Keep. Toss. Improve.

How I’m Starting the Year Without Throwing Out the Cookies

Happy New Year.

Cue the fresh start energy: new journals, new planners, new workout routines, maybe even a new you. Or maybe… not?

Here’s the thing — I love a clean slate. I’m usually the type to treat January 1st like a giant mental whiteboard. Out with the old, in with the color-coded ideal version of myself.

But this year?
I didn’t get a new journal. I just kept writing in my trusty Leuchtturm1917 from the day before. (There were still 80 perfectly good pages left — why waste them just so I can slap a shiny “2021” label on the front?)

I didn’t draft a vision board or a 12-month strategy. I just asked myself:

What do I want to keep?
What needs to be tossed?
And what might I want to improve?

That’s it.
Keep. Toss. Improve.

I journaled it out. Not for the next 365 days — just for where I am right now.

Keep: Chocolate chip cookies. Duh. Also quiet mornings when I actually get them.
Toss: Hustle guilt. (That little voice that says you should be doing more? She’s no longer invited.)
Improve: How I show up for the things I say matter — especially in the pockets of time I usually waste scrolling.

I didn’t need a rebrand to start this year. I just needed a little honesty and a 3-column page in my notebook.

So if you’re feeling like the pressure to restart is louder than your actual voice, I offer you this:

Don’t erase the whole board.

Just… keep what works. Toss what drains you. And improve what you know needs attention.

And yes — you can keep the cookies too.