5 Ways to Plan and Prepare for the New Year (Christian Friendly)

This post is all about how to plan and prepare for the new year.

Planning and preparing for the new year shouldn’t be intimidating. You can follow my easy 5 step process to plan for your new year strategically. You will see that I emphasize the importance of reflecting on your past year first then adequately preparing for your new year.

This post is Christian and Spiritually friendly. I find this very important because my faith means a lot to me, and I like to start my year internationally by dedicating it to the Lord.

Bible Verses Regarding Planning

As we begin, I would like to highlight some self-explanatory verses that illustrate the importance of planning.

Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

Proverbs 16:9 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

Proverbs 24:27 Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.

5 things to do before the new year as a believer

Without much further ado, here are my 5 steps:

1. Reflect on your past year.

I begin by reflecting on my past year. I do this by spending some quiet time just thinking of the previous year. I try to find out any highlights of the year. This would also be an excellent time to peruse through your journals or planners. Write down important things or anything that sticks out for you.

When I was reviewing my 2021 year, I went through my journal, and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw important information about some goals that I forgot about. I felt renewed and rejuvenated when I read it!

If you aren’t much of a planner like me, take the time to bounce ideas and reflect with loved ones. The main thing is to remember anything significant that should be part of your planning for the new year.

2. Review your Christian vision board and your vision goals.

This is important! If you want to get an idea of how to create a vision board, please read the blog post I wrote that’s titled: 3 Steps to Creating a Christian Vision Board.

Assuming you have a vision board, please review and contemplate if you have achieved all your vision board goals. If you have achieved everything on your board, ask yourself whether you need to create a new one or revise your current one.

For my current vision board, I have achieved 30% of my goals on my current vision goals, so I don’t think I need to create a new one yet.

Also, ensure that your goals are SMART; again, the post I wrote as attached is essential and explains precisely that.

3. Select a word for the year.

This is something that I have been doing for quite some time. I typically select a word for the year because it’s easy to remember; it isn’t rigid or intimidating. To me, it’s essentially an overarching goal of yours or a theme that sets the tone for the year.

I would select a phrase back in the day, but over the past 5 years, I have stuck to a word. Phrases tend to be a bit complicated to remember.

If you are a Christian, you can get a verse to accompany your word for the year. My word for the year is “Rest” based on Leviticus 25. If you are interested in why I selected this, please read this blog post: My Year of Rest.

4. Get a planner and start planning.

I believe organization is vital today, especially if you are a mom and wear multiple hats. When I start to put my dates for my 2022 planner, I intentionally ensure that I am striving for excellence (not perfection!).

For previous years, I did select the Simplified Planner by Emily Ley, however since I am entering a year of rest, I have switched from a daily planner to just a weekly planner. The planner that I have selected for this year is Week on One Page by Whitney English.

Planners typically have some crazy sales at the beginning of the year (up to 70% off). So if you are interested in getting a planner at an affordable cost, try when they are on sale. Remember that you will not get a varied selection at the beginning of the year since the supplies are low.

In short, these newer generation planners are quite the investment, but they do help in your planning process. At the beginning of each planner, it has portions for reflection, bucket lists, and goal setting.

5. Celebrate.

Yes! Let’s ensure we take the time to celebrate! I think celebrating is a declaration that we are entering into the new year jubilantly. I typically join prayer zoom meetings during this time. I like to remain at home during this time but make a point to share a tasty meal with family or buy a new year’s cake to eat with the kids. They are usually equally excited to share in the festivities.

And that’s it, folks, 5 ways to plan and prepare for the new year!

I hope my simple steps have helped you with this.

Ultimately, I want to say that planning is crucial as it sets you up for success as you usher in the new year. However, as Christians, we have to ensure that we involve God in the planning process through prayer and reflection in a quiet place.

As I mentioned earlier in Proverbs 16:9, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Let us ensure that our steps are God-ordained. If we need to seek clarity, let us do so at the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We need to ensure that our plans align with His will for us.

Attached is the accompanying video to my post.

Happy New Year and Happy Planning!

Hugs,