So, it's December. A new month, full o' festivities. But I don't really want to talk about December today.

The holidays are everywhere and already in your face and I'm sure I'll talk about them a lot on the blog over the next couple of weeks (like in today's post, for instance), so here in the newsletter, I want to talk about planning ahead.

I don't know about you, but I've already started plotting out my 2015. I bought my new planner months ago, and I can't tell you how satisfying it was to go ahead and fill in all of the big events and already-scheduled workshops and retreats. {There's nothing like a new blank planner!}

Before I get ahead of myself, let me stop here and say that yes, of course I want you to live in the present and enjoy this month full of events, family, friends, cheer, and eggnog (vegnog?). But, I also want to encourage you to use this month to do a little planning for 2015, beyond just jotting down the big dates in your new planner...



Here's the thing that I find happens in December:

At the beginning of the month, we think, "Okay, here we go!" and we get ourselves amped up for the busyness. We all know that the holidays are fairly crazy, and although I do think it's possible to have a more mindful holiday season (see today's  post for more on this), I also think that December is what it is, and that's pretty freaking full for most people.

Thus, we hold onto our hats at the beginning of December, we enjoy the month as we go from one event to work to another event to bed to another event, and before we know it, we're looking at New Year's Eve. If we're lucky, we've found a little time to relax, but often we really haven't. 

And then we think--"Eek! I need to set some goals for the New Year!" And we do it in a rush, or not at all, or a little late, when we're already heading back to work + our routines, and we simply don't make the most of it.

So why not start thinking about the New Year now? Not resolutions, but big picture.

What do you want to make happen in 2015? Do you want to finally start a blog, or adopt a dog, or get down to part-time at your full-time job, so that you can pursue your other passions? Do you want to write a book in 2015 or go on a retreat or your first solo vacation? Do you want to do a yoga teacher training?

These are the type of big picture things I'm talking about, and I think now is the time to start thinking about them--not December 31st or January 1st or April 13th, but today. 

What do you want for 2015? What feels important to you? I urge you to start thinking about this and then do the following exercise with your big goal/big goals:

• What is the goal?
• What needs to happen in order to make this goal a reality? What steps do you need to take/what work do you need to put in?
• Take the above steps and break them down into quarterly goals.
• Break your quarterly goals down into monthly goals.
• Break your monthly goals down into weekly to-dos.
• Look at your schedule and find chunks of time where you can get these to-dos done. 
• Put these chunks of time into your calendar as appointments (with yourself).
• Consider yourself ready to tackle your big goals(s) for 2015 starting January 1st!

Easy enough, right? It's even easier if you have just one big goal for the year, but can definitely work for 5-6 goals, if that's what you're looking at. 

So that's my big advice to you for this month. Start planning ahead now. Take an hour or an afternoon and think about next year. Think about your goals--personally, professionally, physically, and creatively--and start to think about tangible action steps you can take in order to make your dreams a reality. 

It's real, y'all, and I promise that it works.

Now for some monthly inspiration...