7 Things You Can do in January to Prep for the New Year

As January unfolds, it’s the perfect time to set the tone for the months ahead and start mapping out how you can achieve your goals for the year. Starting 2024 off in a productive place doesn’t have to be stressful, and you don’t need to feel like you need to accomplish everything NOW. I’ve found that doing the smallest of things has made a difference, and really kicks my year off right, motivating me for the months ahead. In today’s post, I’m sharing 7 things you can do in January to prep for the new year and start your 2024 in a healthy and beneficial way.

Clean out Your Camera Roll

I’m all about cleaning out cluttered spaces come the new year, and the goes for my camera roll. Spend the time getting rid of duplicates, screenshots, and other images you no longer need. If it feels super overwhelming to do at once, tackle 10-20 images at a time daily. I also like to go straight into my screenshots folder and delete from there since I typically have lots of screenshots I’ve forgotten about!

Cancel Unnecessary Subscriptions

Go through your bank and credit card statements and take note of everything you have a membership or subscription to. I can’t tell you how many apps I was paying for that I haven’t opened in months. I was even paying for a streaming service TWICE on two different cards (the result of signing up for multiple free subscriptions and never canceling). I was seriously amazed by how much I was able to save moving forward!

Organize Your Finances

Speaking of saving money, having some sort of system for tracking your monthly finances is a must. Whether you’re looking to save more each month, create an emergency fund, or want to start investing, it’s crucial that you know exactly where all of your money is going. You can do this in so many different ways; a notebook, a Google spreadsheet, or one of thousands of budgeting apps. I personally use two different methods. We use a Google spreadsheet to keep track of our monthly income and expenses. And I use the app Empower (the desktop version is my favorite), for an overall look at our investing and savings plan. Empower let’s you connect your banks, credit cards, and investment accounts so you can see it all in one place. It’s been SO helpful with saving for our future! 

Unsubscribe to Emails

It seems crazy how many sales emails are sent out daily, my inbox always cluttered with them. The reality is, there are only a few brands I truly want to stay subscribed to, but most are things I immediately delete. Take the time to unsubscribe from the emails that you no longer want to receive or update your frequency preferences. Having a decluttered inbox will feel amazing!

Create a Separate Email for Shopping and Promotions

Speaking of clearing your emails, one of my biggest life hacks is to create a separate email address strictly for promotions and coupons. It’s helped clear my inbox tremendously and it makes it easier to spell my email when I’m checking out at the store.

Create a Vision Board

Start your 2024 off right by creating a vision board with what you want to accomplish this year. It’s a fun and creative way to set your goals in motion and a great visual reminder to come back to. Stick on pictures, quotes, anything that you want for 2024! I like to make one and set it as my computer or phone background.

Write Down Your Goals and How You Plan to Achieve Them

About four years ago I began truly mapping out my goals and I’ve been able to accomplish quite a few because of it. Start by making a list of all the things you’d like to actualize in the upcoming year. From there, write down actionable steps you can take to accomplish each goal. It’s really important that you map out how you can actually achieve the goal. If you’re really serious about something you have to have a plan in place, and you have to know your why.