How were your Christmas and New Year? I hope you got all the rest and nourishment you needed. My Christmas was spent with my family in London and New Year at Home – just a slow day which was much-needed.
January came around soon enough and now we’re all taking our first steps into 2024. I’ve spent the last 2 years taking the whole of January off to merely settle into the year. With twelve whole months to live through it made sense to take at least one to get comfortable, have a good think and prepare. The results were interesting.
I really enjoyed the time and space I gave myself to think about what I wanted for myself & my life this year. I also felt a lot less pressure to set unrealistic goals and intentions. The more time I gave myself to think the more space I created to dive into what it was I truly wanted out of the year.
“JANUARY… Time to Reset. Create Space & Time to Reconnect to your Inner Self and to Mindfully set new Intentions.”
January is naturally a quiet time when our bank balances are depleted, the nights are long and not that much seems to be happening. I realised this is the ideal time to lean into the space and magic that quiet has to offer.
Here’s what I’ll be doing this January to set myself up for 2024, in no rush whatsoever.
Create a vision board
As a visual person, I can’t help but love a vision board. For the last few years, I’ve been going digital so I can use Pinterest as my source of inspiration and have the final result as my laptop & phone wallpaper.
Choose a word for the year
Through trial and error, I’ve come to love this ritual. Having a word to guide me through the year has had my back on many occasions. It’s a gentle alternative to goal setting too. This year I have chosen the word: EXPANSION. Reading the definitions reassured me this was everything I needed to lean into this year.
Embracing living slowly
Over the last couple of years, January takes a toll on my mental health, so I’ve been prioritising embracing and living a slow lifestyle during the month of January – it’s become something of a tradition and I absolutely adore it. I do the bare minimum when it comes to working, and I spend my time doing things that bring me joy:
- Homemaking
- Decluttering, simplifying & organising
- Watch something inspiring
- Journaling
- Cooking and eating well
- Go on long winter walks
- Reflect, review, visualise & plan
- Spend quality time with my loved ones
- Read & listen to podcasts and so on
Have you been making plans and setting goals or intentions yet? Are you a slow starter like me or hurtling ahead? I’m cheering you on to do whatever brings you the most peace and calm.
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