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This time of year we are all planning for Christmas and starting to think about the new year.

Do you usually make resolutions, set goals, or avoid both?

I love to set huge goals for the next year, and then use those goals to plan my months, weeks, and days out.

These are my best tips to have the BEST year ever!

21 Tips to Have the BEST Year Ever

Know your top priorities

Decide on your top 3 or 5 priorities for the year. You can’t do everything in one year, so decide on your top priorities and work on those with most of your effort.

When you have decisions to make, think about these priorities and if that gets you closer to your top priorities or not.
Set goals in different categories

Make a few categories for yourself to set a few goals in. You could choose financial, career, personal development, health related, family, or home related.
Make SMART goals

You’ve heard of SMART goals before. Now is the time to make them. Make your goals specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and have a time frame. You need to know when you actually reach your goal!
Think about yourself

You probably spend a lot of time trying to help and please everyone else – it’s what women are great at! But, now is the time to think about things that will make you happy and things you want to achieve.
Commit to positivity

No matter what, commit to staying positive. Life is crazy, and nothing ever goes as planned. Better to accept that up front than to get discouraged down the road.
Break goals down into bite sized chunks

Making huge scary goals is great, but you won’t know where to start if you don’t break them down into bite sized chunks. Take your big goals and break them into monthly goals that will get you from where you are to where you want to be next year.

Then, each week, take those monthly goals and divide the work between the weeks. And finally, down to each day. Doing one small step a day doesn’t seem so scary now!
Give yourself grace

No one is perfect, as much as we hate to admit it. You will fail some days, and that is life. Give yourself grace, and move on. Don’t wallow in your failure, get up tomorrow and get back at it.
Never give up

Life is full of bumps and road blocks. When it seems so easy to give up, don’t. Take a deep breath and keep going. Great things aren’t easy things to achieve. What do they say, “If it were easy, everyone would do it?”
Get ready for a roller coaster

Be ready to laugh at life, at yourself, and keep going when things are tough. Life is definitely a roller coaster, and in a year’s time, you will likely see the ups and downs. Enjoy the ride!
Be ready to say “Yes!”

When opportunities arise that align with your priorities, be ready to say “yes!”. Taking action and opportunities means you are doing something you believe in – not just sitting by idly.
Be ready to also say “No.”

Don’t feel the need to say yes to everyone and every opportunity. Many decisions and opportunities will come your way. We all have the same amount of time in a day, and it’s up to you to use it doing what you love and what matters to you.

If you say yes to everything, you won’t have much time for your priorities.
Plan new adventures

Try something new, and be ready for new adventures. Take a trip somewhere new, try a new hobby, or learn a new skill. Make a life you will look back on with no regrets.
Get your budget in order

Nobody wants to talk about a budget, but nobody wants to be in debt either – right? Time to get your finances in order, and take control of your money. Make a plan to get out of debt, stick with a budget, and quit stressing about money.
Create a personal mission

A little corny, but try making a personal mission or vision for yourself. Think about the things that matter most to you, what you want to be remembered for, and what you truly love. You’ll have an easier time making decisions and planning your year once you realize what your personal mission is.
Get real with yourself

Time to get real with yourself, and accept who you are. If you keep making goals that are completely unrealistic or you know you will never do, kick them to the curb. Accept who you are, know you can always better yourself, but don’t make goals and plans that you will never achieve and that may make you feel bad about yourself.
Do more of what you love

Quit saying yes to everyone and everything, and make more time for the things that you really love. Life is too short to not enjoy every day of it!
Realize you can’t do everything and be everyone

As much as we want to do everything for everybody, we just can’t. Accept that, do what you can, and don’t stress yourself out trying to do it all.
Quit trying to keep up with the Jones’s

If you haven’t already, this is the year to absolutely quit comparing your life and possessions with others. Social media is the worst for this, so if you are constantly feeling envious of others on social media, just log off. Create your own life you love, and do what is best for you and your family.
Create a home and life you love

Decide as a family, what kind of home and life you want to have. What is most important? Create a home and life that makes everyone happy, have their own time, and enjoy together.
Quit aiming for perfection

I am not a perfectionist by any means. It drives my husband crazy sometimes, but I think it’s actually one of my best qualities. I strive for progress, not perfection. Getting things accomplished and done is better, in my opinion, than spending a lot more time to make something perfect.

Things are rarely perfect anyway, so accept that and aim for progress not perfection.
Have monthly recap meetings

Setting goals is great, but do you ever make them and forget about them? Set your monthly goals, break them into weekly and daily goals, and then do a recap at the end of the month. Check up on yourself and measure your achievements. Did you meet your goals? It’s ok if you didn’t – you know what to work on next month!