Planning the Year Ahead as a Single (Without New Year’s Resolutions)
I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions.
Mostly because I’ve discovered that saying “This is the year I’ll finally get my life together” while eating Christmas leftovers on January 1 has never actually changed my life.
What has changed my life is dreaming, deciding on a few meaningful goals, and then putting plans and structures in place so I actually move toward them.
Every year, in the first week of January, I take a few hours (sometimes a whole day) with the Lord. I grab my journal, coloured pens (yes, really), make a good coffee, and give myself permission to slow down. I reflect. I dream. I plan. And I listen.
This practice has led to some of the most joy-filled, unexpected moments of my life.
Over the years, things I once scribbled down as “maybe one day” dreams have quietly become lived experiences: being in a musical, starting a garden, making a quilt, recording music, driving across the USA, visiting New York, and yes getting to meet my musical hero Jon Foreman from Switchfoot.
None of those things happened by accident. They happened because I made space to dream and then built a life that supported those dreams.
Surrender Before Strategy
Before I plan the year ahead, I look back.
For me, this past year has been both beautiful and tough - the kind of year that holds joy and ache at the same time.
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here were new job pressures, creative momentum and music wins I’m deeply grateful for… and there was also falling in love, and then experiencing unexpected heartbreak.
It’s tempting to rush past a year like that, to tidy it up quickly and move on.
But I’ve learned it’s worth slowing down and processing it all with God.
So I sit with Him and reflect honestly. Not glossing over it. Not beating myself up either. Just telling the truth.
I ask questions like: Where was I obedient? Where did I resist? Where did I thrive — and why? Where did I get stuck? What am I still carrying that needs to be released?
This is the surrender part. And it matters.
If we don’t process the year we’re leaving, we drag its disappointment, pressure, or unfinished expectations straight into the next one.
So I bless the year that was. I thank God for the good. I grieve what was hard. And I consciously place what didn’t happen back into His hands.
Only then do I start looking forward.
5 Steps to a Year of Forward Momentum
Not rushed. Not perfect. Just moving.
1. Begin With God (Gratitude, Surrender & Listening)
Before goals, plans, or habits - start with God.
Thank Him for what was. Name the wins. Name the losses. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak. Often clarity comes not as a full plan, but as a word, a theme, or a quiet sense of direction.
This step anchors everything else.
2. Name the Year
I give each year a word or short phrase.
Not ten. Just one.
It becomes a filter for decisions and invitations. When opportunities arise, I ask: Does this align with the kind of year I’m intentionally living?
3. Choose a Few Clear Goals (Not Too Many)
I usually pick three to five goals across different areas of life - faith, relationships, creativity, health, adventure.
If everything is a priority, nothing is.
Ask yourself: What would make this year feel lived? What would future-me be grateful I started?
4. Build Supportive Structures
This is where dreams either live or die.
James Clear, in Atomic Habits, makes the point that people who seem to have incredible willpower usually don’t. Instead, they design their environment to support the life they want.
For example, if someone wants to stop eating chocolate, they don’t wake up every day and rely on sheer self-control. They remove chocolate from their house. They stop buying it at the shops. They don’t hang out at chocolate factories hoping they’ll “be strong enough.”
In other words, they make the desired behaviour easier, and the unwanted behaviour harder.
The same principle applies to our goals, our faith, and our relationships. It’s not just about dreaming - it’s about putting structures in place that quietly support the life you’re praying for.
So instead of relying on motivation, I ask: What needs to be added? What needs to be removed? Who needs to be involved?
Dreams need structure to survive.
5. Pencil Dates in the Diary (and Hold It With Grace)
If it matters, it goes in the calendar.
Not to create pressure - but to create intention. And then I hold the whole year lightly, knowing plans will change and grace will be required.
Momentum doesn’t have to be fast. It just has to be forward.
My Encouragement to You
If you want this year to be different, you may need to do things differently.
If you usually make New Year’s resolutions and forget them by February, try setting a few meaningful goals instead.
If you often start the year with good intentions but don’t see them through, consider putting some structure in place to serve those goals - rhythms, people, dates in the diary, accountability.
And if you’re hoping to find love or develop new connections this year, it might mean gently changing a few things. Going to different places. Saying yes more often. Letting yourself be seen. Creating space for community rather than waiting for it to appear.
I genuinely believe God delights in this process - not because we’re striving or trying to control outcomes, but because it invites us to partner with Him. It helps us see our lives more from His perspective, not just our own.
So be kind to yourself. Be brave. Be curious.
And above all, have fun with it.
x Kate
Leaving 2025 Well
Before stepping into a new year, take time to leave the old one with honesty and gratitude.
10 Questions to Close Out 2025
Where did I see God’s faithfulness?
Where was I obedient?
Where did I get stuck, and why?
Where did I thrive?
What am I proud of myself for?
What did I attempt?
Who supported me?
Who did I support?
What didn’t happen that I need to release?
What do I want to thank God for?
Stepping Into 2026 With Intention
10 Questions for the Year Ahead
What might God be inviting me into?
What kind of person is He shaping me to become?
Where do I want to grow?
What rhythms will ground me?
What relationships do I want to invest in?
Where do I need more community?
What is one thing I deeply want to do?
What might hold me back?
What would living fully look like?
What word or Scripture will guide me?
