Yesterday, I was delighted to receive a box I had anticipated with great hope and optimism.
In it was a spiralbound calendar and a goal planner. These two items are a gift I give myself every year, but this year, I ordered them and received them three months sooner. The timing is very intentional.
Usually, I set aside time between Christmas and New Year’s Day to set goals and make concrete plans for the coming year. I assess what went right and what went wrong in the previous year, and I put to paper concrete aspirations for the new year. Because of the timing, I come to this task rather tired and often discouraged. The days right after Christmas are “crash days” for most mothers. My assessment and my plans tend to reflect my exhaustion.
This year, I am embracing October as the ideal time for new year planning. It may seem a bit early, but this is when the planner products for the new year are introduced. It’s also ahead of the holiday mode. If we plan for the following year before we are caught up in holiday planning and execution, we come to it fresher and, frankly, more optimistic. With the autumn, I find I’m naturally more introspective and reflective. The beauty of vibrant growth seasons fading into quiet stillness is just perfect for both reflection and forward thinking.
May I suggest an October vision retreat — maybe a whole weekend, maybe just a few hours squirreled away? A time set aside for you to dream big and make solid plans for the year to come. Then, in the last week of December, when you are beyond tired, you can pull out your carefully considered fresh plans and let October You inspire and encourage post-Christmas You.
Get comfortable and cozy. Gather a journal, a planner, some good pens, and stickers (if that’s your thing). Make a snack and beverage tray for yourself. Light a candle. Say a prayer. Invite the Holy Spirit into this time and ask him to guide your thoughts and your plans. Begin by taking stock of what went right and truly give thanks for blessings bestowed. In your journal, be honest about challenges, but also be honest about the ways you met them. You made progress. Document the progress.
Ask the Lord what he plans for you in the next year. Be still and give him time to tell you. Get messy on a journal page and just scribble everything that comes to you. Then begin to categorize. Circle, highlight, underline — you will create tangible goals that have measurable outcomes.
Dedicate one page to each goal and work backward from its completion to make a checklist of steps to attain it. Be realistic and recognize ahead of time what the challenges are likely to be. What strategies can you employ to meet those challenges? Write them down. These words on paper will be your anchor when things get tumultuous in the year to come. In the relative calm of an autumn day, speak wisdom and peace to your future self.
Using your new 2025 planner, schedule mini-retreat dates where you will check in with yourself, review your goals, and assess your progress. Prepare for the inevitable challenges life will throw at you by jotting down favorite Bible verses and quotes from the saints in the pages of your new planner. The Holy Spirit can guide this step, and you will be amazed to see just how perfectly the wisdom aligns when the time comes. Know that life is unpredictable, and your plans might change drastically, but having a plan to work with gives structure to even the most challenging disruption.
In the glow of October, reflect and prepare for the new year. Then, when you turn the page to November, you will step into holiday preparations with a sense of peace and joyful anticipation, knowing that when those hazy days after Christmas come this year, you will revisit the calmer, more optimistic you who put pen to paper and captured the golden light of autumn to illuminate the dark early January.
Foss, whose website is takeupandread.org, writes from Connecticut.
