reset routine

We all love that feeling of newness. It’s why January 1st has so much appeal. A new year, new opportunities. The beginning of a change. We feel like we can now finally start again. Maybe some of us look for this newness more frequently then once a year. The beginning of a new month, or a full moon. That fresh feeling can be so motivating and powerful, but if we only tap into it with such little frequency, these good benefits cannot be fully realized. So, how does one go about creating this feeling of newness on a weekly or biweekly basis? Personally, I like using a reset routine to, well, reset my life and get that feeling of fresh beginnings each week. What even is a reset routine you may ask? Well, generally, a reset routine is a set of steps that you complete on a day of your choosing in order to get things done and create a mini “blank slate” feeling. Your own reset routine really depends on you. I tend to explain things best by using myself as an example. My personal reset routine has 4 steps: Declutter, Do, Dump and Declare. Let’s start at the beginning.

Step 1: Declutter

This one is pretty predictable. Clean your space. This initial step often prevents people from starting at all, and while some can spend hours cleaning, I find it best to set a timer. This prevents you from getting distracted by that thing you forgot about in the back of your closet that you just found again and now you’re just sitting on the floor looking at your old discovery. Just 30 minutes is enough to pick up the dirty clothes and put them in the laundry bin, clean up the dishes from the morning, and sweep or vacuum a room or two. 

Of course, you need to be someone who keeps up with dishes and basic cleanliness on a daily basis, otherwise 30 mins on a Sunday is not going to cut it. Other than your physical space, cleaning up your virtual space is important too. So take another 20 minutes and clear out your email inbox, organize your desktop, delete those tabs you still have open that you don’t need, and maybe go through your photos from the week and get rid of those random pictures that you definitely don’t need on your camera roll (I’m looking at you, the 30 screenshots that I no longer have a use for). 50 minutes of decluttering might seem like a lot of time, but it passes by so fast, and if you keep on top of the little things during the week, you may not even need that much time to declutter your space. I always recommend starting with this step because it helps keep the ball rolling onto step 2.

Step 2: Do

This is the time to do the things you’ve been putting off that week or that need to get done. 

I usually use this time to water my plants, take those dirty clothes in the bin and actually put them in the laundry, bathe the dog and check in on my expenses that week. The time frame for this really depends on how much of a procrastinator you are. And if this whole routine sounds like it’s way too time consuming for you to do, just try doing one thing for each step. You don’t need to clean your whole house and knock out all of your errands and to-dos. Just simply start with putting your sheets in the wash and organizing your desktop. 

Step 3: Dump

This step is my favorite, and I personally find that it’s the biggest component to that new feeling. Dump is a time to dump out anything you need to get rid of mentally. Think of it like cleaning out your mental state. I like to do my resets on Sundays, so any worries that I don’t want coming with me into the following week, I leave behind. I do this by brain dumping or journaling. For those unfamiliar with this method, just think of writing absolutely anything and everything that’s on your mind and leaving it on the page. Physically expelling these thoughts helps me mentally get rid of them / just acknowledge them too. I like to light some candles and burn some sage or palo santo while I do this. I’m also a person who loves taking baths, so I’ll use this time to run a bath for myself. After my bath I like to transition from step 3 to 4 by doing a tarot reading. After cleansing, I like to fill back up by looking forward to the coming week.

Step 4: Declare

Declare your intentions for the coming week. What do you want to accomplish? How do you want to feel? You can tell a friend, your dog, or just yourself. I like to have a record of it so I can visit it again in the middle of the week to remind myself of the direction I’m going in, so I’ll just write it down in my journal. Now that you have a direction, use this time to plan out the week. I write out everything from due dates to friend dates and alone time. If your goal is to work out x amount of times, write it out and plan those times in your agenda. Want to go out in nature more? Make it a date with yourself or some friends. I think it’s important to have an intention or end goal before making the little daily plans so you know where you’re headed and what you’re working towards. Knowing your priorities helps make decisions easier.