Are you ready to ditch the “New Year, New Me” madness and start taking real, actionable steps towards achieving your goals? This holiday season, instead of making resolutions that you’ll likely abandon by February, use these 12 practical tips to set yourself up for a successful and fulfilling New Year ahead of time!

By implementing these strategies now, you’ll be well-positioned to hit the ground running in January, ready to tackle your personal or professional objectives with laser-focus and unwavering determination.

Whether you’re aiming to boost your productivity, enhance your personal effectiveness, or simply make the most of the New Year, these actionable tips will help you create a roadmap to success.

So, let’s dive into the 12 things you can do before January to make your goals a reality:

1. Block out an hour in your diary to reassess your vision board. It’s easy to let this fall to the back of your mind when you’re busy juggling everything in your business. But December offers the perfect opportunity to quickly loop back to it and check that you’re still on track to achieving everything you set out to. Is there anything you can tick off? Is there anything that needs updating to match your new aspirations?
2. Although they’re great fun, the office Christmas party isn’t always the best place to catch up with everyone on your team about ‘work stuff’! But, their feedback is pivotal in your business development. So, don’t miss the opportunity to arrange an end of year team meeting or one-to-one catch up. You want to ask everyone what’s working, what isn’t currently and is there anything they’d change to streamline processes.
3. If you struggle to switch your brain off over the Christmas break then this is definitely one to try! Now that things have started to wind down a bit, take a morning (with your VA if you have one) to start writing out your 90-day goals. By getting these out of your head and onto paper ahead of time it’ll give you less information that you feel like you need to retain while you’re off doing other things.
4. Do you have any learning goals set for next year? Once you’ve written out your 90-day goals you might find that there are some knowledge gaps that need filling. In the last few days before Christmas, a useful (and enjoyable) task is to do a bit of research on ways to bridge that gap. Maybe there’s a webinar or workshop you could attend in the new year, a couple of books that you can add to your ‘to be read’ list or even some YouTube videos that’ll help expand your knowledge and get your goals achieved more effectively.
5. With the previous point in mind, there might be some skills that you can plan to outsource in the new year for your business to give yourself the headspace to focus on more important tasks. For example, if you’re finding that you’re spending a lot of time on admin tasks that are draining your time and energy, then a VA might be a good addition to the team. If marketing is always being pushed down the list then outsourcing some of these jobs to an agency might be a cost effective solution. Or, if the thought of doing sales makes your toes curl, then hiring a full time member of staff to do this role can increase the businesses productivity (and your bottom line)!
6. Prep your diary for next year by blocking out any important dates in your diary. This might include any holidays you have planned, key deadlines that you need to prepare for (like the end of the tax year) and any events you’re planning on attending. This will save you loads of time in the new year and removes the risk of double bookings! If you have a PA or VA this is something to include them in.
7. Refresh your default diary! We love a default diary here at Action PAs because, when they’re used correctly, they can completely transform the way that you manage your time and run your business. Because they can be so transformational, it’s important to review this regularly to see where you’re currently spending your time? Are you spending it how you expected? Are there any that you regularly don’t prioritise? And, if they’re still relevant, how can we make these a priority moving forwards?
8. For lots of us, improving our work life balance and prioritising self care are at the top of our New Year’s resolution lists. So, while it’s quiet and you’ve got your diary open in front of you, be sure to block out some time per week to focus on yourself. By doing this now, you’ll have no excuses in January.
9. Budgeting. It’s one of those things that everyone puts off until the last possible moment. But, if you wouldn’t mind for a minute just imagining a scenario where you’ve ticked this job off ahead of time. You not only don’t have to think about it during your christmas break, but if you’ve informed your team about it, they’ll have the time to mull this over and be more strategic in their decisions and actions in the new year.
10. Turn your out of office to start the day before you log off and two days after you’re expecting to be back at your desk. Hitting the floor running is the easiest way to override that chilled out feeling with stress. So, be kind to yourself! Give yourself some time to get back into the swing of things, catch up with all those emails and check you have a solid plan in place to get you through the next 90-days.
11. In a quiet half hour, set up some auto-redirects in your inbox. You know the ones we’re talking about – those newsletters that aren’t really relevant right now but will be in the future or LinkedIn and Google my Business updates that you never read but are handy to have. Setting up these automations when you’re quiet
12. Take some time to take stock of your softwares. Are there any that you’re still paying for but not using? Any free trials you signed up for and never cancelled? And is there anything that new AI technology can support with to help make your life easier.

By taking the time this December to implement these 12 essential strategies, you’ll set your business up for a year of growth, productivity, and achieving your goals.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the thought of planning for the new year, don’t worry – we’re here to help. Book a free call with us today.