NEW YEAR RESET | Decluttering, Goal Setting & Mindset Shifts

I’ll start this off by saying I’m not a fan of New Year’s resolutions. I’m a big proponent of goal setting any time of year. But there’s a fresh, exciting energy when a new year rolls around, which I think is a great catalyst for anyone to make some positive changes. I wanted to start off 2022 strong with a full New Year RESET. I’m going to be decluttering my life (digitally & physically), setting some realistic goals, and shifting my mindset on a few things. If you want to start this year off with some positive changes, come along with me!

New Year Reset

If you’d prefer to watch this New Year Reset instead of reading, I’ll link my YouTube version below.

The 3 ways I’m going to be resetting my life this year:

1. Decluttering my space (digital & physical)
2. Setting realistic goals
3. Shifting my mindset away from old limiting beliefs

I’ll kick things off with one that comes the least naturally to me – decluttering.

Declutter Your Space(s)

I’ll let you know upfront – I’m not a naturally “cleaning-inclined” person. I always had a messy room growing up, I hate (strongly dislike) doing dishes and other household chores, and I never think to clean unless I force myself to.

But I’ve also learned these past few years that I feel much more relaxed and focused when my space is clean. So those two things are kind of at odds with one another…

I’ve realized that since I don’t have a house cleaner (I wish…) and can’t expect my fiancé to do ALL the cleaning… If I want my space to be clean, I’m going to have to step up and do it myself.

physical decluttering

My plan is to go through room by room and get rid of the things I don’t use anymore. Especially when it comes to old clothes in my closet – I keep things for much longer than I actually use them for.

I made a checklist of all the rooms in my apartment and as soon as the holidays are over, I’m going to start checking them off one by one.

I’m also planning to give the space I’m in the most a refresh of sorts. For me, that’s my desk at home. I’m there basically 24/7 between my 9-5 job, blogging, and editing YouTube videos. So I want to make the space I’m in the most enjoyable/aesthetic to be in.

digital decluttering

Along with our physical spaces, we’re also in the digital realm very often these days. Honestly, most of our time is probably spent on technology of some sort. So just like our physical spaces, our digital spaces can get messy too.

I’m going to do a few things to declutter my tech life:

• “Prune” my camera roll (aka go through and delete old screenshots/pictures that I don’t need anymore)
• Unfollow people on social media that don’t bring me happiness or inspiration
• Give my home screen a “glow up” (see my video here for a step-by-step on how to do this!)

Set Realistic Goals

I mentioned that I’m not a fan of traditional new years resolutions. This isn’t because I think there’s anything wrong with setting goals at the beginning of the year – not at all. I just don’t like the idea that you can only set goals at the beginning of a new year, and that you have to stick with those same goals all year.

Goals are fluid. For me personally, telling myself I’m going to stick with something for the next 12 months (without any room for changes) is just setting myself up for failure.

That being said, the excitement and fresh energy at the beginning of the year is a great time to start focusing on making changes.

I typically break my goals down into 6 categories:

• Career
• Relationship/Social
• Spiritual
• Financial
• Intellectual/Personal Growth
• Health

After I have written goals in each of these categories, I break each goal down into 3 sections: Monthly, Weekly, and Daily. This allows me to plan out how I’ll take action on my goals, instead of just letting them sit in a notebook collecting dust.

For example, the health goals I set include:

• Eating/exercising with my monthly cycle (blog on how to start this here!)
• Practicing an 80/20 mindset
• Working out 5x/week (this includes walks, yoga, etc.)
• Cooking more meals from home

I broke the health section of my goals down into actionable steps, like this…

Monthly:

• Look at the month ahead and make a loose (realistic) schedule for workouts/meals (including foods and workouts that coincide with my cycle)

Weekly:

• Find recipes to cook, make a grocery list, and buy groceries
• Plan out a (loose) workout schedule

Daily:

• Workout (most days)
• Cook meals at home

These plans are pretty fluid and can change a lot based on how busy my work/blogging schedule is, if I have any trips planned, and how I’m feeling day to day. But it’s nice to have a plan to keep in the back of my mind and try to stick to as much as possible (80/20 😉).

These plans will also look a lot different from person to person, depending on your lifestyle, responsibilities, if you have kids, etc. So make it work for you, and don’t worry about trying to make it “perfect”. Realistic is always better than perfect.

A Powerful Mindset Shift

Last, but definitely not least: mindset.

We all know that our subconscious thoughts guide our decision-making, feelings about ourselves/lives, and more. I’ve been making a conscious effort recently to get to the root of some of my subconscious beliefs.

If I find a belief that’s holding me back in my present-day life, I want to get to the bottom of it and move past it (as much as possible.)

It can be really hard to do deep inner work like this. But it’s so important and expansive to understand why you believe certain things about yourself and work to change these beliefs if they’re holding you back.

I started off 2022 by journaling on this prompt:

What limiting thoughts and ideas am I holding onto that I cannot bring with me into the next year?

Once I had these limiting beliefs journaled out, I took each one and wrote out this:

Why are these thoughts and ideas not actually true and/or beneficial? What’s something better that I can believe instead?

After I had these written out, I typed up a “cliff notes” version in the Notes app on my phone. So anytime throughout my days that I start to believe the limiting beliefs, I can reference my list to find a more true belief.

New Year Reset: Final Thoughts

These 3 categories are things that I’m going to be working on throughout the year, in hopes to make 2022 the best year yet. I hope this blog helped a few people to go into the new year strong & with a positive, expansive mindset.

If you have other tips & tricks that you’re taking into the new year with you, leave them below in the comments! I’m always happy to hear new ideas on how to make the best of a new year.