Master The Next 6 Months: 6 Steps To Transform Your Year

Do you feel like you have coasted the past 6 months? You woke up rearing to go on January 1st, set your goals and made plans to achieve these goals, but as the year progressed and life got busy these goals and your goal-getter attitude slowly began to dwindle? Well... it’s time to get that pep in your step again and make the next 6 months the best 6 months of your life.  

This is your sign to level-up your year, transform your daily habits and become the person you have always wanted to be...you still have time to make 2024 your best year yet. Re-ignite that fire in your belly and make it happen. By focusing on your daily habits and systems over the next 6 months, you are carving your pathway for success. Goal attainment and success is an accumulation of these smaller, daily habits... so it is KEY to nail your habits and start prioritising you, your growth, your development and your happiness. 

Whether you are ready to improve your physical health, boost your mood, start ticking off your bucket list or simply create better, healthier habits... nothing changes if nothing changes! YOU have the opportunity to start fresh, set new goals, create new habits and make the next 6 months the best 6 months of the year. Everything you have ever wanted is waiting for you, waiting for you to reach out and go for it!  

6 Steps to take control of the next 6 months...  

1. Reflect  

The very first step is reflecting on the past 6 months and getting clear on the here and now. You cannot propel forward without understand the things that may have held you back from achieving your goals and any adjustments you need to make to implement new systems.  

Reflection is one of the most underrated tools for success... so before setting new goals for the next 6 months, take the time to evaluate the goals you set for the first half of the year. Did you achieve them? If not, why? What held you back? What do you need to work on? What were your high points of the year? When did you feel most fulfilled, content and alive? How can you incorporate more of this into the latter half of the year?  

Reflection realigns your priorities to ensure you are on the right track to achieving your goals, focusing on what’s important and not spending time on things that don’t align to your goals. Here’s the exciting thing about reflection: it makes you an expert in your strengths and weaknesses! You have the power to lean into your strengths and improve on your weaknesses, enabling you to reach new heights. YOU have the power to continually improve and move forward!  

You don’t need to rush this exercise... spend time truly understanding the steps you need to take and the changes you need to make to ensure you don’t make the same mistakes twice!  

2. Set Clear Goals 

Once you have successfully reflecting on the past 6 months, you must now set clear, measurable goals using The Head Plan Method. Find your purpose to actively work towards each day. Remember, goals are personal and specific to you... they need to be meaningful for you, something that will make you jump out of bed every morning to chase your dreams, not something that somebody else wants or something you want to seek external validation. The only validation you should be seeking when setting goals is internal validation... when will you feel your most content and fulfilled?  

Picture your dream life... Where do you live? Who are you with? What are you wearing? How do you spend your days? How do you feel?
Great, now we need to set smaller actionable steps to work towards this life!  

Take time to set your goals under the 6 Head Plan headings, in alignment with your ultimate dream life. Recognise exactly where you want to be in 6 months.  

When you look back to this day on January 1st 2025, what will make you proud of yourself? What does success feel like to you?  

THIS is how you embody laser-focused determination to achieve your goals.  

3. Ritual Rewire  

The secret to success is found in your daily routines and rituals, which YOU have the power to create.  

It’s time to evaluate your current rituals and create rituals that aid your personal development and propel you towards the person you want to become. It’s time to adopt the habits of your highest self and show up for yourself every single day, actively seeking the best version of you.  

At The Head Plan we call this sequence of habits a #RitualRewire... because adopting and performing these habits can actually rewire your brain! Unlike a routine, which can often feel mundane and obligatory, a ritual is embedded with inspiration, motivation and intention, created for you, by you. YOU have the power to begin and end the day you want, you can create your very own ritual and start performing the habits you have always wanted. Your ritual is YOUR designated time that you can show up for yourself and start and end your day the way you truly want. THIS is the best way to see big, exciting changes in your life.  

By starting every morning with your individually curated ritual, you are setting your intention for the day ahead, ensuring you have your own plan for the day and don’t just go with the flow and go about your day aimlessly, slotting into other people’s plans.  

Some things we like to include in our morning ritual include:  

• Meditation – in particular we love Mimi Bouchard ‘Superhuman’ App and also regularly complete Julie Skon 30- day meditation available in The Head Plan Community App. Meditation quietens the noise in your brain, setting you up for a day of mental clarity and focus. Read more on meditation here. 
• Gratitude – this is one of the simplest ways to shift into a positive mindset and rewire your brain. I promise we all have SO much to be grateful for, and leaning into these feelings will instantly improve your mood and your overall outlook on life. Spend 5 minutes every morning and evening practicing gratitude in The Head Plan Gratitude Journal.  
• Mindful Movement - Light yoga and stretching is the perfect way to wake up and get the blood circulating, while also providing mental clarity and focus for the day ahead.  
• Review your journal – Every morning review your tasks and goals for the day ahead in The Head Plan Journal to ensure you are going to tackle your day with intention and in alignment to your goals. During this time, focus on your main goal of the day and everything you need to complete to ensure you achieve this goal. Set your intentions for the day during this time, this will help you stay focused and productive throughout the day.  

 

An evening ritual is just as important as your morning ritual. This is the last chance you get to show up for yourself and do something for you that day. We all know the feeling too well, you run about your day doing everything for other people, whether you’re a busy mum, fostering a successful career or nurturing somebody else, you need to show up for yourself too... you can’t pour from an empty cup.  

During an evening ritual we recommend:  

• Digital Detox -  turn off your phone at least 2 hours before you plan on going to sleep! Not only will this reduce the time spent staring at blue light, but it will also send signals to your brain that you are about to enter your evening ritual once this action is completed every evening, reinforcing the feeling of switching off and unwinding for the night. Take this time to yourself to disconnect from the constant stream of information and ‘availableness’... from this moment on your primary focus is YOU. Complete the habits that make you feel good, this might be doing a face-mask, having a bath or watching your favourite show.  

• Read – Reading is crucial when it comes to personal development and learning, but often people find it a challenge to prioritise it in a world where we never seem to switch off! NOW is your time. Take the next 30 minutes to yourself, get lost in a good book and grow. The most successful people in the world prioritise the habit of reading... and they do it for good reason!  

Some books we have been loving recently include:  

• The Monk who Sold his Ferrari  
• The Chimp Paradox  
• 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think  
• Make Your Bed  
• The Five Agreements 
• Manifest: 7 Steps to Living Your Best Life  
  
  

• The Head Plan Journal – this is the most essential part of your evening ritual and the habit that will ensure you stay in control of your life! How will you ever achieve your goals if you don’t stay laser-focused and actively work towards them everyday? By planning the following day the evening before, you can make a conscious decision to align your actions and actively work towards the bigger picture. Once you set your weekly goals, it becomes easier to recognise what you should be focusing on everyday. Dedicate the necessary time to writing it down & you WILL make it happen.  
• Visualisation – Every evening before you sleep we recommend practicing a visualisation exercise. At the beginning of your journal we guide you through the process of creating your own vision board, in line with your goals. Spend time every night visualising your goals and exactly how it will feel when you achieve these goals. Step into your highest self and tune into your thoughts and feelings. Visualise your highest self, and show up as her the following day.  
• Sleep – Sleep is one of the most fundamental elements of our health and well-being, yet is often the first thing that gets sacrificed when life gets busy. It is essential for balancing your emotions, providing mentla clarity and improving your overall quality of life. The recommended amount of sleep for an adult is 7-9 hours, but of course this does vary depending on the individual... listen to your body and find what works for you!
  
  

4. Nourish 

Nourishing your body with the correct fuel is essential for your overall health and wellbeing, but also for your happiness! You cannot thrive without the right fuel.  

Often what we eat is as a result of our habits! You reach for the sugary snack at 3pm one day and before you know it you have completed this habit everyday for the past 6 months! The best way to break an unhealthy habit is to replace it with a healthier habit. If you find yourself reaching for the sugary fizzy drink every afternoon, you could switch it out by adding fruit to your sparkling water! Development the habit of nourishment includes understanding what your body needs... this is so different for everyone, only YOU can understand this. Take note of the foods that leave you feeling satisfied, happy and healthy and start incorporating more of these into your diet and making intentional choices to consistently meet these needs.  

Quick Tip: Develop the habit of cooking extra to ensure you have leftovers for lunch! How often do you make a healthy, nutritious salad for dinner but then the morning rolls around and you ‘don’t have time’ to make lunch and find yourself eating on the go? By creating a habit of cooking extra chicken you will have a nutritious lunch for the following day. 

Make a meal plan at the start of every week in The Head Plan Nourish and get into the habit of taking your shopping list with you when you are doing your groceries. This is also a good way to save as you won’t be spending money on unnecessary items and quickly picking up unhealthier options.  

Don’t underestimate the importance of adequate hydration! We recently partook in a challenge to drink 2L of water every single day (you can read our blog post on that here) and haven’t looked back! #DailyDrench is  CRUCIAL when it comes to building a healthy habit every single day.  

When you think about nutrition, think about how a food makes you feel. If you spend the next 6 months prioritising nutritonally dense foods that leave you feel energised and satisfied (while also making room for an occasional sweet treat) you will be so glad you have created this new habit.  

5. Prioritise Self-Care 

By creating a self-care habit and prioritising you, you showing yourself the love and respect you deserve and need. Often people consider putting on a facemask while you run around completing the last of your daily tasks self-care, but at The Head Plan we are so passionate about self-care being more than this. Self-care is the time you whole-heartedly show up for yourself and fill your own cup.  

Self-care looks SO different for everyone... maybe the ultimate act of self-care for you is putting your phone on do-not-disturb, running a hot bath and unwinding, maybe you think of a long walk in the forest... while these actions are definitely self-care, self-care is any act you do with the intention of bettering your mental, physical or emotional health.  

Journaling and expressing your thoughts on paper? Self-care! Saying no to plans because you just need to spend time with yourself? Self-care! Going on a stroll in the fresh air for a coffee? Self-care!  

Simply put, any action where you intentionally put yourself first is self-care! Actively choose the things that make you smile and brings you peace.  

Completing the tasks you’ve been putting on the long-finger such as renewing a subscription, uploading your documents or having that awkward conversation you’ve been avoiding, this is all self-care as you experience feelings of satisfaction and pride once completed. Lean into these feelings and prioritise them for the next 6 months. Self-care isn’t a luxury, it is an essential...and the very thing that will help you perform and feel at your best everyday. We’re all too familiar with the saying ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup’... so make sure you take the time to fill your cup too and begin to notice the changes in your life.  

6. The act of making it happen 

It’s one thing to set goals and say you want to achieve them, but it’s another to actually actively work towards them! For the next 6 months, develop the habit of making it happen.  

How? Intentionally align your actions every single day to work towards your big goals. When you sit down with your Head Plan Journal every evening, ask yourself this question: ‘what can I do tomorrow that will bring me closer to my goals?’ and then go do it. The only thing stopping you is YOU – remove limiting beliefs, banish any mental blocks and pursue your dreams.   

An example of aligning your actions and making it happen is this:  

If you have set the goal of running a marathon by the end of the year, how are you actively working towards this everyday? It is not enough to set the goal and expect to just miraculously be able to run a marathon by the end of the year, you need to train and build your stamina... everyday ask yourself how am I getting closer to running the marathon today? Some days the act of resting and restoring your muscles will be bringing you closer to the goal, some days you might push and run 15km... you might continuously be aware of your protein intake everyday which will enable your muscles to repair themselves. 

Once you start actively working towards your goals, THIS is when you will begin to notice big, exciting changes in your life. We know you have the power within you to achieve everything you have ever wanted. You have 6 months left to make this your best year yet... and we can’t wait to go on this journey with you as you.