Hey, friends! Happy almost New Year’s Eve. How’s it going?

I would be lying if I said I don’t get HYPED for New Year’s Eve. Now, the actual holiday/celebration itself? I usually go to bed early. But to have nearly everyone in my life focused on goals, resolutions, and intentions for the new year? That’s my jam.

Now, I know there is a lot of discussion online about whether resolutions are actually affective, if we should be focused on SMART goals instead, or if we should all just focus on giving ourselves a break because the last two years have been extremely difficult. My approach: You do you, boo.

Only YOU know what your mind, body, and spirit can handle or work with headed into a new year. So, while I go into my new year prep guide below, know that if you just need to chill out, I support you. But for my friends who are ready to dive headfirst into 2022, let’s do it.

Talk soon,

Emily

P.S. If you’re new or want to check out my previous issues, you can do so here.

The Recipe Breakdown

Lemon: New Year’s Eve. Tbh, I approach nearly every Sunday night the same way I approach New Year’s Eve (henceforth known as NYE), but there’s something extra magical knowing so many others are also filled with optimism and determination for the future.

Ingredient #1: A fresh planner. Yes, I know, no surprise here. It doesn’t have to be a paper planner, but I do believe being able to cross tasks off a list is good for the soul. And I do think that being able to get everything out of your mind — even ‘easy’ tasks, like your morning routine — and put somewhere else can really help delay brain burnout. If you’re a digital planner person, check out this guide to some cute Notion templates. If you need paper planner recommendations, hmu via email or DM and I’ll help ya out. My current 2022 planner lineup includes: The Artist of Life Workbook, Blogilate’s Fit Planner, and the Make It Happen Planner.

Ingredient #2: Habit building. Habit building is the idea of identifying your existing habits (example: brushing your teeth every morning and evening) and introducing a new habit right after the existing one (flossing your teeth after brushing). It’s an extremely effective way to start developing new habits, and I think it’s a fun brain exercise to figure out your existing habits.

Ingredient #3: Daily wins. I think we all need some wins in our life, something relatively simple or low-stress that you can cross off your to-do list every day. Mine this past year were DuoLingo and a One Line a Day journal. Both are practices that almost always take less than 3 minutes, are done right before bed, and can be made up if I miss a day. Try to determine what a good daily win could be for you — and then see if you can build it on top of an existing habit!

Want to talk about your own lemons, ingredients, or lemonade recipes? Feel free to reply to this email!

🍋 Lemon Zest 🍋

The Little Things that help make my days a bit brighter 💕

🎵 I really gave up on all podcasts in 2020 when my commute died, and I’ve struggled to find others to stick to. Currently I listen to 60 Songs That Explain the 90’s and Maintenance Phase with my partner, but none on my own. Do y’all have any good recs? My previous favorites were Keep It, And That’s Why We Drink, The Daily, and Up First. Should I just go back to those four?

📝 As I close out the year, I’ve been using this nice and simple bullet journal-like planner to keep track of the chaos that is my job at the end of the year.

📚I’m about halfway through Leave the World Behind and I am obsessed — a great thriller. No spoilers please!!

💭 For some inspo, here are 10 people and the good habits that they’ve kept up.

💜 It’s okay to not want to think about 2022 or resolutions or anything. And it’s okay to be more motivated than ever headed into this year. Just wanted to remind you of that.

☕ If you’d like to support my work and Making Lemonade, consider buying me a coffee or sending a few dollars my way via Venmo: @emmyfromminny! ☕