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Are you done preparing for the New Year?

Preparing for the New Year

Wishing for a Better Year or Planning for a Better Year?

Everyone hopes that the new year will be better than the last. But few of us actually prepare for it to be so. We tend to just let the year happen and then gape in surprise when that year comes to a close. I am so guilty of this!

Or we plan and set up resolutions but don’t keep it past February. I have also done this.

That is so sad, isn’t it? Because it means that many of us are just letting time slip by.

Time and Tide waits for no man. Time cannot be earned back. Use it wisely.

Time is Limited but Money is Limitless

Do you know that time is limited? Once it is “used up”, it is “used up”. Nothing you or I can do will get it back.

Money, on the other hand, is limitless. You may not feel that way but it is true. For the majority of us, money can be earned back. But no one can earn time back.

Isn’t that a sobering thought?

Preparing for the New Year with Prayer First

All ready to prepare for the New Year?

Hold your horses. May I remind you to PRAY FIRST before you start planning? Because we don’t want to run in the wrong direction. The Bible reminds us that,

A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.
– Proverbs 16:9 –

But don’t just pray. You need a plan too. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry reminds us,

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

Just keep a very keen ear on what the Lord is prompting you to do as you plan. Do not just go ahead, plan out your life and then say – “God, this is MY plan, bless it, please!”

Look Back to Review

Next, do a stocktake of the year that has just passed. Take time to review it. And then, ask these two questions:

  1. What brought great joy? How can it be replicated?
  2. What brought great stress? How can it be avoided?

Remember, it is insanity to keep doing the same thing but to expect different results.

4 tips for preparing for the new year

Write it Down

It is said that if you want to get something done, you need to write it down. Thinking about it in your head will not get it done. Instead, it adds to your feeling of overwhelm.

Write down your plans. Pray over it, always staying open to changing things up if the Lord prompts you to. And then, put it somewhere that you will see it daily to keep you focused.

3 Areas Not to Neglect

In order for us to live a well-rounded life, we ought to have a plan for at least our Family Life, our Spiritual Life and our Physical Health. But I totally understand the feeling of overwhelm. So you may need to focus on one area at a time.

Set up Daily/Weekly/Monthly Reviews

After your goals are written out and steps have been ordered to achieve success, you need to set up reviews – daily, weekly and monthly. I learnt this from David Allen’s Getting Things Done. If you don’t even look at your goals on a weekly basis, I can guarantee that you will not be moving towards it. Because… distractions!

Reviews keep us on track. If we get off-track, we can make daily/weekly/monthly adjustments. Reviews allow us to tweak our goals. Think of it as a re-calibrating tool.

Preparing for the New Year keeps you out of the overwhelmed zone.

Planning to Do Less?

Some of us will have to deliberately plan to do less, while others may have to plan to go on survival mode in the year ahead. Because that is just what this season of life has called for.

Do not feel bad or guilty or condemned. In fact, it should empower you.

Because you are PLANNING for it to happen, instead of having no choice but to do less.

Planning for Survival Mode Season

Here are some examples of how you can plan for survival mode:

  • Plan to eat a lot of takeouts. You can even schedule takeout meals in your menu plan.
  • Plan to use a lot of paper plates.
  • Plan for school to be relegated to the back burner for the young children. You just focus on the one in Primary school.
  • Etc…

Planning puts you in charge. And that will keep you out of the overwhelmed zone.

All the best planning for the New Year!

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* As always, there are affiliate links in this post. If you should choose to purchase a product through my link, I will be paid a small amount at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog ad (and distraction!) free. Thank you for your support!

1st published 11 December 2017.

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