Tips to Set Yourself Up for Success in the New Year

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Tips to Set Yourself Up For Success in The New Year

With the new year right around the corner, it is time to start planning and preparing to have a successful year. To help you out, I wanted to share some awesome tips and tools to really help set yourself up for success in the new year!  

Some of these tools are free, some are paid for. But I assure you, that each tool listed here is top-notch. You will not be disappointed by any of them, and I really hope that you give some of these things a try. I personally use a lot of these tools in my own planning, and I can definitely say that they have been super awesome! 

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Create a Vision

Before you really get started planning out your new year, you should create a vision for what you want the year to look like. 

More and Less

The easiest place to start creating your new year’s vision is by filling out a More and Less worksheet. 

In one column you can write out what you want more of in the new year. Are there things you want to do more of? People you want to hang out with more? Certain qualities you want to show more of in your personal actions? 

In the second column, write down what you want less of this next year. What is it you want to scale back on or even cut out of your life? Maybe a habit you’ve picked up or something keeping you from being productive? 

Think about the things you are excited about next year. Write out new things you want to try or implement into your own life. Keep a list of books you want to read and the things you want to learn more about. 

And lastly, reflect on the things that happened this year that you thought went really well. Did you learn a new skill, or join a great new group? Figure out how you can continue doing those things, or even expanding off of them.

Set Goals 

Doesn’t everyone have this response when you ask how can I be successful next year? But before you write it off, there is actually a lot of truth behind setting and writing down your goals. 

Writing down your goals will definitely help to set you up for success in the new year. 

Here are some tips on how to set good goals. 

Use the acronym SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. 

Specific: Try not to write down goals that are very general. Be as specific as possible. 

Measurable: Adding numbers to your goals helps to keep them measurable. If your goal is to read more books figure out how many you read last year then increase that number and add it to your goal.

Achievable: Make sure the goals you set are realistic. If you are selling a product and the last couple of years you averaged $30,000 in sales, it may not be realistic to set a goal of $300,000.  

Relevant: Is your goal closely connected with your vision? Is it appropriate to what is being done or considered in your career or personal life?

Timely: Setting a deadline for your goal makes it timely. Goals work well when you can easily track them. 

Let me give you a couple of examples to show you the difference between a not SMART goal and a SMART one! 

Example – Work out more verses Go to the gym 3x per week for the next year.

Example – Increase my blog readers verses Hit a steady 3,000 users per month by the end of the year. 

Reflect on each goal by asking yourself these questions

These questions will help to internalize your goals as you pursue them throughout the year.

• Why do you want to achieve this goal?
• What about this goal is important to you?
• What will the outcome be once you have achieved your goal? 

If you feel like you have strayed away from the path towards achieving your goals, come back to the answers to these questions. Remind yourself the Why behind what you are doing! This should help boost you towards the finish line. 

More On Goals:
Biblical Tips on How to Achieve Your Goals
How to Recognize Bad Goals
Your Biggest Goal Setting Mistake

Get a Planner

After setting goals, you should get a planner to help schedule out the steps you need to take in accomplishing those goals. Not only that, but planners will assist you in keeping track of everything and not forgetting anything important. 

Whether you like to physically write down your schedule or you like to keep it all digital, you need a good planner. This has been the key to my own organization.

Online Planners

In the last few years I have been using Google Calendars as my scheduling tool for everything, but as my career has taken a few turns, so has my planner needs. Google Calendar wasn’t working for me anymore so I tested out a few other programs. 

I first tried Trello and I really enjoyed that! Trello is great for those who like lists. On Trello, you can create boards for different projects or areas in your life. 

I currently have a few boards on Trello

• Blog
• Rental Properties
• Personal 
• Blog Articles

You can create different lists within your boards. Mine are typically – To Do, In Progress, and Completed. You can create tasks in each one and move them from your different lists. 

There are a lot of different ways to use Trello. So check it out and mess around to find out what works best for you. 

Physical Planners

Recently though I switched over to a physical planner. Even while I was using Trello or Google Calendars I found myself writing a lot of physical lists.

So for 2020, I decided to buy a planner so I could keep everything physically written down in one place. 

Check out the planner I bought. What I love about it are the planning pages at the beginning of the book. It has a place to write down your goals, monthly tasks, and your weekly schedule. And they had a lot of cute design options. 

Track Money

Tracking your money is a great way to set yourself up for financial success in the new year. If you are someone looking to reach financial independence, tracking your money is one of the first steps along that journey. 

You won’t gain control over your money if you don’t know where it is going. Tracking your money doesn’t need to be difficult, but there are two ways you can start today. 

Related: What’s the Difference Between Money Tracking and Budgeting?

Two ways you can start tracking your money

1. Manually
2. Automatically 

Some people like to manually track their money because they feel they have more control over it that way. If you want to manually track your money you can use tools like Excel, Google Sheets, or simply a pen and paper! 

However, if you are like me, and forget to write down your expenses, an automatic tool might be a good option for you. 

My husband and I use the money tracker called Mint. They have an online platform as well as a mobile app. 

You will need to link your credit cards and bank accounts, so you will have to decide if you are comfortable with that. But whenever you make a purchase it is automatically inputted into Mint.

They also give you the ability to categorize your expenses, that way you can get the full picture of where you spend the most money! 

Mint is a free option for tracking your money, but there are some other paid options that work really well. 

• HoneyMoney
• Personal Capital

Once you’ve started tracking your money and have a good idea as to where it is going, you can move on from there to setting a budget! 

Set a Budget

Do you have a budget yet? Now is a perfect time to create a budget! It is never too late to get started budgeting. 

Never set up a budget before? Well, if you’re looking for a great way to set up your budget, check out my Super Simple Budget Spreadsheets

If you don’t really believe in budgets, maybe this article will change your mind. Rachel from Money Hacking Mama wrote an awesome article on how budgeting changed her life! Her story is seriously inspiring, and maybe it will help you change your mind on budgeting too! 

Take an Online Course

If you are looking to take things to the next level, signing up for a course is a great way to set yourself up for success in the new year.

This year, 2019, I took a blogging course! The course taught me how to run a successful blog as well as how to monetize it. It has helped me tremendously in my blogging journey. You can read my full review of the course here. 

Here is a list of courses that I recommend checking out! 

Build a Better Year Workshop

The Build A Better Year workshop is an all-day virtual workshop focused on helping you plan for the new year. This is put on by Christa with Do a New Thing. She also does personal training throughout the year.

It will be conducted in a private Facebook group and/or Zoom video conference. The workshop will kick off with a short devotion looking at a Biblical view of making plans. There will be six training/teaching sessions throughout the day.

You will also be given a number of worksheets so you can implement what you learned in the workshop. 

Gold City Ventures Courses

Gold City Ventures offers 3 different side hustle courses. If you’re looking to start a profitable side hustle in the new year, then one of these courses will be perfect for you!

Gold City Ventures’ Three Courses

• Blogging for Profit
• Etsy Printables 
• Freelance Toolkit

As I mentioned above, I took the Blogging for Profit course and it changed my world. It has set me up for success, and as I go forward into the new year I expect to have even more success by implementing what I learned from it. 

Lead Magnet Workshop 

If you already have a blog and are looking to boost your income on it or increase your email list, this Lead Magnet Workshop would be right up your alley! 

This workshop is created by Simplifying DIY Design. This workshop was built to help you choose, design, and set up lead magnets that actually grow your list without spending hours a day fighting for every subscriber! 

You also get 10 lead magnet templates when you sign up! 

I recently purchased the Complete Bloggers Template Toolkit and have been loving it!

Join a Community of People Working on Similar Goals

Surrounding yourself with like-minded people who are working on similar goals as you is the best way to hold yourself accountable to achieving your goals. Stay inspired when it gets tough to keep working hard as you hear what others are doing to make progress.

Not only that, but by being in a group with similar objectives as you, you can learn how to achieve your goals even quicker!

Check out our free community for young professionals working on the goal of financial freedom using biblical financial principles!

So what are you doing to set yourself up for success in the new year?

You May Also Like
How to Recognize Bad Goals
Your Biggest Goal Setting Mistake
Biblical Tips for Achieving Your Goals
13 Bad Money Habits to Break Today

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