September is officially here, fall is right around the corner and from my years spent in school this time of year has always come to represent a fresh start for me in my life. As some of you may already know, I had a very busy summer buying, fixing up and moving into my first home with my husband. September is here and I have wiped my slate clean and have decided to approach the last leg of this year with a new game plan and perspective. So, today I want to share with you my 5 strategies for getting a fresh start feeling all year long. No matter what day or month it is, you too can refresh your life and create a new plan to move forward and achieve your goals and these tips are going to help guide you to fresh start success!
1. Choose a fresh start date
People consider many things a fresh start date, new years, birthday, back to school, Mondays… but you can choose any date that you prefer, the date is truly arbitrary. Try to tie this date to something significant for you, like the end of a project or the start of a new season.
2. Refresh your planner
Buy a new planner or reorganize your old one. There is a reason that many planners start up in the summer months and then run 17-18 months. Because people do tend to need a fresh start after summer. If you are looking for a new planner, I would highly suggest checking out my Charmed Life Planner, not just because it is my planner, but because I have heard from many people who have been using the Charmed Life Planner that is has really helped them to get organized. If you are a lister, or someone who likes to lay their plans all out and see everything, this planner really has a lot of awesome features that you won’t want to miss including project master lists and expense pages!
3. Clean up your space
Nothing says fresh start like a clean workspace or home. Once you have a date set for your fresh start, get your space set for a true fresh start feeling by taking some time to clean and organize your life.
4. Find a few new office supplies or accessories
I know that its a bit dangerous for me to tell a bunch of stationery lovers to buy new office supplies, but the truth is that a few new special items can really bring a sense of significance to your arbitrary refresh date. Make sure to pick up items that you actually want to use, and not just items that you want to look at and hoard. These goodies need to be your reward and to make the biggest impact you need to be using and enjoying your new things.
5. Decide on a new project and take 1 step right now
The reason many of us are looking for a fresh start is because we feel like something didn’t go well with the previous one! We weren’t being productive or we weren’t making progress on an important goal or project that was important to us. So pick a special project, it can be for work, school or home and make that the first thing you work on with your fresh start. Nothing gets you off to a good start the way a new project does so pick a project and take one step immediately to getting that project accomplished. This could mean simply writing out a project plan for the project in question, or it could mean finding an accountability buddy to help keep you in check with your progress, or if can mean getting down to work and knocking out related tasks! The important part is that you decide what you are going to do and start doing it- nothing is more motivating than that!
So, now I have some action items for you! Take out something to write on or takes notes with and I am going to ask you a few questions and I want you to write down the first thing that comes to mind. I want a gut reaction here, not a well thought out response because if you really want that refresh you need to be honest with yourself about these questions. You ready?
1. What date in the near future is the soonest you could schedule your refresh? Think about significant events in your life, perhaps obligations that are ending soon that would free up some of your time or new obligations that are starting up that you’d like to be at your best for. Write down that date and get it scheduled into your calendar!
2. What about your current planner system isn’t working? Write down any issues you are facing so you can address those head on!
3. What area of your home or office would you dread having to clean up or organize? That’s the area that you are going to need to clean up first and trust me, once you do a weight is going to lift from your shoulders!
4. What office supply or stationery item have you been coveting but haven’t purchased out of an excersize in self control? If you can afford it, I want you to buy it for yourself as soon as you are done with the mess you need to organize from the previous question!
5. What is the single goal or project you really wanted to have started or completed this year that would make you truly feel like you accomplished something important? That’s the project you need to start on first!
Good news! If you followed along with this post and engaged the way I had suggested, you have not only learned my 5 strategies for getting a fresh start feeling anytime of year, but you also have a plan with 5 action items for you to get started with to get your fresh start underway? See, it works like a charm! Now it’s your turn to tell me how you are going to refresh yourself for the coming fall. Let me know in the comments below!
xoxo,
