Every year the same scene repeats itself: January arrives, you write a list of New Year’s resolutions, you put it down on paper full of hope… and a few weeks later you can barely remember where you left it. The problem is not you or your willpower. The problem is that we tend to think about the year in the abstract: big phrases, high expectations and no real connection with your actual life, your rhythms and your energy.
This article is about doing the opposite: planning your year in a simple way, on paper, at a calm pace and with a few clear priorities. Here is what we will look at:
- Review the year that is ending with concrete questions.
- Choose 3–5 priorities that truly make sense for your life.
- Translate them into realistic goals and habits.
- Land everything in a simple analogue system using your notāre travel journal.
Why New Year’s resolutions almost never work
It is not a lack of discipline: it is that resolutions, the way we usually set them, are not a system.
Most New Year’s resolutions fail because they:
- Are vague: “exercise more”, “eat better”, “read more”.
- Are written from guilt about the previous year, rather than from a calm vision of the next one.
- Do not take into account your real schedule, your limits or your energy.
- Do not turn into concrete habits or a visible plan.
On top of that, they tend to work in an all-or-nothing way:
- Either I do it perfectly from January onwards.
- Or I feel I have “failed” and I drop it altogether.
Instead, a simple yearly planning process invites you to do something else:
- Move from a long wish list to a few clear priorities.
- Translate those priorities into concrete goals.
- Break those goals down into small, sustainable habits.
- Anchor everything in a physical place where you can see it and adjust it.
What you need is not more willpower, but a system that can support you throughout the whole year.
Reviewing the year that is ending: key questions on paper
Before you decide how you want to organise the new year, you need to look calmly at the one that is closing. A year-in-review is the first step of any meaningful planning process.
Why do it on paper
Doing this review on paper (in a diary, a planner or a travel journal) helps you:
- Get ideas out of your head so you can see them in front of you.
- Let the slower pace of handwriting help you think more deeply.
- Come back to your notes later on, without noise or notifications.
You do not need a “perfect journal”. Any notebook will do if you can write without filtering yourself.
Questions to review your year
Set aside at least one quiet hour. Turn off notifications. Pick a comfortable place and write, without worrying about the form.
You can use these questions to review your year:
What went well this year?
- Which achievements, big or small, made you feel proud?
- Which decisions would you make again in the same way?
- Which habits or projects gave you energy?
What was difficult?
- Which situations drained you?
- Which routines, responsibilities or projects felt like too much?
- What have you kept going purely out of inertia?
What has changed in you?
- In what ways do you feel different compared to last January?
- What have you learned about your limits, your time and your needs?
What do you want to let go of?
- Commitments that no longer fit your current life.
- Ways of working that only create noise.
- Expectations that no longer match who you are.
What do you want to protect next year?
- Moments in your day that feel good (a walk, a quiet coffee, writing).
- Relationships, projects or spaces you want to take care of.
- Habits that are already working and you want to keep.
This end-of-year review is not an exam. It is more like a conversation with yourself. When you see it on paper, patterns start to appear: what repeats itself, what weighs you down, what sustains you.
Choosing a few priorities and turning them into realistic goals and habits
Once you have done your review, the delicate part begins: deciding what you really want to focus on. This is where you either gain or lose clarity for the year.
1. Choosing your priorities for the year
Instead of creating a long list of goals for the year, start by thinking in broad areas:
- Health and energy.
- Work or main project.
- Relationships and personal life.
- Creativity and learning.
- Finances and home.
Ask yourself:
If I could only take good care of 3–5 things this year, what would they be?
These are your priorities for the year. Write them down, each on a different page of your notebook. Do not worry about the details yet; stay with the big headlines.
- “Take care of my physical and mental energy.”
- “Shape project X.”
- “Simplify my home.”
- “Take better care of my close relationships.”
Fewer priorities mean more chances to make real progress on something that matters.
2. From priority to concrete goal
Now translate each priority into 1–3 goals for the year that are more specific and realistic. They do not need to be highly technical, but they should be clear and easy to understand.
Examples:
Priority: “Take care of my physical and mental energy.”
Goal 1: “Move my body at least 3 days a week.”
Goal 2: “Keep one afternoon a month just for myself, with no obligations.”
Priority: “Shape project X.”
Goal 1: “Define the scope and phases of the project in the first quarter.”
Goal 2: “Move one project block forward each quarter.”
Always check:
- Does this goal actually fit into my current calendar?
- Does it depend entirely on other people, or can I still move forward with small actions?
- What feeling does it bring up when I read it: pressure, excitement, calm?
3. From goals to habits and actions
This is where your yearly planning becomes practical. A goal without a habit stays as an inspiring sentence, nothing more.
For each goal, write down:
- The habit that supports it (what, when, how long).
- The first tiny action you can take this week.
Examples:
Goal: “Move my body at least 3 days a week.”
Habit: “Walk for 20–30 minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.”
Tiny action this week: “Choose the time slot and prepare comfortable clothes the night before.”
Goal: “Read 6 books this year.”
Habit: “Read for 15 minutes before bed from Monday to Thursday.”
Tiny action this week: “Choose the first book and leave it on the bedside table.”
In this way you move from the idea (“I want to read more”) to a visible, simple action plan for the year.
4. Aligning your yearly vision with your month-to-month
The key question is:
What does this goal look like in a normal month?
In your notebook you can give each month a page and note down:
- 2–4 mini goals for the month connected to your yearly priorities.
- 1–2 focus habits you especially want to take care of.
- A small space for a quick monthly review: what went well, what to adjust.
This is not about controlling every detail, but about creating a simple monthly and yearly planning system that reminds you of what matters, without overwhelming you.
How to use your notāre to plan your year
So far you have been working at the idea level: review, priorities, goals and habits. There is one last piece missing: where all of this will live so it does not get lost and you can keep coming back to it.
This is where your notāre comes in as a travel journal and analogue planning system.
Why a travel journal is a good base for your year
A travel journal like your notāre is not just a beautiful notebook. It is a modular system:
- You have a cover that goes everywhere with you.
- You can combine different inner notebooks depending on what you need at each moment.
- You can reorganise, add or remove notebooks throughout the year.
Compared to a closed, pre-printed planner, this allows you to:
- Adjust your planning when your life changes (new project, new season).
- Separate different layers more clearly: yearly vision, monthly planning, daily notes, journaling.
- Turn planning into a physical ritual: opening your notāre, reviewing, crossing out, adding.
You can keep using a digital calendar for appointments and reminders, and let your notāre hold the most important part: thinking, deciding and reviewing on paper.
Ideas for structuring your notāre throughout the year
There are many ways to organise it, but a simple structure could be:
-
One inner notebook for your yearly vision and priorities
Here you can include:
- Your notes from the review of the year that is ending.
- A page with your vision for the year: how you would like a well-lived year to feel.
- Your 3–5 yearly priorities, each with its main goals.
- A list of “things to protect” (habits, relationships, spaces, times).
This notebook is your yearly compass.
-
One inner notebook for monthly and weekly planning
This is where your planning becomes practical:
At the beginning of each month:
Write your mini goals for the month (2–4 at most).
Mark your focus habits for that period.
Each week:
Make a short priority list (work, personal life, self-care).
Note down tasks, reminders and small steps aligned with your yearly goals.
At the end of the month you can do a brief review:
What has worked well?
What has been more difficult than expected?
What will you adjust for next month?
-
One inner notebook for notes and free journaling
This notebook is more flexible:
- Project notes.
- Loose ideas you do not want to lose.
- Journaling pages when you need to clarify something or let things out.
- Short weekly reviews: what felt good, what felt draining.
Here journaling becomes a support layer: a simple way to listen to yourself and adjust your planning when something does not fit.
If you would like to make writing a regular habit, you can go deeper into how to start journaling in a way that feels doable.
Planning your year in your notāre is not about creating a perfect system, but about having:
- One place where your year lives: priorities, goals, habits.
- A simple ritual to come back to them each month and each week.
- An object that reminds you, every time you open it, what you really want to take care of.
If you want to refine your system even more, you can choose the format that best fits your year: Muse (A5 size) to have more writing space at home, and Nomad (passport size) to carry the essentials with you when you are on the move.
If you are unsure about formats, sizes or use cases, you can read the guide to choosing your travel journal to see more concrete examples.
