellness is a crucial part of our overall health and wellbeing. That is why one of the spheres of life we should reset and refresh for the new year is our relationship with money. To do this, you need to evaluate your financial situation first. Once you do it you can start improving your financial health and start building long-lasting wealth.
- Determine your net worth here
- Calculate your monthly debt-to-income ratio here
- Evaluate your housing situation
- Calculate monthly income and expenses
- Evaluate your savings
- Check your credit reports (get your credit report for free at annualcreditreport.com.)
- Analyze your investment strategy
Get Your Financial Planner
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- Embracing Frugal Lifestyle: 7 Things I Stopped Buying And Start Doing To Save More Money.
- Frugal Living: 20 Practical Tips On How To Save Money But Still Have Fun.
7. Cleanse Yourself From Negative Energy
2020 was a tough year for all of us. There’s no doubt about that. The amount of shocking, completely unexpected and deeply upsetting things that happened in the course of just a few months it’s just incredible. I don’t know about you but I feel like I am in a science fiction movie. Really, a few months ago did you imagine us all going through all of this craziness?
2020 was a year of discomfort, confusion, chaos and massive change. But it was also a year of getting back to the basics, tapping into resourcefulness and thinking outside the box. So I guess, we can say that it wasn’t all bad.
Now 2020 is finally coming to an end. We can take a deep breath and start building a better future for all of us. But, first, we need to get rid of all the negative energy that surrounds us. Then, we can start fresh in the new year. Because to be able to start the new year on a positive note, you need to clear the negative energy. So think about all these negative things and toxic people you don’t want in your life anymore and eliminate them from your life.
Get rid of physical and emotional clutter, toxic ingredients from your diet and cosmetic products and toxic people that do not add value to your life. Leave everything that you don’t need behind. Cleanse your mind, body and spirit to make the most of start fresh in the next year.
8. Write Your Gratitude Notes
Remember the time when we could travel without limits, meet our friends without worrying about “socialize safely” or watching TV news without risking a major panic attack? Well, that was before coronavirus was declared a pandemic. But then 2020 happened.
If this pandemic teaches us anything it is simply this - we need to stop taking things for granted and start being grateful for what we have already. And if you’re reading this right now, it means that you are wealthier than half of the world’s population. So do I because I can write this post for you.
Appreciating what you have and being grateful for every single day is crucial for creating a happy, fulfilling and meaningful life. So before this year is over take some time to rethink your life and write down what you are thankful for. Start with obvious things like having a safe and secure place to sleep, nutritious meals, drinking water. Then keep writing. You will be surprised by how much you have to be thankful and grateful for.
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Stay positive, be mindful and reset your life for a successful 2021!
xo Kate
