Best Resources to Start The New Year Off Right
/Often, we spend time at the end of a year dreaming up all the things we want to achieve in the New Year with little thought as to how we will achieve any of those goals or whether they are realistic enough to achieve in a year.
After a year like 2020, it may seem like we wasted a lot of time, so 2021 feels like the year we need to hustle through and get it all done, but... what if 2020 was meant to prepare us for 2021?
“Time well spent adds to a life well lived.”
― Martin Ugwu
2020 highlighted a lot of idols, or things we worshiped, in our lives. Idols such as an extremely busy schedule, travel, wealth, career success, safety & security, etc….
Although these things aren’t inherently bad, when we place them on a pedestal to be worshiped, we forget who we should be worshipping, and our priorities become unbalanced.
The natural response may be to try to accomplish all the things this past year has taken from us, but instead, I want to challenge us to focus on living 2021 with intention but without the hustle, and burnout, and misplaced priorities.
I am not against New Year goals or resolutions, but we want to make sure we are doing them correctly, focusing on the things that matter long term.
This is why I have listed some of the best resources to ensure you have a successful year while also maintaining your priorities. If you need help planning out your year, or if you want to ensure you live your life well, then read on for THREE resources that will most definitely help you plan/start (and finish) the New Year right.
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
― Benjamin Franklin
This post may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure here.
Recommended Products:
These products are tools I have used or recently started using. From a planner to a journal, these products help me ensure my priorities are always in the right order. At the end of the day, why does it matter if we achieve a goal or accomplishment if it doesn’t tie into the priorities of our lives (faith, family, work)?
Living Well Planner
The Living Well Planner is the first planner I have found that is legit an all-in-one planner. This planner helps:
Organize your Life
Take Control of finances & budget
Plan Meals
Focus on your goals
This planner is perfect for the working professional, busy stay-at-home mom, or #GirlBoss. It’s undated but comes with stickers, so you can start it in the middle of the year as I did, or you can begin using it on 1 January, like I normally would.
Bottom Line: If you are striving for the well-lived life, this planner is for you.
As you prepare for the year, these 50 quotes/verses may help guide and encourage you. They can also be found in our exclusive Resource Library.
Why Use a Planner?
Living a life with intention requires a lot of thought and understanding. At 80, don’t we want to look back and see that we’ve lived a full life? We can’t do that by living by the seat of our pants 24/7. Spontaneity is great, but only at the right time.
Your daily, weekly, and monthly actions should be tied to your goals, and your goals should directly impact what it is that will matter when you are older. The living well planner helps CRUSH your goals, all while managing your home and your schedule.
How to Use This Planner
Brain Dump. At the end of the month, I spend time brain dumping everything that I would like to get done in the near future. Nothing is too big or too small. Example:
Sorting through a junk drawer
purchasing Mom’s birthday card
Deep cleaning the kitchen
etc… It all goes on my brain dump list.
Write in Appointments. Next, it’s time to write in all appointments, events, or activities that are less likely to change and can’t be missed on the monthly calendar spread. Visualizing the month allows you to see how much “free” time you have to work with to complete the items on your brain dump list.
Sort through Brain Dump. Once we have an idea of how busy the month will be, we can sort through the brain dump and remove anything that we know won’t get done. It’s important to be realistic here. We want to protect our time and ensure we leave breathing room for rest.
Plan out your week. Now it gets fun.
Go to your weekly spread, and copy over any and all appointments, events, activities for the week.
Schedule your meals according to what’s on your calendar. The day you have a lot to do is not the day you should be trying an elaborate recipe.
Schedule out your cleaning routine. Try to limit it to 1 area or item to clean at a time so you don’t spend your entire weekend cleaning.
Once your home is taken care of (meals, cleaning & appointments) you should be able to see how much time you have leftover each day to take care of all the other things on your brain dump list.
Make sure to schedule the things that matter first - the items that focus on a goal or will have a direct impact on a well-lived life. If you struggle here, then the next resource is perfect for you. The Cultivate What Matters Powersheets Planner.
Cultivate What Matters Powersheets
Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal. - John 6:27
The Cultivate What Matters Powersheets Planner is the perfect goal setting planner to help you manage your year. It comes with guided worksheets that help you uncover what truly matters and helps you break it down into tiny manageable steps.
I have been using these Powersheets since the beginning of 2019. If you’re looking for biblical goal-setting principles, then these powersheets are exactly what you need.
How to Use Powersheets
Fill out worksheets. Before the beginning of the year (or month), work through the worksheets to discover what it is that will matter to you most. Once you’ve discovered what matters you can begin developing goals.
Braindump all the things you want to accomplish and then cross off the things that don’t directly impact your big God-sized dreams and goals.
Use the Monthly tending sheets to break your big goals into manageable action steps.
Repeat at the beginning of every month.
If you need goal ideas, then download these 15 Resolutions to Make in 2021
Val Marie Prayer Journal
The last resource you need in order to slay the upcoming year is ValMarie Papers Prayer Journal. I know this is an unconventional resource, but hear me out. I believe one of the purposes of 2020 was to prepare us for 2021. To highlight idols and get us to slow down and recognize what really matters.
If you want to conquer your goals, if you want to achieve big God-sized dreams, then you need to make sure God is the focal point. Making communication with God a central focus in your life will help you keep your priorities in check. This is why these Prayer Journals are perfect.
How to Use This Prayer Journal
Pray. Spend a few minutes prior to, praying that God reveals who and what you should be praying for. Ask Him to prepare your heart and ensure your motives are in the right place.
Fill out the prompts. There are 6-12 months of prompts for prayer requests covering everything from Our Nation to My Family, Big Goals, and more…
Place it in an easy to see spot. Use the journal as a daily reminder to pray for specific people, topics, goals, etc… Keep it on your nightstand to help you pray every morning, or right before bed. Or keep it by the kitchen sink to pray while you wash dishes. Find what works for you and just do it.
Repeat at the end of each month or the beginning of each month fill out the prompts. It’s okay if they repeat and it’s okay if they don’t. There is no perfect way to use these journals.
As a bonus to help you start the New Year off in Prayer, I created a printable New Years Prayer. Click to download, or find it in our exclusive Resource Library.
Additional Resources/Books for the New Year
These three additional books have made a significant difference in my life.
If you find yourself being a grumpy mom, check out Val Woerner’s book Grumpy Mom Takes A Holiday.
If you’re interested in growing deeper in your faith and starting to read the Bible, then Phylicia Masonheimer’s Stop Calling Me Beautiful is the book for you.
Finally, if you find yourself struck by fear and unwilling to ever actually accomplish anything, well Fear Is Not the Boss of You will CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
