The irony of this time of year is that with all of the excitement that comes with a clean slate, many of us are more tired and burnt out than we’ve been in the past twelve months. With all the “New Year, New Me” chatter and motivation around making big goals happen, it can be easy to lose track of the tasks that have been burning a hole in our to-do lists, the ones we haven’t quite gotten around to completing yet.

At the start of this new year (and decade!), rather than charging straight ahead into new projects and goals, we’re going to focus on addressing the biggest reason we fail our New Year’s resolutions: We’re really bad at finishing things.

At the start of this new year (and decade!), rather than charging straight ahead into new projects and goals, we’re going to focus on addressing the biggest reason we fail our New Year’s resolutions: We’re really bad at finishing things.

Throughout 2019 I became really interested in why it can be so damn hard to follow through on my to-do list. I didn’t realize that thirty-five self-help books later I’d come to the conclusion that productivity is actually a form of self-care. Tackling the items we need to get done is good for us in more ways than one. And making progress on our endless list of tasks as a way of taking care of our future selves requires a very different mindset than “FUCK I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO.”

In the month ahead, our contributors will be writing about the incredible effect habit tracking can have on your life, and exploring why exactly we procrastinate. They’ll be writing about how they approach resolutions all year long, and why we should follow our needs first and foremost.

In January, I’ll be writing about 5-minute tasks that can help you reset your brain and move forward with your day when you’re feeling stuck, and I’ll be sharing my favorite books that help with productivity. This is only a portion of what we’ll be posting in the weeks ahead and we can’t wait to show you more of what’s to come!

This month, let’s focus on why we’ve had troubles with resolutions and with finishing big projects (and small tasks) in years past. Let’s finish what we’ve started before getting ourselves entangled in a long list of new goals. Let’s support each other as we embark on crafting who we’ll become in 2020.

Kate Arends

Kate is the founder of Wit & Delight. She is currently learning how to play tennis and is forever testing the boundaries of her creative muscle. Follow her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.