We’re at the peak of the holidays, about to head into a New Year. How are you feeling as the year comes to a close? Take a moment to check in with yourself. With the busyness of the holiday season, it’s so easy to feel distracted, overwhelmed, or exhausted, even if the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year. We’ve gotten really good at multitasking, and being busy may feel second-nature for most but what if we could do things a little differently? What if we could get more done by doing less? What if we enter 2024 with full clarity of what we truly want and what we could do without? Enter more joy, more creativity, more peace. Wouldn't that be nice?
Consider this your guide to living more intentionally this year- without rules or unsustainable goals. Just a little bit of self reflection to steer you in the right direction….
Claim What is Important
Prioritize resting and evaluating what is really important in your life. What feels like it’s missing? What do you desire more of? Then, if you had the confidence, strength, and courage to cut out anything that is not in alignment with your ultimate aims, while still meeting daily obligations and responsibilities, what would those things be?
Identifying these things can help with over-planning and over-promising, finding yourself spending your energy and time on things that you simply just don’t want to do. Removing these will leave such greater opportunity for deeper connection with your loved ones, with yourself and the things that light you up.
Try scheduling 30 minutes for this, taking the time to sit down with a pen and paper and jot it all down. When you are clear about what’s important to you it becomes much easier to decide whether to say yes or no. For example, if quality time spent with family and close friends are a priority, then saying no to a client when your work schedule is already full is an easy decision.
Build-in Time to Decompress
Racing home directly from an important work meeting to dinner with your spouse is not solid ground for a romantic evening. Crossing off fifteen errands and then running back home to play with children doesn't lead to focused quality time. Build in a few minutes to take a breath and to shake off the stress of the day. Decompressing is a momentary practice that helps you find more joy in what you're doing. Watch how that little break brings more presence to what comes next.
Minimize 'Stuff' and Create Room to Breathe
This is a sure way to freedom is to lighten your load. “Stuff” not only takes up physical space, but takes up your mental energy too. Once the Christmas decor comes down, it might be a nice segway into tackling one of the problem areas of your home- one room at a time; to clear clutter and to let go of items that weigh you down.
For more help with this, check out our blog 5 Organizing Tips with the Most Impact. It can be as simple as cleaning up the notifications you receive on your phone. Remember- technological clutter is a thing, too. And it often promotes a sense of urgency, causing us to be dysregulated all day. Lessen the noise, strengthen your peace.
You don’t have to have an extensive list of New Year’s Resolutions to start the year off right. Again, sometimes less is more. Hone-in on what you want more of and let that dictate who and what you give your time to. And if you need a helping hand along the way, we would love to support you!
