The year 2022 is coming to an end so I thought it would be a good idea to compile a list of all the things you should do to end this year on a good note to help you start the new one right. For me, this year has been the happiest but most difficult year so far: I started two new jobs, I lost friends and made new ones; I started counseling which is incredibly hard; I improved my sleeping habits and built a routine that I still stick to this day; and I fell in love with running. I had clearly lost things and people this year, but I also gained so much such as discipline, new friendships, and new interests. I thought to create what I hope to do by the end of this year to make sure that I continue doing all of the good habits that I developed this year, but also to reflect on the things that didn’t go so well and think about how I can improve things.
#1 Declutter your belongings – this means going through everything you own such as your clothes, stationery, books, jewellery, tote bags (you probably have so many of these and can get rid of some!), and house plants and getting rid of anything that no longer has a purpose or is taking up unnecessary space. By getting rid of things you no longer use, you are making space – which can be filled later with new things, or just left empty because not all room has to be filled and sometimes it’s okay to have drawers and shelves empty. The aim should be to get rid of at least one bag of things you no longer need, and I feel like once you start looking through your stuff you will end up finding more rubbish than you think
#2 Reflect on the year that is about to end. 2022 had both good and bad elements to it so it’s important that we accept the two alongside each other, so that we can feel grateful for the things that we have achieved this year but also be aware that there are areas in our life that we need to work on. Try to consider the following questions:
- What new habits did you create this year that you want to bring into the new year?
- What did you achieve this year that your 2021 self would not have imagined you were capable of achieving?
- What are some lessons that you learned this year?
- What didn’t work so well this year?
- Am I proud of what I have achieved this year?
- What advice would you give your future self based on your experiences this year?
#3 This is continuing from the previous point, but like every single year of our lives, there were probably some bad moments that made you doubt yourself or made you feel stuck. It’s crucial that you reflect on these moments, perhaps by writing about them in a journal or talking about them to a trusted friend or a counsellor. The last thing we want to do is to enter the new year feeling stuck in the previous year because we still have some loose ends we need to deal with.
#4 Make a memories scrapbook. At the end of each year, I like to print off a large number of photos from trusted apps such as Snapfish or FreePrints as a way to have physical reminders of the good memories, people and events that happened in the year. You can choose to write on the back of photos what’s happening in the image and why it’s meaningful to you or buy a scrapbook and glue your photos into it as a nice tribute to 2022. This is a creative way to remember the year that has passed and helps you to focus on all the good memories that you made.
#5 Set goals. I know this is something that people like to do at the start of the new year, but I think it’s more beneficial to set goals for the next year before the new year has even started so that you start the 1st of January with a new outlook on life. From my personal experience, setting small, short-term goals helps to make it more manageable and achievable and thus gives me more motivation to actually stick to them. But it’s not just enough to write down your goals in a journal to never be seen again, write them down on a post-it note and place them somewhere in your room where it easily will catch your attention such as your long-length mirror or your notice board. Being constantly reminded of your goals, such as waking up at 8am on weekdays and be in bed by 11pm, will help hold you accountable. It’s also important to reflect on why you are setting these specific goals, for example how will waking up at 8am benefit you? A study in JAMA psychiatry found that shifting your sleep schedule back just one hour was linked to 23% lower risk of depression, so going to bed early and waking up early have mental health benefits. In this way, you need to be intentional about the goals that you set because that will increase your ability to actually achieve them.