I’m no longer a person who advocates for resolutions as I have experienced firsthand how harmful they can be.
I have always placed an anxiety-inducing urgency on myself when it comes to my career and life. My reflection at the end of 2020 provided me time to celebrate my wins and most importantly find ways to slow down.
Below are the tools I used mainly throughout 2020 and found enough value to continue leveraging in 2021.
Brightly
One of my main goals for 2021 is to become even more of a conscious consumer. Focusing on the areas of my life where I can cut waste, finding sustainable alternatives, and continually educating myself on what’s going on with our planet and how I can help.
Brightly is the new tool in my kit that provides insights on new clean beauty brands, food & kitchen tips/brands, highlights sustainable fashion, the Good Together podcast chock full of help tips, information on how to create an eco-friendly home and lifestyle, and even gift guides so I may gift more thoughtfully.
Ink+Volt Goal Planner
After a lot of research in 2019, this is the planner I chose for 2020. The first few pages prompt you to create a theme for the year, set annual goals, identify key actions, create milestones, and then it breaks them down into palatable monthly and weekly bites.
I was having a discussion with a close group of girlfriends (digitally of course) and we were talking about our 2020 paper planners vs our 2021 ones. The last week of the year many were happy to throw their 2020 versions away, or in some cases burn the evidence of what was a tough year for all.
Something made me pause and go back to my annual goals and intentions and I found something surprising. I had achieved all of my goals with the exception of two (a lofty savings goal that was dashed by being furloughed, and a weight-loss goal — lol).
That made me proud and realized how powerful this planner has been in holding me accountable.
The Peloton App
In 2020 I made a serious commitment to meditation and put it before my fitness and weight-loss goals. It was far more important for me to begin exploring and breaking down my significant anxiety and finding a way to quiet my mind.
2020 is also the year Peloton brought on someone I look up to a great deal, Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts. An international yoga icon, scholar, and overall calming influence, Chelsea provides me inspiration and encourages me to take this time for myself.
Through the Peloton app, I have a full snapshot of mind & body activities depending on what I feel I need, and the progress I make over time. Meditation, spin classes, outdoor walks, hikes, running, barre, pilates, weight lifting.
Through Peloton I have also found community in the #BGM group, a wonderful collective of Black women who like me chose to take a pivotal step and invest in their health and wellness.
The Sweepy App
Prior to finding the Sweepy App, I used a Google chart to highlight our “deep clean” tasks which we perform every two weeks, and the maintenance tasks we completed more frequently.
Though it was pretty efficient, I knew there had to be an even better way. Through my research I found Sweepy!
In the app, you organize tasks by room, the frequency at which the task should be completed, and assign a “difficulty” to it. I LOVE this because it allows you and your partner or housemates to not duplicate your efforts!
It also helped me create a more reasonable cleaning schedule, just three tasks a day, and then at the end of the week, I never have to spend an entire Saturday or Sunday scrubbing!
Below are more ways I prepared for 2021, to clear both my space and energy for a successful year ahead:
- Decision Fatigue: Like many bloggers, I have a beautiful clothing rack in my office. However, it’s not just for looks. On it each week, I place only my work clothes so I can easily grab my outfit each morning, and reduce decision fatigue (and wasted time!)
- Cord Org: I finally organized all of my cords! My HD cord, power cords, chargers, all now remain where I need them, easily accessible, and no longer creating invisible clutter I did not even realize existed
- The Home Edit: We attacked our pantry! I finally ordered beautiful, clear canisters to get our pantry in order, getting rid of old and expired items, and bringing forward the things we use most frequently. What a difference it has made!
- Seasonal Declutter: Lastly, I ordered large sealable, waterproof trunks for us to organize and put away seasonal decor and clothing. Anything we had not used in two months went in there, each trunk was labelled to make it easy to find in the Spring, and placed in the basement. This helped us clear our spaces and improve our mindsets
Like many of you, I am cautiously hopeful for this new year. I encourage you to share your 2021 intention(s) via the comments so we may collectively hold each other accountable!
