How to Start the Year Off Right with Intentional Family Rhythms

Raise your hand if you’ve tried to start the year off right with big resolutions that end up falling apart barely even three months in. Me too. The new year feels so fresh and clean—like a new slate that hasn’t been written on yet. The possibilities feel endless… until reality sets in.

Reality as in your own limitations and the unpredictable needs, demands, and uncontrollables that come with having little ones. This can leave you feeling defeated and wondering why you even try. Yet, hope is not lost. Maybe all that’s needed is a slight perspective shift and the willingness to take baby steps.

The big cathedrals of the world were completed over hundreds of years by workers who were faithful to their task. That is what we are doing here. In forming our children and caring for our homes, we are building great cathedrals.

Like those workers that came and went, it’s the small and steady faithfulness to the greater vision of what we are called to in our vocation of motherhood that leads to its completion. This is where intentional family rhythms come into play. The intentional family rhythms keep you grounded as you continue to move forward.

To start the year off right, we must first reflect on God’s goodness over the past year.

It doesn’t matter exactly how you got here—to motherhood. Motherhood is a special call from God that doesn’t always feel so special. Yet, it is such an important task. While many of us will probably say something to the effect that we want to raise good humans who are kind and productive members of society, we are ultimately raising human beings with an eternal soul to know, love, and serve God.

And we continue to work on that within ourselves as well. Because it is in knowing, loving, and serving God that we can fully be kind human beings who are productive members of society and live out our purpose. Truly a monumental task, but one that is also truly attainable by the grace of God.

Before we let that overwhelm us, let’s first look at what went well over the course of the past year.

Close your eyes and think on the past year. What is the first thing that comes to mind that makes you smile? Write that down. It doesn’t have to be big. Honestly, the smaller the better.

Open your planner or calendar app. What did you all do that you consider a win? Was it a family outing? A special event?

Think back on how each day went. What daily rhythms did you have that you really appreciated and want to make sure you continue? Were there specific days or seasons that felt more peaceful or that seemed to flow better? Write down why you think that was and how you might be able to get that to happen again.

Think on your goals for the last year. Did you achieve any of them? What was really helpful to you as you were working toward them?

Finally, think of those more abstract things that go on in the day-to-day of family life—communication, feelings of love and connection, kindness to one another, etc. Were any of those present in the last year? Were there moments or seasons where you felt like you really did a good job at fostering them in your family life?

Conversely, we must look at what didn’t go as well or as planned over the last year.

Go over the questions above, but this time focus on what didn’t go so well. To start the year off right, our failings or perceived failings can help us understand how to do better. This isn’t about beating yourself up, but about taking a more curious approach to the past year so that you can do better next year.

You can also note what didn’t go to plan but ended up producing a better outcome for your family in the long run. It can be something big or something little. There have been a few times over the last year where I’ve overcommitted or run myself to sickness and been forced to cancel activities. While it was not my finest moment, and something I don’t want to repeat, I was given valuable reminders about overcommitting or committing for the wrong reasons.

These reflections help us to start the year off right by providing evidence for what works and doesn’t work for our unique family life.

Take what you have written and go over them. In each of your answers, ask yourself these questions:

• What can you learn from it and apply to the new year?
  
• What do you want to repeat?
  
• What do you not want to repeat?
  
• What lessons did you learn that you want to remember as you continue to plan for the coming year?
  
• How can I do better?
  
• In what ways do I need to lean on God better?

It takes intentional planning to start the year off right.

The questions above should have given you a solid foundation from which to start. Now you can move forward with more informed clarity instead of blindly thinking of goals and resolutions that sound nice, but aren’t truly what you and your family need.

Discern the values you have for your family, especially those that you really want to pertain to the upcoming year.

In The Intentional Day Blueprint, I have a list of values that helps get your gears going. They include things like prayer, connection, community, kindness, etc. You can also do a quick Google search on family values if you’re feeling a little stuck. Write down any words or phrases that speak to you. You’ll use this list to put words to what you want your family life to look and feel like.

Brainstorm your hopes, dreams, and ideas for the year.

Close your eyes and imagine the ideal atmosphere of your home, the ideal rhythm(s) that carry you day to day, the lessons that you want to instill in your children, your relationship with God, your relationship with your spouse and children, etc. This is where you get to daydream a bit. Don’t be afraid to include feelings alongside practical goals. Use the value list that you created above to help give this daydream life.

Choose 3–5 things that are most important to you for the upcoming year.

I get it. It’s all good. Yet, when you look back at what you wrote down, I bet that you will find a few major themes or values that stand out the most. It doesn’t mean that you can’t work on the other values, but these are the ones that will hold most of your attention. This is what you will focus on, and will truly help you start your year off right when you’re making your New Year’s resolutions, revamping your family’s daily rhythms, and deciding what to add or what to cut.

Want to start the year off right with rhythms that bring more peace and purpose into your home?
👉 Check out The Intentional Day Blueprint—your step-by-step guide to creating a more intentional family life.

Start the year off right by resetting your daily rhythms.

While those bigger resolutions always seem to feel the most exciting to think about, it’s the small, day-to-day rhythms that truly make the most impact.

Look at your current day-to-day rhythms and routines.

You may not even know that what you have going is a rhythm, but pay attention to the small things you do consistently and in the same way on a daily basis. These are rhythms. Some are part of a greater routine, and others are more or less muscle memory. Yet, it has an impact on your day.

Think about the exercises you just did above. What rhythms or parts of your rhythms are absolutely vital? What’s extra or nice? What is unnecessary? Use your answers to these questions to help you reset your rhythms and routines so that your days flow more seamlessly.

Develop a prayer routine.

So often God can tend to get overlooked in the life of a busy mom. Yet, He is the one who should be taking first priority in our lives. For me, this routine happens in the morning, but you get to decide what makes the most sense for you. It looks a little different day to day, but there is a certain flow: get coffee, sometimes light a candle, prop up the pillows on the couch, grab a blanket, bring over my journal (whether I actually write in it or not), take a deep breath, and start in prayer.

Some days I can only utter a “Good morning, Jesus” due to the overwhelming or exhausted feelings coursing through my body. Other days it’s a really great conversation and/or journal entry—my pen barely keeping up with my mind. Still other days it’s a quiet contemplation (some days better than others) of the day’s scripture readings, devotional, or spiritual book of some kind.

Create rhythms around the anchor points in your day.

The most basic anchor points center around eating and sleeping. It’s like a flip is switched that propels you into a different mode. We can use these natural anchor points to include rhythms that further benefit our day. Here are some very basic examples:

• Upon waking you pray.
  
• After prayer time you have morning snuggles with the littles.
  
• After breakfast, have prayer time with the kids.
  
• After each meal clean-up comes a quick five-minute tidy in each room.
  
• After family dinner there is family prayer.
  
• And/or family prayer before bed.
  
• Once kids are in bed, intentionally take 15–30 minutes to connect with your spouse.
  

This doesn’t have to be complicated. Look again at your values and what you want to achieve this year, and figure out what you can add to the natural anchors in YOUR day. These little shifts end up making the most impact on your day.

If you’d love a quick example of what this could look like in real life, grab my free guide:
👉 The Christian Homemaking Mom’s Guide to a More Organized Day
It’s a great place to start if you want to start the year off right with simple, faith-filled routines.

We don’t want to just start the year off right. We want to be able to finish it strong!

Yet, that doesn’t come from setting these great resolutions. It comes from being faithful in the small steps that ultimately help us achieve them.

In the day to day, staying faithful to those small steps can feel so overwhelming—especially when we have a great vision for our family life. Often it feels like we’re moving too slowly or not making any progress at all. Reflection helps us see the progress and informs us on where we can do better. Intentional planning uses our informed minds to make decisions and resolutions that will help us realize that greater vision. Finally, the intentional day-to-day rhythms that make up our day have the ability to keep us grounded in what is most important. It’s up to us to stay faithful through the grace of God.

Are you worried about the staying faithful part? I created The Intentional Day Blueprint just for you! I provide more ways to reflect on what an Intentional Day can look like for you and give you the tools to carry it out well.
Check it out here → The Intentional Day Blueprint

If you would just like a quick example schedule of a stay-at-home/homeschooling mom, check out my free guide, The Mom’s Guide to a More Organized Day.
You can find that here → The Mom’s Guide to a More Organized Day