Your Ultimate Guide on How to Plan for the New Year

They say how you spend New Year’s Eve sets the tone for the new year to come. While some may believe that to be true, we believe in something else… here is your ultimate guide on how to plan for the new year! You can make it a New Year New You!

January 1st

Yes, the new year is simply just another day and there’s always the “you don’t need Jan 1st to come around so you can start going to the gym” kind of argument. We know, you can start new habits any day of the week but there’s something magical and inspiring about Jan 1st and we plan to take full advantage of it! Think of it as a clean slate in an essence that you can start fresh and let go of negativity and go into the new year with positivity! The new year has come and anything is possible. Maybe it’s the placebo effect because we deeply think it’s new, therefore it feels new. Whatever it may be, we are taking advantage!

It’s Time To Focus On You

We believe in setting goals. Each year before Jan 1st hits, we make our new year’s resolution lists and reflect on the list from the year before. You’ve had your family time and are probably still feeling stuffed from all the Christmas food (Amanda’s shorts are now a bit too tight for her) but it’s now time to focus on YOU! It’s okay to be selfish!

Be Specific

Writing down what you want to accomplish for next year should not take you 5 minutes. Give yourself a little bit more credit than that! You have aspirations right? You have desires, wants, visions and dreams to achieve… give them the time they deserve. Have a good think of what is achievable and start making a plan.

Plan Ahead

Now that you’re focusing on you & have written down your goals, it’s the perfect time to achieve those desires. Planning ahead is crucial. You’ll understand why this is important and how this ties in with everything else we are saying once you finish reading! You need to be sure you have everything in place to achieve your desired changes which is why you need to prepare! Read up on it whatever it may be, use the internet, magazines, anything that will help you get a leg up on succeeding. Plan for your success, make sure you have everything needed to accomplish your desires. Whether it be working out or reading more, make sure you have trainers, clothes, music, books, etc. Too lazy to make a plan? We don’t care. Stop watching so much TV and start investing in your dreams and talents. If you want to achieve success, you’ve got to put all your hard work into what you love. And if you’re passionate, you’ll definitely find the time.

Share Your Passions

Don’t keep your dreams to yourself (unless they’re a bit kinky, then please do). Talk to your partner, friends and family on what you hope to accomplish next year. It’ll start to feel a bit more real and get that motivation hit you probably so desperately need after being in holiday mode (we feel you vacationers, it’s a struggle coming home to reality!). However, if you’ve got a screamer of an idea make sure you take legal measures to protect your visions. You don’t want someone capitalising on your dreams.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

This holds true, so be sure to stick your goals up on your wall or get creative with a vision board. If you hide them away in your secret diary for the entire year that’s where your goals will stay… on a piece of paper. We want to change this to “In Sight, In Mind” so you can succeed!

Invest (Your Money) In You

Have a dream to be your own boss? Instead of spending your money on clothes, stupid things, eating out excessively etc, perhaps you should starting spending the money on YOU! By that we mean your ultimate dream. Take us for example… to have your own website costs money, promote posts cost money, investing in the right tools such as a good computer or camera costs money. We’ve invested our own money into this because we’re finally at a point where we can see the potential of AJ Money Matters and are working our butts off to get there. Make sure you’re doing the same. It’ll be the best investment you ever made. We promise. It’s rewarding seeing your hard work and invested time pay off!

Hold Yourself Accountable

Some people start a blog to hold themselves accountable for their goals and it’s a great way to do so! Let it be known to your friends and family that you are so determined to reach your goals and use social media such as facebook and instagram to keep a visual, online diary of your journey.

Accept Failure

Don’t hate yourself for a misstep. Don’t get so down on yourself and disregard your dreams and desires. Nothing worth having comes easy, everything you do in life will feel so much more rewarding when you put the hard work into it. Slacked off for the day? Don’t give up! This is why a vision board or posting your goals is so critical. If you slacked off or are feeling down about your progress look up at your goals, make a road map. Track your small steps to find yourself reaching the end goal.

Plan Rewards

Some goals, desires, dreams, resolutions whatever you may see them as can take time. We are a generation of instant gratification so when we don’t see results right away we want to give up or change our goals. One simple word, DON’T. Instead, plan small rewards for encouragement. This can be anything, perhaps reward yourself to your favourite gelato shop, or a new book, a trip to the cinema… or whatever tickles your feathers. Start with rewards on a weekly basis during the hardest part of change, then transition to monthly rewards, and then at the end of the year an anniversary reward!

What are some of your goals for the new year and how are you planning for them? Leave us a comment below!