I’m writing this in the early morning of the last few days of December, a period of time that feels as foggy as the scene outside my window. It’s been a week of doing as little as possible, which feels glorious after a month of holiday prep and wrapping up the rest of this year’s to-do list.
This sharp contrast from busyness to sloth-like movements also has me thinking about the coming New Year and returning to productivity and working on my goals. There’s that temptation to make a long list of intentions for 2023. The usual—lose weight, save money, write lots of books, get more organized, do all the things. But my personal history has proven how ineffective it is to plan for a complete overhaul of my life on the first day of a New Year…especially when, in this week between Christmas and New Year’s, I’m becoming the furniture as I lie around and do as little as possible.
Let’s get real—a long list of lofty goals (especially without a plan to make them happen) on Jan. 1 will be a list of abandoned items by Feb. 1.
That said, I believe in planning goals for a new year. I think it’s a great form of motivation. But instead of planning to do more, be more, attain more…I want to actually do less, thus creating more space for the things, experiences, and people that fill my spirit.
I’m still not sure what that looks like. Like I said, I’m still wrapped up in the weighted blanket of post-holiday lethargy. Plus, my natural inclination is to do all the things (volunteer, market, struggle to stay on trend) in a subconscious effort to avoid what I really should be doing (ahem, my writing). So this is the ultimate challenge for my new year—to do less so I can eventually do more.
Any thoughts on what you want your new year to hold?