About two years ago I had the realization that while I LOVE the fresh start energy that the new year brings and all things planning – it actually makes no sense to try to force myself into action at the beginning of January.
January 1st is just an arbitrary date on the calendar. It doesn’t take into account that it’s cold, that I’ve eaten WAY too much cheese and too many cookies over the last two weeks, and that it’s a lot of pressure to GET BACK TO IT right after the break in routine that the Christmas-to-New-Year weeks bring.
For many years, I tried to declutter, reset, reflect, and plan all before the calendar rolled over to a new year (while also trying to enjoy all my holiday cookies and cheese). It didn’t make sense — it was too much.
I realized I was fighting my natural rhythm, trying to cram too many expectations into too little time, and I’d flame out on all my ideas and plans by mid-February because I simply wasn’t allowing myself the time and space I needed.
So I decided to change things up and develop my own personal seasons — to recognize and embrace my natural transitions in energy and motivation through the year, and instead of fighting my need to reset, to lean into it. To make these transitions something to look forward to, and even have a little fun with.
Below are some of the personal “seasons” I use to help define, reset, and align the flow of my year with my natural transitions, energy, and motivation.
Cozy declutter and reset (December)
I love a fresh start to help me get organized and reset, and the approach of a new year gives me just that energy. It’s a time for me to declutter — digitally and physically — and reset all my systems and strategies. Plus, I’ve basically Pavlovian-ed myself into associating holiday baking shows with cleaning up my digital files.
It’s the perfect time for reflection and nesting: slow activities like cleaning out digital files while binge-watching baking shows (oh, that’s just me), reorganizing and resetting my systems and project management tool, and making physical spaces clean and cozy for the “indoor” months.
Slow mode (January)
January is NOT the do-the-things, start-the-things month. It’s a reflect, reset, and planning month — a slow, “time in the woods,” let-things-marinate, planning, and dreaming kind of time.
January kicks off with an experiment I’ve dubbed my “time in the woods” — it’s pretty simple: I allow myself a week of rest and reflection, a withdrawal as much as possible from other people, external interactions, and inputs. You can read more about what that entails here.
From there, I move into more traditional reflection and planning activities, but I take things slow and allow myself the time to just think and explore.
Start planting (February–April)
This is the time for me to start planning for the year ahead, choosing priorities, and trying to realign my routines after the winter months.
I declutter things that no longer serve me and focus on new intentions and projects. Then I settle into focus mode for the next several months — building, establishing, getting “ahead” so it’s easier to pull back come summer.
Summer mode (May–August)
This season is about re-centering my priorities and routines. Work takes more of a back-burner as I pull out of building mode and shift focus toward taking advantage of the season — enjoying the nice weather and allowing myself a change of pace.
May is my birthday, so it’s a perfect time to shift into self-care and self-development mode. It’s also Taurus season — the earthly pleasures, the treat-yo-self energy. And since we’re back to the “RV life”, it’s also time to start planning for camping season and longer stretches of being unplugged.
These months are more about maintenance — working “what’s working,” maintaining what’s established, and trusting that I’ll move back into building mode as fall approaches.
Back-to-school (September–November)
This is the season to get back to it — to revamp routines and bring more structure and focus to my days. It’s a time to check back in on my vision for the year and decide what I want to focus on and build over the next several months.
This year, I’m taking it a step further and developing my own Fall curriculum to help me gain some focus and narrow down my list of 500,000 things I want (and need) to work on.
Here’s a screenshot of the Notion board I set up for this and you can read more about this experiment inside the YOU(niverse).
There are lots of approaches you can use to help define your year.
Dive deeper into Defining Your Own Year, plus find additional resources I use to make the most of my “seasons.” in this post in the YOU(niverse). Not a member yet? Join here.