It may be December, but until we pop those bottles and go to sleep covered in confetti, the year is most definitely not over! While it’s tempting to spend the rest of the month in a kind of doped-up holiday haze, you could make this the best week ever. Wanna know how? Read on…

Don’t lose sight of your major goal
It’s all too easy to get swept up in your to do list, and forget to devote time to the things that you really want to achieve. What’s your BIG goal for the next twelve months? Do you want to write a play, travel to France, buy an apartment, start your own business? Take some time to think about that today, and then make that goal the first thing you work on every morning.

Even if your deadline is next October, just think how far ahead you could get on it if you really buckled down this month! There are still 22 days left in December! Also, if you’re competitive, remember that most of your adversaries are going to be in a cookie coma all month. Go get it!

Stop checking your email all the time!
Seriously, nothing is really happening over there in Inbox land. See if you can scale down to checking it three times a day (I know!!!). I promise you’ll get so much more done.

Go on a date
It’s not all work and no play, you know. In fact, it’s essential to have fun in order for us to continue being happy, creative beings. There are so many amazing and unusual events happening, so many wonderful restaurants, so many strange classes to take, that it’s a waste to just stay in your bedroom all the time.

So, wrangle your girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband into going somewhere different with you this week. Dress up. Make it a special occasion! And if you have no romantic partner in your life, either take your BFF or go by yourself.

Do little things to glam up your life and your space
Change the wallpaper on your computer and your phone. Buy some fresh flowers and place them on your desk. Light candles and burn incense, and use essential oils to scent your home. When you feel really good about your home, you will be more inspired to get things done and it will all happen more easily.

Think about what you could start delegating
Look, we all have enormous amounts of stuff on our so-called plates, and the truth is that you will never get it all done. There are only so many hours in a day, babe. It’s okay, though. You can still get plenty done, you’re just going to have to outsource some of it.

Do you really want to sit in the laundromat for two hours, or would you rather be working on your novel? Is it necessary to stand in line at the supermarket, or could you have your food delivered? Streamline your life. You’ll feel better for it.

Organise your wardrobe for the season!
If it’s below freezing outside, your floaty summer dresses aren’t going to do you any good… And if you’re in Australia, it’s probably long past coat weather. Shuffle everything around in your closet so that the things you’re actually going to be wearing for the next few months are at the front.

Another great side effect of closet reorganisation is that you’ll be able to look at all your clothes and start to put together outfits in your head. I’d also recommend going through your wardrobe and moving anything that doesn’t fit to the back. You can decide what to do with them later, but for now, just avoid them. There’s nothing worse than wearing too-tight clothes!

Buy a gift for someone else
…And not out of lame holiday obligation, but because you really want to. Make or get something that is really meaningful, something that you think they will truly get a kick out of.

By the way, this doesn’t mean you need to buy them something excruciatingly expensive or over-the-top. Sometimes a book of poetry with a beautiful inscription is the best gift you can give.

Go and see that friend you always say you’ll make plans with!
You know the one… The one you see sometimes and you say to each other, “Let’s get coffee!”, but yet, it never happens.

This week, you could reverse that trend. Invite them to go ice-skating or get a hot chocolate with you. Who wouldn’t want to do that?! I bet that if you spent some concentrated time together, you’d realise how much you have in common, and it could be the start of a real, true friendship.

Try the 5×5 trick
Don’t know what it is? James Altucher will tell you.

Speak to someone about what is challenging you right now
The simple act of getting it out of your head and through your lips will help to take some of the burden out of it, and having a dialogue about it with a friend or someone you trust will assist you in seeing it from an entirely new perspective.

None of us are expected to struggle on alone. And who knows? The person you talk to might just suggest the perfect tactic, mind trick, healer or book to break you out of your rut and get you through it.

Schedule in some time to relax
This might sound antithetical, but it actually makes perfect sense. If you don’t schedule it in, it will probably never happen.

So make a date, put it in your calendar, and pay up front if possible (this makes it even more likely that you’ll do it). Spend some time in a sauna or a spa, get a massage, cue up some guided meditations (I love the ones they have on Yogaglo), or go to a yoga class. Yesterday, I took a two-hour restorative yoga class which — in addition to giving me a really good stretch — revitalised and refreshed me in a way that slumping in front of the television just could not.

What are you waiting for?! Go out and make this your best week ever!

With love,

Photos from NastyGal and Le Blog De Betty.