Year-end spring cleaning for your sanity

The week between Christmas and New Year is a quiet week for me.

I usually don’t do any work.

Instead, I embark on a personal spring cleaning exercise that leaves me well rested, lighter and ready for the new year.

The main idea is that whatever you do clears your mind and physical space, removing any clutter you’ve been holding on to.

Here are some of the things I do:

• Physical space: Clear all the clutter around the house that has accumulated; donate clothes I haven’t worn in the past year; discard expired items in the kitchen.

• Digital space: Unsubscribe from unused email lists and apps; respond to or delete to all outstanding emails; declutter desktop files and mobile cloud storage files; delete unused apps; review social media privacy settings.

• Financial space: Audit spending habits; review and cancel unused subscriptions of memberships; review or update financial goal tracker.

• Personal: Create a reading list for the new year; review or update your vision board and goals for the year; schedule in holidays and key dates in the year; create fitness plan for next quarter.

• Relationships: Make a list of people to reconnect with in the new year; plan quality time with family and friends.

Today’s prompts are designed to help you come up with your own list of things to declutter during the next week.

Today’s Prompts

Year-end spring cleaning

What can I do between now and the New Year as a personal spring cleaning exercise to clear my mental and physical clutter, and become lighter for the new year?

What clutter in my life—physical or mental—causes the most stress? How can I declutter this between now and the new year?

Get the most out of your journalling:

• Choose one prompt: Focus on just one prompt each day to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

• Be brutally honest: Reflect openly and honestly. This is your safe space to explore your thoughts and feelings.

• Take your time: Sometimes it takes a few days to clarify your thinking. Here’s permission for you to take your time to unravel a prompt and not take on any new ones during that time.

• Journal your way: Whether you prefer writing, audio recording, or video, choose the method that suits you best.

• Don't stress about streaks: If you miss a day, don't worry. You can always revisit a previous prompt.

I’d love your feedback

What was your favourite prompt of the day? Is there any specific challenge you want prompts for? How can I improve the content of the newsletter? Reply this mail and let me know!