'This New Year's Day routine that has changed my life'

About six years ago, I started a New Year's Day routine I have stuck to ever since and, while I know it may sound a little dramatic, it has well and truly changed my life.

On January 1, without fail and no matter how hungover I am from ringing in the new year with champagne, I sit down with my laptop and a coffee and start my annual life audit.

For about an hour or two, I take a magnifying glass to every aspect of my life to see if I'm living it how I really want to be – or at least on track – and then plan out my year accordingly.

It may sound quite boring and gives very Type A energy (I am Type B disguising as Type A at best) but it helps me feel I am at least a little bit in control of each lap around the sun.

It's helped me figure out (to some degree) what I want to do with my life and take actionable steps to make that happen, whether it's a fitness goal, a place I really want to travel or something I want to do with my career. 

But when sitting down to write this piece, I realised I've never actually spoken to a pro about how to do this.

So I called in the big guns and asked time management expert and bestselling author of Life List (a goal-setting book) Kate Christie to review my method and give me some feedback.

READ MORE: The humbling discovery lurking on your phone

READ MORE: Trainer's tip to prepare dogs for the return to work

READ MORE: 'I love Percy Pigs but I'm not happy they've landed in Australia'

My routine, which is in no way expert, involves three steps – reflect, dream and then plan. 

Christie tells me it's a pretty solid method but there are some things I can improve. Let's take a look, shall we?

Reflect

First, I'll take a moment look at everything I did the year before.

What were the things that I did last year that made me proud or happy? What were the things that happened last year that I found challenging?

I ask myself these questions, looking back at my calendar, camera roll and diary entries (a method highly recommended by American author and podcast host Mel Robbins) to jog my memory and make a running list of everything that stands out to me.

I also have a look at the goals I set the previous year, whether or not I actually achieved them and, if I did achieve them, how they made me feel. 

I do this before I even start thinking about the year ahead so I know what I'm working with.

Christie says starting with reflection like this is "really important" so you know what "did and didn't work" the year before. 

To take this a step further, she suggests I add gratitude into this reflection. 

Rather than just looking at the facts of what went well and what didn't go well, she says taking a moment to be grateful for things in your life can be a helpful tool before looking forward. 

"Adding that gratitude step at the start is very, very powerful."

Dream

The next step is the fun part! I let myself dream big and think about all the things I want to do in the coming year, but also what I want life to look like further down the line. 

Where do I want to be living? Who do I want to be spending my time with? What do I want to be doing at work and what do I want to be doing with my spare time? These are the kind of questions I'll ask myself at this point. 

With this in mind, I'll think of at least one goal for five areas of my life – relationships, career, finance, health & fitness and personal (the latter is where miscellanious goals like "study French" or "plan a trip to Europe" belong).

This particular layout was inspired by Grace Beverley's The Productivity Method.

When it comes to planning out your goals, Christie suggests splitting them into bigger and smaller goals. 

Your big goals will be the "very hairy multifaceted goals". Think: running a marathon, buying a house or learning a language. They take a lot of planning but can be very significant for your year and your life. 

Meanwhile, the smaller goals will help keep you going as you make progress on the big ones.  

"These are sort of the fill-your-cup, keep-momentum-going goals," Christie says.

"Your go small goals for January might be, 'I want to walk 10,000 steps a day' or 'I want to drink half as much coffee'.

Plan

At this point, I know what my goals are and now I just need to figure out how to make them happen. 

To do this, I'll write them out into a document, categorised by life area, and write down a date I would ideally want to achieve them by. This isn't a hard and fast rule, just a guideline. 

Then I split each goal up into small steps to make the big goal seem manageable.

Let's say, for example, the goal is to save $6000 for a holiday at the end of the year. I would break it down into a goal of saving $500 a month. 

This makes a big goal feel a lot easier and makes me much more likely to achieve it.

Christie says breaking down your goals into actionable steps, particularly if you revisit them regularly throughout the year, is much more effective than making a resolution you may forget about come February.

"Coming at it from an intentional goal-setting perspective is going to give you a much better chance of succeeding."

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.