I absolutely love the last week of the year. It’s like one final gift of the holiday season. Here are some reasons to enjoy this week. The hustle of Christmas is over and there’s time to slow down. You can relax in your completely decorated home with no more lights to hang, no more shopping to do or errands to run. You’ve finished the baking and making activities. Ahhh, it’s a sweet time for quiet and relaxation. And don’t forget planning.

The week between Christmas and the New Year is my favorite time to look back on what I accomplished during the year and plan for next year. There’s time to reflect on all the blessings and the not-so-blessings. And it’s a time to look forward to what you want to accomplish in the upcoming year.

I like to set goals for the year instead of resolutions. Goals give me something to work towards. And goals can broken down into small bite-sized pieces that are easier to accomplish.

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My favorite system for planning and organizing my days is The 12 Week Year. Have you heard of this system? It breaks your year into 12 week time frames. During each of those 12 weeks, you focus on specific goals or projects. You work intensely on these areas so you can make more headway toward completing your goal. I like the narrowed focus and the intentionality of this system of organizing my days and I seem to get so much more accomplished.

During each 12-Week timeframe, you can work on a variety of areas. For example, I try to set a major goal for the garden. I also set goals for my home, my job, and this blog. The key is to pick specific goals you can work on, but not pick so many goals that you cannot accomplish them.

Each week, you then set an action for your goal that you will work towards. The easiest way for me to do this is to first list everything I might need to do to achieve that goal. Then I take those steps and do a little each of the 12 weeks until I’ve completed all the tasks.

Planning Your Garden Goals for Next Year

Here is a practical example of how this system works. My Garden Goal for the first 12 Week cycle is usually getting organized for the new growing season. Here’s a list of what I need to do to accomplish this:

• Update my Garden Planning Binder for the new year
• Organize my seeds from last year (they’re a mess)
• Determine what I want to grow this year
• Order new seeds as needed
• Create a schedule for starting seeds
• Assess garden areas for any projects that I want to accomplish this year
• Purchase any new supplies needed, such as grow lights
• Research any new garden techniques that I’m thinking about implementing
• Complete any Winter gardening chores such as snow seeding
• Enjoy some indoor gardening such as planting Paperwhites and Micro-greens
• Read a new gardening book

Some of these items might take a few weeks to accomplish, such as purchasing new supplies. But because each goal is written down with accompanying tasks, I’m much more likely to complete all the tasks. By the end of the first 12 Weeks, I will be organized and ready to get started growing in the garden.

This system helps me accomplish so much more than just choosing “resolutions” for the new year. Because I have specified what I need to do to actually achieve the goal, I am more likely to complete it.

And this is just the first 12 Week cycle. When the second ’12 Weeks’ rolls around, you can choose a new Garden Goal to work towards. Just think of all you can accomplish in your garden this year when you’re so focused.

Reflecting on the past year helps me to take stock of what’s important now. Knowing what I accomplished and what I failed at gives me a roadmap for next year.

I would encourage you to light up your tree and put on some music. Build a fire in your fireplace and fix yourself a nice cup of hot cocoa, coffee, or tea. Take time to enjoy the quiet moments of the last days of the year. This week is a time to relax, rest and get recharged for the new year to come.

While you’re relaxing, take time to plan your goals for next year. And enjoy this last gift of the year!

Note: This post has been revised and updated December 2022.