There’s so much noise in January it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed by the the call to overhaul your life with hyper productivity, a vegan diet and the latest fad in exercise in order to completely reinvent yourself. I would beg you to ignore this. Whilst the opportunity of a fresh start is exciting, it doesn’t have to come at the point of a calendar date, or because of any external pressure. I know so many people who feel like they are ‘late to the party’ come Jan 10th if they haven’t started all guns blazing, so as the owner of a business selling planning tools, I wanted to share my version of this month.

I took a stance a few years ago, after a particularly gruelling Jan, to step back and see the January pressure for what it is…someone else’s agenda. My new year may start late January, or even early Feb in terms of being ready to assess how to change the status quo and move forward. It suits my nervous system better, and gives me a little breathing space after Christmas…spoiler alert - one week between Christmas and NY is not enough. So how does my month look?

First Days
I spend the first few days shutting out most external inputs to think clearly about what I'd like to bring in to my life in the next year, and what needs to go. I hibernate for these first days, and at most, I will stick all the school holiday dates into our wall planner at home because I like to feel in control before the kids start back.

Achievements:

Completing our Wall Planner with key holiday dates, birthdays and events
A work Wall Planner with key events, launches, trade shows and print deadlines
Giving myself headspace/a buffer from everything and think about personal changes

*I love heading to my favourite local spots to sit in the hubub with nothing but my coffee and a notebook or planner.*

First week back to work
In the First week back to work there's always the Christmas aftermath and planner orders to sort out, then we move on to a macro plan for the year in terms of launches, trade shows and the print deadlines that fall out of that. Later in the month I will stick all of these deadlines into a digital gant chart for myself and a Wall Planner for the Studio when I get down to the nitty gritty. I also spend a lot of time outside, or in places outside the studio to give me some headspace away from the business. I’ll treat myself to coffees in nice spots and just sit with myself, and a notebook in hand. Ideas do not come to me when I don’t give myself the mental space.

Achievements:

A meeting to debrief last quarter
A very basic work to-do list incl. stock take and sorting for clearance/markets
Fulfilling orders from pre/post Christmas
A very skeleton overview of what activities we want to do across the new year
Lots of coffee/tea breaks away from the studio, allowing thoughts to come and go

*Aside from a digital spreadsheet of outputs, I prefer to be entirely analogue with my planning.*

Third week of Jan
By this point I’ve usually shaken off my hibernation tendencies and am ready to move into action. I usually have a clear idea of the main work activities that will happen in the year, the things I’d like to attract in, what needs to go and what I would like to manifest. I may not have gotten down to vision boarding and gant charting but that will happen in the next two weeks.

Achievements:

Immediate marketing output for upcoming clearance sales and trade markets
An understanding of personal goals / things to leave behind to be able to start vision boarding/manifesting including a planning date with my husband
Clearer ideas on what’s possible to achieve in the year work-wise
Initiated meetings/calls with those who can help move Kinshipped forward with its goals

Last week of Jan
I like to get everything pinned down and concrete by the last week so I can feel ready to execute plans. Feb 1st usually sees us launch Spring products and occasionally exhibit in NYC, so things have to be sorted. I know that once Spring launches, March calms down so there’s definitely an energetic push around now.

Achievements:

Working to the additions/subtractions of my personal routine using the week-view of my 365 Planner to habit form and schedule
A completed vision board to reference
Detailed timeline of activity and responsibilities at work
Ready to socialise again and offer up dates to friends
Kicking off new projects or working with new suppliers

My January