There's 6 Weeks Left of 2023: Here's What I'm Doing

It’s crazy to me to think we only have 6 weeks left in 2023!

If that sentence just made you feel like little Lincoln’s face in the photo above, then this blog post is for you.

I know that with a reminder of the short time we have left this year often comes the self judgement about all we set out to tackle in 2023 that we didn’t. I’d be lying if I said that 2023 didn’t throw me a lot of curveballs too, but I’m not ready to ship it in just yet.

This year I’m going into the last six weeks far more intentional than the weeks that came before them, in hopes that our holiday season will be that much more enjoyable because I took a few minutes to reflect and plan for 2024 now vs on January 1st.

Here are some of the things I’m doing now, to make sure that happens:

• SET UP TIME TO DECLUTTER YOUR HOME
  We don’t usually go too overboard on Christmas gifts, but there’s nothing like new things coming into the home to remind you of the items that aren’t being used the way they once were. This is a great time of year to encourage your kids to be a part of giving back to the community and donating toys or clothing (winter hats, mitts, jackets, and pyjamas are great top of mind things this time of year) to local organizations that will take them to be used again by other children. By doing it now it also eliminates a lot of overwhelm of trying to find a place for new things to go post Christmas.

• SET UP VISUAL HABIT REMINDERS
  This is when I’ll usually look back on what my goals were at the start of the year or even how they have evolved up until now, and choose 3-4 things that I’d really like to get back into the habit of doing. For me this could be anything from getting 10k steps in a day, to reaching out to one friend everyday and just let them know I’m thinking of them, to reading a few pages of a book, to meditating. If it’s good for my brain or body, I’ve probably used it in my habit tracker. For me, habits are fun to try on. Some of them stick, some of them don’t. But what’s fun about using a habit tracker is it’s like trying a new challenge every month. You’re gamifying something that otherwise could have felt difficult to start or stay on top of. We’ve got a great habit tracker in my planner but you can also find a printable online.

• START THINKING ABOUT BUDGETING
  I know that January is notoriously a heavy time for many families based on it being the month after December where not only are we fighting against the shorter sunlight hours, but we’re also seeing the repercussions of more indulgence and spending in November and December. To avoid that dip at the start of the New Year, I like to budget before I go into the holiday season. I usually use the budget section of my planner but you could even use a piece of paper or notes in your phone. From here I like to list what is realistic to be spending on gifts for each person in my life and planning that out. If I don’t do this, I find I’m more likely to forget what I bought someone and buy more than I needed to and not realizing it until I go to wrap presents.

• SET MYSELF UP MENTALLY TO TACKLE THE LAST FEW WEEKS OF THE YEAR
  Every week, the most important thing I do is plan out my week in my planner. If I’m not taking a bit of time on my Sunday or Monday morning to look at the week ahead, confirm what the key priorities are for each day, remind myself of any appointments I need to make or bills I need to pay, then I spend the rest of my week reacting to things as they come up or forgetting I had things scheduled until the last minute. For me it’s also really important that I do this offline. I’ll write more on this soon, but writing down everything helps my brain actually process and remember these things throughout the week vs setting them in my calendar on my phone and not being able to see my week at a glance the same way. Plus, I usually need a good analog brain dump to organize everything that feels lost without a place when it’s being held in my thoughts vs on paper.

• SET MYSELF UP PHYSICALLY TO TACKLE THE LAST FEW WEEKS OF THE YEAR
  I’ve never heard anyone say they to want to enter a new year feeling tired, depleted, and run down - and yet so many of us let the holidays get the best of us and that’s exactly how we start our new year. For me, one of the first things to slip when I’m really busy is intentionally moving my body. This year, I’ve made it a non-negotiable to move each week. Just like doing frequent brain dumps to avoid overwhlem, our bodies need frequent movement to avoid overwhelm. When I’m planning my week out every Sunday (I sound like a broken record but we designed this planner to hold all the tools to help with this stuff), I’ll always block off time just like I would a meeting, where I can move. If things come up urgently with work, then I just bought this walking treadmill so at the very least I can take calls while still moving my body. It doesn’t replace a good hike or gym workout but it at least helps me stay accountable to my goals. The second piece to this is ensuring that I’m on top of my supplement routine. This is the time of year where cold and flu season has either taken us out a few times already or it’s coming for us soon. The last thing I want is to spend our entire holidays sick, yet we’ve been in that position more than once before. I previously did a blog post on some of our supplements HERE if you’re interested in knowing what supplements we like to take year round to keep ourselves healthy.

• SPLURGE ON AT LEAST ONE THING THAT WILL SAVE ME TIME OVER THE HOLIDAYS
  Investing in your time is one of the best gifts you can give, and giving it to yourself this time of year when your days are notoriously feeling too short to accomplish everything is a great time to plan ahead and book something that will help you with the burden. Invest in some meal prep, book a car detailing appointment, book a babysitter so you can get some things done, outsource gift wrapping if that’s not your thing (pre-teens love to take on these kinds of tasks), book a cleaner, book someone to put up your Christmas decorations for you, etc. I know this isn’t a luxury everyone can afford, but you may even be able to get some of these things off your list by doing a “trade” with someone else. Offer to help with your friends kids for a few hours in exchange for them doing the same for you on a different day. Get your kids involved to help if they’re old enough. Offer a teen in your life an hourly rate to help you with a few things as they come up (they’re often looking for a bit of cash this time of year anyway).

These are just some of the ways I’m using the last 6 weeks to end my year feeling accomplished heading into a New Year. I’m curious, what other things would you add to this list? Let me know in the comments below.

Much Love,