We’re midway through January, and if you haven’t done so already, you owe it to yourself to do a reset routine for the new year. This can also be done at any other time of the year when you find yourself in a funk, to get you motivated again and help you recenter. But what does a full blown reset even look like?
On one day when I’m not busy, I dedicate the entire day to recalibrating myself. I do this by focusing on four different spheres. Mind, body, digital and space. I will go into each of these spheres and what a reset for these entails for me.
Mind
Let’s start with the mental cleanse. This is usually the first thing that I like to focus on. During your mental cleanse, you’re going to want to release anything within you that you haven’t let out yet. Get a notebook, and just write everything that you’re feeling out, allowing your thoughts to flow into a stream of consciousness. Releasing these thoughts from your mind and putting them on paper will help you feel a lot lighter. Talk about your fears for the new year, your hopes for the new year and reflect back on last year. Be completely raw and vulnerable with yourself, writing out things you would never say out loud or passing thoughts that you have subconsciously buried.
Once you have cleared your mind of all that, it’s time to renourish it with something that will inspire you. Read a book to gain new insight and perspective, or create a vision board. Look at the things you are drawn to and let yourself be drawn to them. Create a visual representation of your current headspace now that you’ve cleared everything out.
And finally, reflect. Just take the time to allow yourself to think. Think about your goals for the new year. Think about your daily habits and how they help or hinder you in achieving your goals. Create new routines for yourself to follow. Be mindful. Just really take a moment to think about all of this, write these things down and then meditate, allowing your mind to shut off completely while you focus on your breathing.
We live in a world where everything and everyone is moving at rapid speed, and sometimes we have to remind ourselves to take things slow and just focus on these little things, enjoying silence and stillness.
During your mental cleanse, you should rid yourself of any external distractions. Turn your phone off, and don’t turn it back on until you really feel like you are in a calm headspace. If you follow a certain religion, this is the perfect time to get in touch with your
spiritual side as well.
Space
Your physical space can have a profound impact on your mental space.
Once you’ve cleared your mind, look around at your surroundings and start to clear things out. Burn a candle or put some essential oil in a humidifier, then go through and get rid of things you no longer want/need. Go through old clothes, go through your pantry and go through your makeup or beauty products. Just go through your things and figure out what needs to go. After you’ve cleared out these things, do any chores you’ve been putting off. Vacuum, dust, do your laundry, etc.
Now that everything is clean and you have gotten rid of some things, find and designate a space for all of the things that you do have. Where you place things now should be a standard for how to always keep them. Every item should have a home.
Now that your space is clean, feel free to freshen things up. Maybe buy fresh flowers or a new plant, bringing in new life to your new space.
Body
This one is a little bit more personal, and all depends on your preferences. Now is the time to put on that face mask, take that long bath, do your nails, etc. Do whatever makes you feel good.
And don’t forget to move your body too. You can do yoga if that’s what you’re into, but personally, I just like to dance. I don’t think there’s a single day in my life without dancing, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Even during your reset routine, let yourself loose and let your body move on its own. Put on music that uplifts you, and let the music flow through you. Drink water, tea or coffee. Just whatever your body is craving. Don’t be afraid to get outside either. Go on a walk, or go on a hike. Allow yourself to be alone with nature, and remember that your body is connected to the world around you.
Breathe in fresh air. Ride your bike. Just be outside and enjoy being outside. Enjoy being.
Digital
The steps in which you do the other things in this routine aren’t as important and can definitely overlap, but when it comes to digital, save this one for last.
You don’t want to approach your digital space until you have made the effort to ground the physical elements of your being. But once you have, it’s time to sit back and start going through your digital space.
Start off with your email. Go through and delete old emails, respond to all of the emails you have been meaning to get to and unenroll from any subscriptions that you no longer need. I would suggest using this website called unroll.me. It shows you all the email subscriptions are currently enrolled in and you can unsubscribe from whatever you don’t want with just one click. They also have this feature that lets you roll some of your subscriptions together to be delivered once a week as one, digestible newsletter. This is great for any type of promotions you might still want to receive, but don’t want to be constantly filling up your inbox.
After you’ve cleared your email, go through your computer, clear your recycle bin and delete your downloads. Then, start off with a clean slate and move everything on your phone and computer onto an external hard drive and let yourself start completely fresh for the new year. Go through your phone and delete any apps you no longer use, go through your social media and unfollow people that you don’t care about/make you feel bad, etc.
Once you’ve gone through all those steps, create a new workflow for your computer, creating a more organized and efficient document setup that helps you reduce as much time behind the screen as possible.
And that’s it for the reset routine. If you follow all these steps, you will surely feel a lot more motivated to tackle the new year and you will do so with peace of mind. And don’t forget that this routine can also be done whenever you feel like you need it, it doesn’t have to just be for the new year.
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