How to make the most of January

January presents us with a unique opportunity to plan for the year ahead, as well as set the tone for rest of the year.

Hopefully, you're feeling refreshed and ready to give some real thought on how to fill the blank pages in your diary.

Here are some ideas on how to make the most of January.

January is a great time to:

1. Plan ahead

Every new year gives us the opportunity to re-imagine ourselves, our work and our family life. We can make resolutions, annual strategic plans, budgets, targets or goals for amount of weight loss or number of alcohol free days.

2. Reflect

We can look back on the previous year and decide to do it all over again. Or not. We can contemplate our strengths and weaknesses and commit to building on or overcoming them. We can decide we spent too much or too little time on things we care about. Also we can assess how we're spending our money - too much in some areas, not enough in others. We can decide to do something about it.

3. Read

We can whip through the pile of books that has been accumulating throughout the previous year while compiling a list of must reads for the year ahead. We can re-read favourites. I like to revisit Stephen Covey's Seven Habits each January to get my head and my heart focused on what I really value.

We can take our time and thoroughly read the newspaper.

We can read to our children. One of my best memories is one January reading a chapter a night of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to my then seven, now 14, year old son and us both giggling uncontrollably as we lay on his bed together.

4. Organise our diaries

It is our big opportunity to make space in the blank pages of our new diaries for the things we wish we did last year. Like more blocks of time off for holidays and special projects. Painting or pottery, perhaps, or creating a new garden.  

Train for the marathon, the ride around the bay or the dragonboat races.

See what major events are occuring and buy tickets in advance.

Plan long weekends and a monthly RDO. That's a Rostered Day Off - I’m having one of those.  Last year I took 12 weeks off just by blocking them out in my diary in January and because I’m flying solo I can make it 15 this year. Really.

5, Have fun!

January is a great time for having fun. For cooking the new recipes you have been meaning to try. For socialising more. Exercising more. Being more.

I think I love January most because it punctuates the years. One finishes, another starts. I think we take more photos in January and spend more time looking at them.

Maybe I just love January because I spend it with my children at the beach.