Is it too late, now more than halfway through January, to get on track for an awesome year in 2013?

I don’t think so! And I know Leonie doesn’t either.

2013 got off to a shaky start for me. Not even a week into January, I heard myself telling a friend on the phone, “Bring on 2014!”

I didn’t really mean it. I love the new year and all that it brings. The hopes and dreams, the promise, the potential.

But I’ve had a couple of years that haven’t quite lived up to my big expectations.

This year began with some serious lack of sleep (a long story, involving a 5am start on New Year’s Day, and an unsuccessful attempt to sleep through the noise and fireworks on New Year’s Eve!). And I had no time to do my usual yearly reflection between Christmas and New Year.

I found it hard – in my shattered, unreflective state – to hold much hope for 2013.

Fast forward ten days. I stayed up way too late one night working through Leonie’s ‘Create Your Incredible Year Workbook’ (the biz edition). (I really didn’t mean to be up so late, but once I got started it was too hard to stop!) I now have ten new pages of notes for my biz, and a whole lot of excitement and energy for the work I want to do in 2013.

I finally took some time out earlier this month, after the craziness of December and Christmas, and spent a few days of creativity, reflection and relaxation down at the beach.

I’m still not sure how I feel about making goals. I look back over my 2012 goals (you can check those out in this post) and have to admit that I didn’t hit the mark there at all. Most of last year ended up being focused on trying to resolve my feet and hip pain – and sadly I haven’t even managed to do that yet.

I don’t have a great track record with achieving ‘goals’ that I set for myself, but I do have a few great habits that I intend to continue in 2013, as well as a few more that I hope to create.

My two favourite daily habits that I’ll take into 2013 with me:

Morning Pages – Almost five years after I first started and I’m still writing ‘morning pages’ as often as possible. Maybe not daily, but usually four or five days at least each week. I LOVE my morning pages habit!! You can read more about why I started, what my writing habit involves and why I love it here.

Breakfast Green Smoothie – If you’ve never tried a ‘Green Smoothie’ you’re seriously missing out! There’s something pretty special about this daily habit – starting the day with a green smoothie for breakfast just makes me smile! If you want to know more, and learn how to make your own green smoothies, check out this post.

New habits I hope to create in 2013:

Daily blog writing – If you’re on my email list, you’ll know that weeks can go by without me publishing a blog post.

I’m hoping that a daily habit of writing for an hour for my blog will help to get me closer to my ideal of four to six posts per month. That’s the plan anyway. But you should probably know that my life doesn’t always go to plan!!

(PS. So far in 2013, I’ve managed to do my ‘daily’ blog writing twice. With great results, but clearly it’s a habit that will need some work!)

‘Me’-time! – How badly do we women and mothers need ‘me’-time?! I didn’t realize until my recent escape to the beach just how little of this I’ve had the last couple of years.

Again, I’m trying to get back to those things that make me smile. Getting back to reading novels, to craft projects and a whole lot more creativity in my life.

And reminding myself that no, time spent on my blog and biz is definitely not the same thing as taking time out for me!

15 minutes daily decluttering – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked around our home and wonder just how much more ‘in control’ I would look (and feel) if I’d made a habit of Flylady’s 15 mins a day decluttering when I first learned of the idea.

Sadly, the longest I’ve managed is three days in a row, so I’ll have to work a bit to make this habit stick too!

I just need to remember just how much difference even 15 minutes of decluttering can make. It really does! Those 3 days in a row made a considerable improvement to our messy dining area. I can only imagine what a difference 15 minutes every day would make!

Awesome planners and organizers that I’ll be using in 2013!

I’m a list person! Every day I write my list of what I plan to do during the day. But I’m sure you know, as I do, that just writing a list is not enough to get things done.

So I’m constantly looking for ways to be more productive, and to make time – and use the time I can find – to take action on my ideas.

Those green smoothies help. There’s nothing like a healthy boost to your energy levels to keep you motivated and focused.

Reviewing and tracking my progress is a great help too. (Brilliant when I do it – not so helpful when I forget or neglect to. Funny that!)

Here’s a selection of my favourite yearly reviews and planners from some awesome bloggers:

Create Your Incredible Year Workbook, Planner & Calendar 2013  from Leonie Dawson

2013 Goal Setting & Action Workbook  from Live Your Legend

2013 Planner from Mindset Destination

Free Planners from Productive Flourishing

If you’re not sure where to start with getting  – and staying! – on track for a great year, you should find some inspiration and guidance there.

Even now, it’s not too late!

Wishing you a happy, successful, productive, creative and truly awesome 2013!!

Brigid

What habits are you keeping or creating for 2013? What are your tips for staying on track with your habits and yearly goals?