“My dear friend, clear your mind of can’t.” – Samuel Johnson

I spent so many years refusing to think of New Year as a marker of any kind. Years are arbitrary. We invented them. Why should the end of one year and the beginning of another feel like the end of a chapter and the beginning of another? Why can’t we just let time be time, and keep running along the treadmill without rest?

I don’t feel like that now. Perhaps it’s because I’m so busy and often overwhelmed, that time to reflect, take stock and realign targets is so much rarer now. Before my work became busier and more stressful, and before I had kids, I was free to spend a whole weekend in my own head, thinking about what personal wellbeing projects I wanted to undertake, and what goals I wanted to hit.

The thing is, we can’t make a plan at the beginning of adulthood and run with it for countless years without checking in with ourselves. A year is a good, digestible chunk of time. Almost bitesize. It makes the ambitions of life feel a bit less daunting. Checking in at the end of the year is a perfect opportunity to look at yourself. To consider where you are going and how you are doing. New year is now a time when I can reap the benefits of having stopped for a while.

This is why I always try to have quiet days between Christmas and New Year. To ensure that I have found time to clear out my brain so that I can launch into the new year with some fresh clarity and drive.

1. Clear Out Old Ambitions

I kind of deal with last year’s targets like I deal with old clothes in my wardrobe. I look at things I’d like to look good in, or fit into, and think, ‘No, no. I will wear that one day.’ If a year has gone by, and that jumper has still yet to be worn, I think, perhaps, it might be time to say goodbye to it.

Consider the big plans you had for the year just gone. Think about the ones you didn’t quite manage. Are they plans you still want to follow through on, or have times changed? Don’t cling on to goals for the sake of it. Consider whether you actually still want to reach for them.

2. Find Some Brain Space

Clearing out your mental clutter requires some mental space. Some quiet, away from devices and screens. Go for a walk. Take a nap. Stare at the crackling flames in the fireplace. Let yourself sort through the debris in your brain left over from a year of doing without stopping.

3. Address Mental Resolution Goals

Are there mental health obstacles in the way of you feeling freer, more relaxed, happier? Happier people are better placed to lead the productive lives they wish to lead. So, look inside yourself. Is there work you could be doing on your fears, habits, behaviours and tendencies in order to unlock the life that you want to lead? If there are, perhaps it’s worth making a plan for that.

4. Don’t Make Too Many New Resolutions

Resolutions are notorious for going unresolved. Two weeks into the new year and you have already fallen off your gym schedule, had three takeaways, scrolled on your phone every night in bed, neglected to carry on getting up early enough to make a decent breakfast, etc. etc. etc.

Why? Well, one reason is because often, we promise ourselves we are going to improve in fifteen different ways. It’s too much. One does not become a different person overnight. A few resolutions are fine. Make some headway with those, and maybe you can add a few more in March.

By Chris Thomson

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