How to use the 6 days between Christmas and New Year to win the year ahead

Or not - if you're reading this - You're already a winner - find out why in the article.

Dec 27, 2024

What is this: Ideas to break the pattern and get to where you want in the coming 12 months.

Hype.

It’s a strange thing that we all live with and within. From the last week of November until a couple of days ago, in the Western world, there’s a big build up to Christmas.

If you live in a Western country - you know this hype.

For two years as a child, I was in Azad and Jammu Kashmir (or Pakistani Occupied Kashmir - depending on which side of the line your story got written on). In those two years, December was just carry on as normal. No holidays. Wednesday would be just that, no bank holiday. No altered TV schedule, jingly music or ugly jumpers.

There was also no come-down from the hype. No hype-hangover.

These days, the days right after Christmas live in the shadow of a single day that gets so much hype - the big day. Two bank holidays if you’re in the UK, right next to each other, regardless of when in the week it lands.

Then the 27th comes around. Some of us are off, others work.

28, 29, 30, 31….a four day build up to what I think is a bigger and more significant day.

New Years Day

Reflection, correction, introspection and remembrance all bubble in the background as we take stock of the 12 months that sailed by in what feels like twelve days.

What could a good six days between Christmas and New years looks like?

Here’s what mine looked like previously:

Relationship Balance - Christmas with my parents, and some days with in-laws. -so lots of time on the road
Bank Holiday Shopping - nab a bargain, something big, something I really want.
Play catch-up with people who are also free-ish
Turn up to work to find that I’m one of four people out of 500 (so do very little)
Look at the job market to see what I could be applying for in terms of roles for the next year
Get ready to send HAPPY NEW YEAR messages on broadcast to the top 25% of conversations on my Whatsapp.
TV, Lots and lots of TV

Here’s why this year is different

I’ve journaled so I can look back and review in detail. I’m going to do the mother of all brain-dumps and spend a good amount of time picking through it to be crystal clear what I absolutely won’t do in the next 12 months and crucially what I absolutely won’t leave unfinished
I’ve cut down massively on watching TV, streaming and social media so I feel awake to the things I can do
I’ve been intentional through the year and can take stock of the good, the bad and the ugly to make sure that in the coming twelve months, lessons aren’t just learned but deeply lived
I’ve reflected on how I execute, knowing my personal capacity and capability so I know what to take on and what to say no to.
I’ve been working over Christmas - we don’t really celebrate it and my year has been more rest than stress so I don’t feel so bad.

The Intentional Interval - 26-31 Dec

Ideas that might help you win the year ahead

One Tiny Improvement You Can Sustain

Pick one thing, tiny, trivial and seemingly insignificant that if you sustain, will add some flavour to your life. It might be carrying some coins in your pocket so you can give when passing someone in need, or always carrying a pack of tissues. Make it tiny and do it every day.

Real talk

Reflect on the one thing that your peers see as holding you back - heck, ask them. It might be a blindspot you have in your own perception, a limiting belief, an overbearing partner. Whatever that thing is - make an intention to be vigilant of it in the days and months ahead. When it pops up to eat up 10x energy that it needs to, politely, sincerely and kindly make a deal that gives you at least some room to make progress.

Attract the Audacious

In twelve months time, what awesome story do you want to be reflecting on. It doesn’t have to be fantastical or magical or even that big. It can be audacious for you within your context. Not massively unreasonable goals - for us this year the audacious goal was a holiday and we somehow did it. These days ahead are the best day to dream and sow the seeds with the universe for the audacious thing you want to live through in the coming weeks and months.

Photo calendar

We do this every year - make next year’s calendar on any decent personalised stationery site and use photos from the 12 months that have gone by. Struggling for content? Make an intention to have 12 photo worthy moments for next years calendar, one a month. This way, the humdrum of every day, week and month - the blur can be punctuated with memories that you look back on fondly.

Don’t Overplan

I used to do this, every month - where am I going / what am I doing, with who, for how long, at what cost. Planning at least four to six months ahead. I found it exhausting and like it took the magic out of life a bit. Mechanistic moments, pre-planned - sure, there was some fun in them but spontaneous is always deeply magical. I find that the best way to leave room for spontaneity is to have one madcap idea a month that you’re going to say yes to - within reason and resource constraints of course.

Gratitude Journal

This one is going to sound a bit woo but I’m doing this in the next few days. It might feel like the year has been crap. You might feel like you’ve had 12 months of hardship and no wins, no breaks and no good news. If you want to turn the tide you have to shift your thinking. It’s a little known fact that what we think is what we manifest. So - simply put - be grateful. If you’re reading this - then you’ve successfully met the most basic and important New Year’s Resolution of them all - to survive to the next New Year. I know it sounds super basic - but you deserve a hearty and jolly good Well Done! Not build on that. Got a bed? Got a roof over your head? Did you laugh in the last 12 months? Did you do something that made you feel good? It’s those moments that we must be grateful for. Sure, there’s tonnes of sad, angry and miserable moments too and you can be grateful for them if they shifted what you were doing. I always find it more fun to celebrate the good stuff. The unexpected wins, the lucky break exactly when you needed it etc.

Disconnect from Tech

Take a well earned digital detox and dopamine break. Give your brain a few days of just looking at nature and being uncomfortable with solitude and loneliness. I’ve been following

calvin newport

‘s Rewire your Phone mantra. It’s brilliant. Stick it on charge and leave it there. If you need to use it, only use it where it’s wired. I’ve enjoyed driving in the fog, appreciating the beauty of scarcity that you get at the height of winter, along with the promise of spring in nature - the stillness and motion. I’ve enjoyed detoxing the kids a good bit too playing with them more. Hopefully there’s nothing urgent or emergency that needs you over this period so enjoy getting you back.

Ideas to get you ahead

Swap the 30, 31 faff for a recurring 28

13 x 28 dys is more consistent and repeatable vs 12 x 30/31 days with the odd 28/29 day month

Sounds silly but having a thirteen month year gives you a more repeatable and reliable time cadence in which to meet your goals.

Here’s how I’ll be going about it. Use week numbers (1-4, 6-8 etc) and being clear what I want to have happen in each.

Design in Weekends

Don’t leave your weekends to chance. For each 4 week period, have at least 1 Memorable weekend by design.

Build don’t restart

Life’s going to throw some curveballs and let’s face it, plans always experience bumps. Accept that you’re going to lose a few weeks to these bumps - get back on and keep building. Chip away at the thing you want to attract as relentlessly as you can. Consistency beats everything. If possible, keep gaps to as small as possible.

Plan as a family

Sounds like a no-brainer but this is a great time to sit together with loved ones and hear what they would love to experience in the 12 months ahead. Rather than the ‘you should definitely do….x..y…or z’ be intetional and pick specific weeks and weekends to do those things. Pencil things in - someone will probably have a change in plans but its easier to move a penciled date around than find a whole new one.

Dream big

This one isn’t something that you do. It’s a sleep hack. When you go to sleep - reflect on your hopes and imagine yourself giving off an aura of gratitude. Sounds woo - but your dreams will guide you on things that will fill the four week periods.

Don’t start your new Year on the 1st of January

Start on the 1st day of week 1 which is 30th December 2024 for the year 2025.

I hope you pick one of these ideas and give it a go. I’ll be doing a couple of these and will be writing in the substack chat about how I’m getting on. Looking forward to hearing from you about your journey.

Wishing you a healthy, happy and mindful year ahead

Natural Work

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