Yearly Review Resources
As we turn the calendar to a new year, many people like to take time to review the past year and look ahead to the coming year. While many of us will not follow through and keep many of the resolutions we make, there is still value in reviewing the previous year and doing some goal setting. I’ve provided a few resources in my store for those who would like some unique handouts and prompts for a yearly review from an Occupational Therapy and Spiritual Director perspective.
I especially like the Road Map of Your Life resource I created to view your experiences as if you were on a journey. I used this resource one year for a personal retreat day and made a large collage on a piece of poster board. I had so many things to list that I ended up journaling a page for each of the 9 sections of the 2 page handout. This would be a great tool to reflect on your life’s journey so far, identifying the people who influenced you and the experiences you had that helped shape who you are.
I wonder what makes us successful at keeping resolutions and goals?
Many people start with good intentions for new year resolutions, but have trouble creating new habits. What resources do you need to be more successful with keeping your new year’s resolutions?
What support do you need when you take the time to name things you would like to change in your life? I’ve wondered how I can help both myself and my clients be more successful at creating new habits and routines. I think the key is to use habit stacking.
One of the resources that comes to mind is the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. I love the idea of habit stacking. Most of us do not do well adding in new routines to our existing day. However, when we identify the times we are transitioning from one activity to the next, we find there are little habits we do almost without thinking. Those times of transition become an opportunity to “stack” a new habit on top of an existing habit. It doesn’t take as much time to add in another small activity to an existing one.
For example, when I stop to eat lunch, I often go to the sink and wash my hands. I’m now stacking the habit of doing some deep breathing and stretching while I wash my hands. As I walk past my table, I pour a glass of water from the pitcher I fill up in the morning and placed in a visible location to remind me I need to keep hydrated.
As I pause in gratitude before taking a bite of food, I can use this moment to do a check in with my body and notice areas of tension. I can even do a little stretch or rub out some tension in my neck and shoulders before eating my lunch. When I begin eating, I set my phone aside for a few minutes to let my mind enjoy the quiet and distraction-free environment. Those little things I added into my routine are now becoming new habits. It was much easier stacking them onto existing routines, than to add in a new stretching routine or to track how many glasses of water I’ve had to drink throughout the day.
Habit stacking helps me be successful at following through with those new resolutions, so that they become successful habits.
When do you have transition times in your daily routine? What new habit could you stack into this natural transition time, so you can have success at some of your new year’s resolutions?
May 2023 be a successful year of new habits and routines!
