Make the Most of the January Fresh Start

Today, in 3 minutes or less, you’ll learn:   

1. That guilt-free rest is so important  
2. January often affords time to set your year up for success  
3. January is a great time to refocus on your business priorities, too  

Happy New Year! I hope you and your family have had a lovely Christmas holiday and a relaxing break.   

I love this time of year. It is like we are in a twilight zone. I often have no idea what day or date it is, especially between Christmas and New Year. I find December so hectic – for us, it was full of school activities and concerts, finishing up work, work Xmas parties, catch-ups with friends and family, food and present shopping, Xmas lunch prep, Xmas baking, Xmas workouts at my gym, Xmas displays out the front of our house (our 6yo was so into it this year), looking at Xmas lights, wrapping presents . . .    

I love all the build-up and the Xmas magic as my kids are so excited about it at this stage, and I enjoy it all at the time, but I do love how cathartic it feels to put all our Xmas stuff away and move into more chilled-out time.   

In this newsletter, I am sharing how I refocus myself in January and make the most of some downtime before all our routines roll in again. I love using this time well and being intentional so that I am ready to hit the ground running and that the month doesn’t just disappear on social media and streaming TV shows and movies. For me, there is often a bit of time and space in early January to work on a few projects and plan.   

I hope the following tips also help you make the most of your January.  

Tip 1: Rest and recharge and just be  

Rest and recharge are so important. Depending on the year you had in 2023 (or how hectic the end of the year was), this may need to be more of a focus for you. If you need to catch up a bit and enjoy some downtime, go for it guilt-free.   

I’ve been listening to a great fiction book on Audible (The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver) rather than all my usual podcasts and watching a good dose of Netflix (the last season of Crown and the Robbie Williams documentary were standouts) as I felt that I needed to switch off and relax. We also enjoyed a few days in the city and had a ball, doing lots of fun things with the kids and catching up with family and friends.   

Before school starts again, we will be sure to fill our days with many pool and play dates, day trips and afternoon movies. Our kids need a good relax too after the busyness of December.  

Tip 2: Set your goals for the year  

There is often a lot of time and space in early January to think about goals and plans for the year. I use this time to full advantage:  

• Thinking about and planning projects for the year  
• Thinking about family goals, holidays, activities and other events.  
• Setting business goals and how I will take my first actions  
• Organising my workspaces and Trello boards  
• I am setting up a paper-based diary by Adele Basheer this year to complement my Trello board use. 

What are you planning for your business this year?  

Who or what is inspiring you?  

What are you excited about and can’t wait to start?  

Tip 3: Start getting organised  

I also like to start getting organised for the year too.   

Decluttering is always great to do. We should get a few bags to charity and do a run to the local tip before school starts. Particular tasks for me this school holidays will be my makeup and toiletries, our pantry/fridge/freezer and my desk space. My kids are growing so quickly at the minute that I feel like I can get more clothes out of their wardrobes that are too small, and it’s always good to clear out some toys after the Christmas influx.  

I've booked a few appointments, too, so that they are out of the way before we get busy again - including an optometrist, dentist and gym appointment to get a new program sorted. 

As the end of January approaches, I’ll think more about setting us up for the school year, including getting meals and lunch box food items in the freezer and buying all the school supplies and uniforms needed.  

Tip 4: Digital Clean Up  

It is always helpful to do a digital clean-up so that this doesn’t get on top of you. Clean up your emails, especially your inbox, which may include unsubscribing from unwanted emails. Organise your desktop and files, too, so you can find everything quickly and be more productive. Also, check your streaming and business subscriptions and ensure you only pay for what you are using.  

Tip 5: Create some content  

If you have some space to start working, I encourage you to start preparing some content that you can use in future. No doubt it will get busy once your kids return to school and other routines start again, so anything you can do to get on the front foot with your content and offers will be a big bonus! Creating backup content to publish when interruptions to your workdays pop up will also be a bonus. I will get busy in January loading up scheduling software, including Hypefury and Tailwind, with social media content I want to publish.    

I hope your January is all you want and need it to be, and I look forward to helping you work on your dreams and goals in 2024.