It’s a new year and you might be looking to make some changes. The last few years have been hard, especially for working mamas. You’re ready to move on. I get it. But before you kick off the year and jump into making changes, take a moment to reflect on the good, the bad, and the ugly of last year. Take a moment to celebrate your wins, both big and small as you enjoy the holidays. Learn from your wins what’s working for you and remove what’s not to set yourself up for success this year.
Let me take a moment to mention one thing. If you’re not ready to do this, that is OK. Take a breath. Save the link to this post and do this exercise later when you’re ready.
Think about wins
As you look to set yourself up for success this year, start with your wins from 2022 (and maybe even consider the wins from the past few years). Take a moment to reflect on your big wins from last year. What were your major accomplishments? Be creative with how you look at a big win. It’s not only about your career or business. Big wins happen in all areas of your life. It can be something personal, perhaps related to self-care, motherhood, or your relationship with your significant other. One of the good things that came out of the pandemic is that many re-aligned their lives to better reflect their values and priorities.
OK, big wins in hand, consider small wins. They are sprinkled throughout the year. They are equally as important as those big wins when you add them up. Sometimes these small wins are the key to big wins or they help us hit our goals each day or week. These small wins can help get the momentum going, which is part of why they’re so important. And I imagine we all need to do a better job of celebrating the small wins and recognizing them for what they can and do mean in our lives.
Remember, perspective and relativity help you differentiate between big and small wins. Your small win could be someone else’s big win and vice versa. Keep your eyes on your lane and don’t compare to others. Comparing doesn’t help you define your wins. In fact, it might distract you from seeing what you have achieved.
Celebrate the wins
I know. This is a post about working on how you can set up yourself for success in the new year. You need to look back at last year first, though. This next part of the process is fun and important! Take time to celebrate the wins in a meaningful way. For each person this is unique (and it’s relative), so take time to see what way to celebrate works for you.
Pizza night on paper plates? You’re not cooking and not washing dishes! Woohoo! Buy a special snack or a treat that you love. It can be something small and luxurious. Completely unplug one weekend afternoon to read one of those new books on your nightstand. Take off the afternoon or a whole day to do what you want. Hire a sitter so you and your significant other have a date night. Get a massage, pedicure, or a whole spa day. Treat a good friend to lunch. Have friends over for muffins and coffee one weekend morning.
Whatever you choose to do is the right way to celebrate, but actually celebrate. Hopefully, do it sooner than later too. You want to reward yourself because you want that behavior – whatever it is that’s helping you achieve your successes – to continue this year. You want to carry over that momentum as the year starts. Plus, it feels good to celebrate our wins. It feels good to recognize all the big and little things you’ve made happen during the year. And it can get your new year started on the right foot with a positive mindset.
Think through what’s working
You’ve gathered your wins and you’ve celebrated in a meaningful way. Don’t simply move on to the next step because you’ve crossed something off on your to-do list. Now take a moment to reflect on what’s worked this year. What behaviors are helping you? What tools are helping you? Have you created an infrastructure that has made a difference and helped you achieve the successes you were looking for?
The idea is to see patterns that help you achieve your goals and help you with getting to your wins in the future. You want to keep as much of this in place as possible moving forward. You want to mimic these patterns where it makes sense. These patterns of success can teach us so much if we’re open to learning.
Take the time to see what works, so that you’re not trying to recreate this from scratch each new year or with each new project. Continue the behaviors and habits that serve you. These are integral as you focus energy to set yourself up for success next year.
Remove things that don’t serve you, moving forward
And as you see those patterns that help you create your successes, you’ll also likely see what gets in your way. Look at what held you back last year. It’s time to leave those things in 2022. Time to wipe the slate clean of those habits, processes, tools, etc. (Loved this episode from the Women’s Leadership podcast that shared more on this.)
Think of it this way. What got in the way of your goals and resolutions? What kept you from achieving what you were reaching for? Those are the things that need to go. Think back to what obstacles you had. Are these things that you saw over and over getting in your way this year? If yes, those are the things that you need to stop.
And, even if you might have paid for something (e.g., a course or tool), consider the opportunity cost of using something that no longer serves its purpose. Think of how well things could be working if you found something that actually does what you need. Wiping the slate clean helps you refocus on what is working and remove what’s not. It gives you the space to try new things.
Keep in mind that what has stood in your way shouldn’t necessarily be tossed aside. Maybe it’s that you need to tweak a process or a tool. Maybe you need training to better use the tool or resource. It might not be a total loss. Only you know what is no longer serving you.
What things do you need to start?
As you look at 2022, you’ll see some things that were missing. You’ll notice actions or habits you need to start. As you set yourself up for success this year, those new things are equally important as the things you need to stop and the things you must continue. Understand what you need in your life to be successful.
This step might take some soul searching or it could be looking at feedback from colleagues, a manager, or a client. This could be related to areas where you felt you fell short or specific moments where you struggled. It could be that you look to friends to ask how they accomplish specific things so that you can come up with new ideas. It might be that you look at what influencers share about the tools and resources they use.
That said, this is not about finding the newest shiny object. This isn’t about feeling bullied into buying a course or paying for an expensive tool. Look at what you need, not what others tell you to buy or use. What you start to bring into your life is based on your specific needs.
What if 2022 wasn’t a great year?
What about if 2022 was a struggle? You’re not alone if you feel like you spent a lot of time struggling. The past three years have been incredibly hard for working mothers. More than 2 million working mothers left the workforce during the pandemic.
It’s OK to have a moment this year when you quietly say goodbye to 2022 and timidly wave hello to 2023. Not every year has to come in with a bang. Just remember that, even with a bad year, you don’t have to feel like “I just need next year to start.”
And even with a challenging year, you still might have a few wins to point to and celebrate. You still might have a few reasons to pat yourself on the back. Look for those before you think that 2022 was a total bust.
Don’t forget to give yourself some grace through this process, especially if you don’t feel like you have wins to celebrate. You might actually find small wins (and maybe some big ones) when you remove the lens of what life looked like pre-pandemic.
So, what are you celebrating? What do you want more of this year and what do you want to kick to the curb this year?
As you look to set yourself up for success, you might realize that you want to make some changes to your version of work-life balance. The Mompowerment Know Your Why Guide might be really helpful in this situation. It walks you through making changes in your work-life balance so that you can create more of the balance you crave. Download your copy today. And don’t forget to subscribe below to the newsletter to get more tips on improving your work-life balance this year straight to your inbox.
