For some of you, you’re sad another year is ending and others can’t wait for this year to be over so they can start fresh. Well regardless of which one you are; you have about 2 weeks left of 2019! This is your Getting Ready for 2020 guide!

This is my favorite time of the year because you spend a lot of time reflecting on this past year. The good, the bad, the goals accomplished, and the goals unmet. It’s the perfect time to go back to your drawing board and begin making goals for the next year.

We all know those perfect people in our head saying, “why wait til the new year to start? Just start now!” but if you’re anything like me, you love the idea of a new fresh start. I dunno about you but I LOVE a new notebook, a new planner or a new book. There is just something about starting on page one that feels really good. So that’s what this new year and NEW DECADE is; page one!

It’s okay to not start now and to wait until January 1st but that doesn’t mean you can’t start planning ahead so when the calendar changes to January 1st, you can hit the ground running. I know that this time of year can be hectic as you’re picking up last minute presents, attending family parties and eating homemade cookies but try to squeeze a little time in to make plans for the upcoming year.

Here’s my mock goals and what you can do to start getting ready so you can start your new year off strong:

Exercise:

If your goal is to make more time for exercising begin by researching gyms nearby, a great yoga studio, kickboxing classes or whatever you want to try! Some places usually let you have a day pass for free; go check them out! See if the vibes are suitable to help you accomplish your goals. Price them, see if fits into your price range or start preparing a budget so you can make it fit your price range.

Get the gear you need to be successful. For instance, if you’re going to start doing yoga, find a fun yoga mat (make sure it’s a thick one–I got a cute one and its equivalent to sitting on the floor lol)! Get the running shoes you’ll need. The weightlifting belt. The boxing gloves. Invest in yourself and the new hobby you’re going to try. Have it shipped so when the new year starts, you have it. Don’t wait to the new year to look it up, buy it and not receive it until the 2nd week of the year.

Write down your goals in a notebook or on a dry erase board and figure out what you’re going to do to accomplish them. For instance, if you know you have work or class 3 days a week, then figure out if it works better for you to do them on your off days or if you can squeeze them in on the days you have things to do. Come up with a detailed plan so when the time comes, you have no excuses! I read a quote the other day that said, “Someone much busier and more tired than you got their workout in today!”

Drink more water:

If your goal is to start drinking more water, go shopping for the PERFECT water bottle! I found a water bottle on amazon for $14, it holds a half gallon which is what my goal is right now. There’s a million pretty colors for men and women and it’s literally so chuggable! Not sure if that’s a word or not because it shows a red line under it but what I’m trying to say is, it makes drinking water so easy! I got a pink one for me and an army green one for Leonard! I’ll link it HERE! But my point is, get a water bottle that you will be excited to use because then you will actually use it!

Set up a hourly or daily goal. This will help keep you accountable.

Make sure you don’t leave the house without your water bottle. Sometimes I go on errand sprees and am gone for hours and don’t drink a single thing! Pack your water bottle with you!

Can’t stand drinking plain ol water all the time? Throw fruit in your water bottle or grab some sugar free lemonade crystal light packets!

Vitamins:

I’m horrible at taking my vitamins. One of my goals this year is to really nip that in the butt. Some things I’ve found to be useful is to put them where I’ll see them like by the fridge or coffee pot.

Another thing that is easy for when you’re on the go is to put them all in a zip lock so you can throw them in your lunch box. You can get fancy pricey vitamins with your name on them or you can do your research what you need like fish oils, digestive enzymes, daily multivitamins, and then buy a 97cent box of sandwich bags and make your own!

Eat better:

Clean out the pantry of all the stuff you’re not going to eat or the things that aren’t going to help you accomplish your goal; like cookies, chips, and pop. Take inventory of your fridge and pantry. Make a good grocery list for closer to time. Pinterest good snack options and new yummy dinner recipes. I personally feel like a diet is not the greatest way to accomplish your food goals. I think making a commitment to eating cleaner and finding what you actually enjoy is the key. If you don’t like broccoli, rice and chicken then you’ll force yourself to eat it for the first 2 weeks and then you’ll quit because you’ll get bored and you didn’t enjoy it to begin with. Find things you will truly enjoy like a turkey burger with homemade sweet potato fries, a hearty but lean chili or learn how to make salmon 10 different ways. Check out my Recipe section where I’ve added a bunch of my favorite recipes!

I’m not trying to discourage anyone who is on a diet, by any means, I just want you to create a good relationship with food that includes proper nutrition as well as enjoyment! I’m a total foodie so I look forward to eating meals that are tasty! Neglecting yourself of that usually ends up in quitting diets, overindulging and an unhealthy relationship with food.

Family:

Since we live in Florida now, it makes seeing family a little more challenging. One of my goals this year is to make family feel more loved, even from far away. My goal is to AT LEAST send out celebration cards (birthday, anniversary, graduation, etc). This is a side note but I feel it’s relevant: My cousin sent me and Lenn an anniversary card with a starbucks giftcard and questions on the back reflecting on our first year together. She said to grab a coffee and spend some time going over the questions together. These weren’t just simple easy questions, there were some that brought up good things as well as bad. The impact it had on me was HUGE! I felt so loved and was so appreciative and she’s thousands of miles away.

Maybe your family is close but you don’t see them often? Mark a day on your calendar to get dinner or coffee! Maybe you’re a little bit away, find the perfect meeting spot in the middle. Picking up the phone and even if it’s “Hey, I can’t talk long, but I wanted to let you know I was thinking about you!” goes a long way!

Making people feel important or loved can be free and really go a long way!

Self Care:

Everyday should contain at least one “self care” activity! Whether that be drinking your morning coffee and reading the paper, taking a hot shower and rocking to your favorite songs or spending a few minutes during the day reflecting and journaling or praying! Once you make this a habit, you’ll realize you have much more time for self care than you think you do.

Travel:

We all know that traveling can be pricey. Start by creating a travel fund. Maybe create another account with your bank and throw in extra money each month to go toward your travel fund.

Dive in to where you live and what it has to offer! Download the free app called All Trails and find really cool trails to hike for usually free or just a couple bucks! Google places within a certain mile radius, I think you’ll be surprised by all the adventuring you can do without going too far.

Work on getting your passport! It can take a couple months so plan ahead!

Create a bucket list with all the places you’d like to travel. Start mapping out your year and using your vacation time wisely instead of on netflix!

Academics:

Maybe your goal is enroll in classes that you’ve been putting off for quite some time. If this is the case, then NOW is the time to look into it! Looking nearby schools, online classes, deadlines to apply, applying for student loans, and how to arrange things around work/childcare/life! The spring semesters start in January so getting a head start now can help you get started sooner rather than later. The longer you keep putting it off, the more likely you’ll push it to the back burner and never get back around to it.

If your goal is to perform better in school, then spend your Christmas Break resting, relaxing and getting mentally ready to kick some serious ass for the spring semester. Write out your goals, structure your schedule so you can be more successful. If you’re an early riser, look for morning classes. If you can’t keep your attention for 3 hours, look into online classes. Realize where your faults are and come up with a plan to correct them.

Career:

What goals do you have for your career as you enter the new year? I signed up for a couple new classes and marked them in my planner. I also am looking into travel nursing next year so I’ve updated my resume and references, reached out to a recruiter and started looking up youtube videos and researching states we want to travel to!

Maybe you don’t like your job–start updating your resume and gathering your resources like references, certifications, ect. Write down job fairs in your planner. Get a new interview outfit. Look up practice interview questions for your specialty. You have to be proactive otherwise you’ll find yourself very unhappy.

Leonard was working on a floor where the managers “micro-managed” and it was a toxic work environment. He quickly came up with a game plan. Reached out to a recruiter, took the necessary tests and sent in the requested information and found a new job that he loves!

Organization:

Go through your closet and get rid of clothes that you don’t wear. Chances are if you didn’t wear it this year, you aren’t going to wear it the next. Go through your desk drawers, your fridge, your car, your pantry, your bathroom and even the beloved “junk drawer” (don’t act like you don’t have one lol)! Find a place for everything! Clear up the clutter of your life and I promise it will clear up some space in your mind.

Take your stuff to Plato’s Closet, Goodwill or hand them down to a sibling or cousin.

Finance:

I am no expert in this department, I just know what we do and what works for us. Some little tips I can share:

• Write down ALL your debt–this will open your eyes to what all you owe and help when you’re thinking about going out to eat for the 3rd time that week.
• Pay off debt with the highest interest rate! You’ll save more in the end
• Create a budget
• Anticipate big expenses and adjust monthly spending– holidays, birthdays, anniversaries
• If you don’t have a savings account, you better get one!
• Write all due dates in your planner so you don’t end up with late fees
• Invest money you intended on spending into your savings account or off debt –for example, the other day the Instacart guy forgot to scan our dog food so we got it for free! We already intended on spending that $50 so we just payed an extra $50 off my jeep payment!
• Purchase things that will end up saving you money! We bought a Nest thermostat a couple months ago and it has already saved us $50 on our bills which might not seem like much but that adds up!

Gratuity/ Journaling:

So I recently started this thing where I find 3 things I’m grateful for every day! I do this by either it’s writing it down, which I prefer, or reflecting on it while on my way home or before I fall asleep. You can start your day off with it or if you’re like me, you’re a hot mess in the morning. So maybe you want to make this is a goal for you next year: there is a book called The Five Minute Journal, I’ll tag it HERE. Or you can go out and search for a lovely blank notebook and make one yourself! I also started this thing where I take a polaroid of something that I’m thankful for and tape it into the notebook–maybe it’s your dogs, maybe it’s your clean kitchen, maybe it’s your cup of coffee! Whatever made you happy that day! Imagine looking at your notebook at the end of the year and seeing all those pictures! I found the polaroid we bought for our photo booth for our wedding and decided to put it to good use! Anyway, if you like that idea, maybe start planning on purchasing one so when January 1st hits, you have all the supplies to make this goal get accomplished.

If you have any goals that I didn’t mention and need help coming up with a game plan, feel free to reach out to me. I would love to help you brainstorm the right plan for you.

Alright ya’ll, the two week timer starts now!

The plan of action is as follows:

1. Reflect on this year—what worked, what didn’t?

2. Brainstorm your new goals and discover your WHY– why do you want to make these changes? Digging into the underlying reason will help you stick to a plan better!

3. Formulate a game plan on how to accomplish your goals!

4. Get the supplies you need—ex. gym memberships, water bottle, passport, journal, planner, ect.

5. Execute the shit out of your goals fearlessly and passionately

As always, thanks for reading! If you’d like to receive emails when I post, just add your email to the subscribe list! I promise it’s not going to send you nonsense or spam!

xoxo,

keanna