Setting Intentions for the New Year: Daily 4

Happy New Year friends! It’s finally here! A shiny new year full of hopes and dreams and possibilities! I’m ready for a clean slate...but I’m also keeping my expectations pretty low, lol! Until this pandemic is behind us, I know I need to continue to be flexible and be ready to change course quickly. Maybe that’s why setting a New Years Resolution was not appealing to me AT. ALL. this year. It just felt too big, too much, too heavy.

BUT! I love a new year! I love how excited I feel to start again, to make new goals and aspirations to work towards. I think I coasted to the finish line of 2020 solely on fumes, which really left me gasping for air and ready to take back some control in the new year. So instead of making resolutions this year, I’ve created a “Daily 4” list for myself instead. I’m keeping it SUPER simple, and by that I mean really, very easy, that I literally cannot fail. My days right now are hardly my own. They are spent hopping from kid to kid, helping them with school work, making food, cleaning up messes, you know the drill. But I am really hopeful that I can start my days on my own terms, even just for a few moments and deep breaths. I think that if I can do this for myself, I can be in a better headspace to care for my family. One can’t pour from a empty cup, and it’s about time that I give myself a refill. 

It is my intention for the New Year that I complete my Daily 4 list Monday-Friday each week. Again, keeping my goals realistic and knowing that I’m totally sleeping in on the weekends if I get the chance!

Here is my Daily 4!

1. Get out of bed at 6:30am. I am a total night owl, and NOT in the least bit a morning person, but I KNOW my days go smoother when I get up before my kids. This one is the hardest for me, but I know it’s best for me. 

2. Stretch and/or do Yoga. I’d really love to do yoga in the am, but at the very least, stretch and move my body. I have bigger goals of spending more time outside with and without my kids this year, but I know “exercising daily” felt too big for me personally. Breaking it down to a realistic, obtainable goal...yes, I can spend 5-10 minutes stretching each morning.

3. Get oils going! I love my essential oils, but many times my days are so busy tending to the kids that I forget to take the time to use them. But, I know I can commit to 5 minutes every morning filling up the diffusers in my home and get those oils working for me (and my family!) if I make it a priority. 

4. Drink my coffee and read my devotional. I make my coffee every morning, but while it cools I start the breakfast hustle and often I’m left with cold coffee, or swallowing a few sips before shuffling out the door to preschool drop off. It seems like the perfect way to end my Daily 4 each day. I wake up before my kids, I’ve moved my body, my oils are going, and I can drink my HOT coffee and read my daily devotional. 

I am fully aware that this isn’t going to be seamless everyday. I know a kid or two might wake up when they hear me moving. But I’m not going to let that deter me. 

If you’re looking to set intentions for the new year, I encourage you to give this a try! Your Daily 4 can be ANYTHING! Whatever you need to get your day moving in the right direction. You are in the Captain’s seat here, so set your intentions to serve YOU! 

Here’s to a new year, a fresh start, and to being our best selves! Cheers! 

xo,

Amy