Before setting goals, declutter your life—apps, subscriptions, closets, and even mental baggage. This simple act of subtraction creates momentum and a clean slate, making the larger task of planning feel less daunting and more achievable from the start.
While morning routines are popular, an evening routine is more impactful. By laying out your schedule and priorities the night before, you eliminate morning decision fatigue and can wake up ready to execute a pre-defined plan, giving you a competitive edge.
At year-end, write and mail thank-you letters to people who impacted you. In an era of overflowing inboxes, physical mail has a near 100% open rate. It's a powerful and memorable way to cut through the noise and plant seeds for future relationships.
Instead of rating life categories individually, mentally blend them to get one holistic happiness score (1-10). Your brain instinctively subtracts the 2-3 key problem areas from a perfect 10, immediately revealing what needs the most attention.
By explicitly defining your goals (like filling a life bucket list), you prime your brain's Reticular Activating System (RAS). This mental filter starts noticing relevant opportunities—adventures, people, ideas—that were previously ignored, making it easier to achieve your goals.
Adopt the Japanese ritual of "misogi" by choosing one significant, difficult challenge to define your year. This singular focus ensures you have a monumental accomplishment to look back on, creating a powerful life resume over time. If you do nothing else, you still win the year.
Instead of setting multiple, often-failed New Year's resolutions, focus on installing just one new positive habit per quarter (e.g., meditating 10 minutes a day). This slow, steady approach leads to four foundational habits a year, which compound over time for transformative results.
Create a single page with eight boxes for major life categories (e.g., adventure, finance, family). This becomes a running "life to-do list" where you capture long-term goals, getting ideas out of your head and onto a blueprint you can reference when planning your year.
To prevent months from blurring together, intentionally schedule one thing you wouldn't normally do every other month. This practice, called "Kevin's Rule," systematically creates six memorable experiences per year, enriching your life without requiring a massive commitment.