The first step to reset your life is to do a braindump of everything, anything and all of it. It’s important to get all the thoughts out of your head and onto paper.
I know first hand that life can feel so overwhelming.
As we head into a new year, I always find myself filled with anxiety. A new year gives us the perfect opportunity for an obvious fresh start, so it can be exciting, invigorating and motivational. That’s why New Year’s resolutions are so popular.
But I have a big melting pot of feelings and often I find myself frozen in fear and overwhelmed by all the great possibilities of the future, coupled with fearing a crushing disappointment of repeating my inadequacies of the past. Whew. Whoa. I said it.
Feeling like I’m unable to change old patterns and living the same’ ole same ‘ole life – that is scary to me. But I also know that it’s normal to have fears and doubts. We all have them. We simply have to believe in the possibility of change and move forward confidently. That’s why I created the progress not perfection printable mantra.
As we head into 2020, it’s a whole new decade starting up, bringing an even greater emphasis on new beginnings. I feel the need to pivot and really try to feel more on top of my life so that I don’t have these anxious feelings at the end of every year.
There has got to be a way to move forward bravely with confidence. Even if I feel the pressure and anxiety eating away at me… I also feel the hunger of wanting more and truly believing that change is possible. And don’t get me wrong… there are many good things in life. But that doesn’t mean I can’t want more… to improve… to optimize and progress!
Let’s reset life for 2020 together.
It’s not about getting more tasks done or checking off lists. It’s about re-aligning my efforts towards the things that actually matter to me personally and contribute to my life positively. The goal is feeling good about time spent, good times and projects accomplished. Rather than feeling crushed by the busyness of modern lifestyles.
Who’s with me?
Now, the very first step when it comes to fresh starts is journaling. Actually, it’s really a pre-step. The idea is to get everything out of your head.
Call it a braindump, morning pages, writing stream of consciousness or journaling to specific prompts – whatever you want. But the point is to write it all out. It’s always helpful to get thoughts out of my head and onto paper. The act of thinking and physically writing thoughts down activates both sides of our brain, almost like every cell in your body will be sent the message!
I know there can be resistance to writing, if you don’t feel like you are a writer or your hand cramps up or you happen to hate your handwriting. But you have to put that all aside and know that these are not grand plans that have to be written beautifully or neatly. On the contrary, let yourself have free reign and just let it flow. In fact, at points, I might just be scribbling something, before some more words come out and I keep on writing…
Brain Dumping
Although it’s great to have a journaling practice, so that you are constantly brain dumping. Just like there’s periods of spring cleaning and deep cleaning for houses… the end of year is a great time to do a deep journaling session or sessions. I think you can braindump in list format, free journaling or following writing prompts – perhaps all three methods – to ensure that you explore ALL thoughts.
I will be treating this as an exercise to literally EMPTY my mind of EVERYTHING. I recommend doing this in multiple sessions during the course of a week, to help yourself truly let it all out. If you are familiar with David Allen’s Getting Things Done book and method… he often talks about how our brains are meant to process, but not necessarily to remember every little detail.
In sharing this process, I know that some people like to see examples or see what other people journal about – but I would suggest NOT sharing your journaling with anyone. I believe that it goes down to the subconscious level, even if you happen to be a very open book type of person. If you keep your writing private, it will give you the freedom to truly let your feelings and thoughts flow out onto the paper with no filters whatsoever.
I’ve designed a lined printable page that has the Brain Dump heading for those who want to follow this process and keep all the pages in the same style. I’m putting all my pages in a binder, so that is why I’m creating these printables. But you can just as well use blank sheets of paper or a notebook of your choice. It doesn’t really matter what you use, rather it’s more important that you actually go through the process.
Keep writing until you truly feel there’s nothing else to write out and you feel a bit at peace that it’s all out on paper. Again – it’s all your thoughts, feelings, worries, aspirations, lists, projects, wishes, dreams… EVERYTHING. No filter need apply. Trust me… you will feel SO GOOD after these types of sessions…
If you are having trouble journaling, here are some prompts that help me:
To practice writing, you can write your own biography, as if you had to explain to someone brand new your life story. How would you describe yourself? How would you highlight your past milestones? What is your current state of affairs?
Think about the past year and happy moments. What has brought you joy, so that you want to keep them in your life? People? Events? Projects?
What accomplishments are you proud of? What do you need to celebrate and remember?
Evaluate the various pillars of life planning: personal health/development, love/social/friends/family, career, finances, entertainment/hobbies, spiritual or whatever fits with your life as a major component. Think about each pillar and how you would rank yourself – are you happy with the situation or do you find something lacking? What do you want to improve?
What disappointments from the last year come to mind? What has bothered you, been a pain point or something you truly would like to change?
Can you pull out understanding, lessons learned and thoughts from writing about disappointments or mistakes from the past?
What are your greatest fears? What doubts do you have that really take up space in your mind?
Have you ever told yourself, oh, I can’t do that – or related limiting beliefs? List them out and journal about why you feel that way about yourself.
Turn things around and explore your strengths. Things you are good at and proud of. You might consider taking the VIA character strengths survey to find out what your core characters strengths are and list them out to elaborate on them and journal to know yourself better.
What are you grateful for, thankful for and why? Elaborate.
Journal your dreams, goals and aspirations do you have for the future.
What is your definition of success? How do you want to feel at the end of each day. Physical items you want in life? People you want in life? Accomplishments you want in life? Write what you want, but also think about the past and what has ACTUALLY brought you joy.
I will be taking multiple days and sessions to journal and write all my thoughts out before trying to organize or come up with goals or resolutions. At this point, it’s just about writing it ALL out.
I believe in progress not perfection. It’s easier to get things done, when you have the right mindset. Download this free printable as a daily reminder!
No matter where you are at in your life, there’s no doubt that you can always improve something. We all have aspects we want to work on and more often than not, we have lots of dreams and goals that just seem out of reach.
Lately, I’ve been feeling that end-of-the-year anxiety. Whenever a new year rolls around, I often find my mind filled with so many thoughts, aspirations and fears… so many feelings that it just seems overwhelming.
So it’s time to reset and guide myself out of this anxious space.
Reset your life!
We have all accomplished things in life and we have all failed at things in life. But I think it’s the most important that we truly believe in a growth mindset, allowing ourselves the possibility of learning and ultimately changing for the better, no matter what happens.
As a first step, I wanted to create this printable quote art that serves as a mantra. It’s a proclamation – I Believe in Progress Not Perfection – that reinforces the idea of moving forward. To me, it ultimately means that you take responsibility for your own life and know that only you can make the changes required. Nothing good will come from grasping for perfection (a total illusion), so simply believe in progress instead.
I designed this printable as a beautiful printable piece of art that you can sign and date – to make it official – and post up so that you can read it to yourself daily. The repetition will truly help to solidify the idea and I really need it for myself as well. This is the first step in creating a reset for yourself.
Download I Believe in Progress Not Perfection Free Printable PDF below…
Start the new decade with this chic 2020 free printable cover for binder planners. Just download the PDF and print right at home!
What’s a cover or dashboard?
When you first open up your planner, bullet journal or home binder, it’s nice to see an encouraging quote or beautiful design. A pretty design can really get your excited and pumped up for planning and productivity. For the upcoming year, I wanted to design a series of printables in black and white, so that anyone can easily print at home. This design is definitely sleek and chic and can be used as-is or dressed up for those who want more personalization.
The beauty of planner dashboards is that they can be anything you need them to be. From a purely decorative page to something that holds more meaning or important information. I like to write down my main goals on the back side of this dashboard design, so I always have my ultimate goals and milestones to review on a regular basis.
This design also makes a great divider for a section of your planner all about high-level goals or specific project oriented tasks. From inspirational to functional, printable covers are super versatile for anyone who loves to keep organized and plan their way to success. This 2020 printable cover for binder planners can be used in a variety of ways… what makes sense for you and your planner?
Embellishment Tips
I love the streamlined minimalist look of this design, but you can definitely use this printable as a starting point for your own customizations. I strongly believe that our productivity tools can be useful and pretty at the same time!
Add washi tape, patterned paper, stickers or tags to spice up the look of this full page printable
Trim out the text of this printable and attached them onto another colored cardstock
Use glitter, sewing, paint or other art media to add color to this design
Truly the only limit is your own creativity, so consider what fits with the aesthetic of your binder or planner and create something unique for yourself.
Ready to document the holidays? Here’s my December Daily Paper Designs that I used to make my own handmade December Daily Album.
Handmade December Daily This Year!
Printable December Daily papers by tortagialla.com
This year, I took the leap and just designed my own December Daily album. It’s a mix of papers, sort of eclectic and dark… but I like it! Are you ready for December Daily? *NOTE: I am no longer on patreon, so these papers are not available anywhere. I think I will post them to my current ko-fi community though ->
Using all the digital designs, I just made my own december daily album. You can do so with printables or anything you already have in your stash. Just takes a bit of time to look through your materials and find papers and patterns that you can work with. Sometimes they don’t need to be holiday themed… because you will probably add holiday embellishments anyway.
I think holiday journaling is always a fun way to keep the ephemera from all the events of the season and junk journaling is especially casual and easy to do. I printed all my papers with my inkjet printer at home, so it’s nothing fancy. A bit of trimming, gluing and sewing, a dash of glitter and all my foundation pages were ready to go and numbered. So then I could just add in journaling and ephemera daily throughout December.
Honestly, i’m proud that I was able to do create it all from materials I already have at home. Handmade, all the way. I’m definitely trying to bust the stash and decrease the amount of space needed for supplies. Plus, I can just design what I need – the beauty of digital printables!
Download Life Is Good Christmas Tree Design
Here’s the Christmas tree “life is good” cover page I designed, available for free download for your personal use here. Enjoy!
These free printable Christmas numbers are great for holiday crafts. Download the printable PDF or separate PNGs for all your hybrid papercrafting projects.
Here’s a set of numbers in classic red and green Christmas colors, perfect for your upcoming advent or december daily projects. These digital scrapbook embellishments includes the numbers 0-9 in red and green colors, so you can mix and match. Print what you need.
There’s something about the holiday season that often involves daily documenting and memory keeping, because there are so many events and gatherings happening. I created these number tags awhile ago and hope they might be useful this holiday season for hybrid crafts, cardmaking, scrapbooking and more.
I’ve personally been toying with the idea of doing december daily as well. It’s the idea of documenting every single day of December, exactly because there are so many events during the holiday season. Are you participating?
Of course, these numbers are handy for secret santa labels, advent calendars and any number related project. Just print the ones you need and you’ve got instant holiday themed number tags.
Download the free printable christmas numbers below…
Searching for an easy and affordable way to decorate your space? Try out these free wall art printables – instant downloads that make instant decor!
Over the years, I have shared a variety of designs here on the blog and they can be really inspirational and motivational prints for your home, office and living spaces. The easiest way to change up your environment is to add a beautiful print that really speaks to you. I know there are free downloads available all over the internet, so there’s really no excuse to brighten up your environment as the seasons and your moods change.
Also, remember that almost anything can become wall art. Whether it was originally meant for it or not, if you can download it, you can print it and frame it! A quick search for free wall art printables will give you so many options to choose from. So I really love digital printables because they are so accessible to all. I think they make home decor easy and affordable to everyone.
Download Free Wall Art Printables
Okay, here’s a smattering of the printables I’ve posted on the blog that make great wall art printables decor. They are ALL completely FREE for download, so I hope you can use them in all your personal papercrafting and decor. Have fun, happy printing and transform your space with a few new pieces today!
I’m so pleased to announce that I will continue to be a part of the Kenarry Creative Team this coming year 2019-2020! Yay!
I’m so thankful to be able to share my printables to the Kenarry readers – the more the merrier! I’ll be posting there the third week of each month with free printable downloads, so don’t miss out and be sure to follow and sign-up for the newsletter over on Kenarry.
Keep positive reminders all around using this free art printable quote to decorate and brighten up your living spaces – Create Don’t Hate!
My Design Motivations
Intolerance of any kind seems to be a common problem when you flip through news outlets these days. It’s such a horrible thing, yet we all do it to some degree or another. Judgement of others, rejection of others… or even ourselves!
I want to create something positive and happy to share with you all, so I though the phrase “Create, don’t hate” would be perfect. Because truly, it all comes down to that.
Hate just doesn’t serve us at all… it’s the root of so many problems in our society. Rather, whatever issues may be, it’s creation that will help us find the way. Find solutions, think creatively, make love… all that good stuff. Create!
I know that I’m just a little designer at her desk, tackling the everyday issues of life – like many of you! With all the big issues of this world, it seems impossible to make change. But really, all we have to do is concentrate on creation. Create beautiful things, joyful things, happy things… good things. The more creation there is, the more it will weed out all the other negative stuff – or at least, help to overpower it!
So that’s what this art printable is all about. A simple graphic design with my favorite colors. You can download this letter sized printable to put up all around you house, workplace, planners, art journals – or plaster it up all over the neighborhood!
I hope it will remind you to look towards the positive in life and make you realize you CAN do something. Just create!
Want to see all your projects for the year at-a-glance? Use this free printable project calendar template to track your project timelines on one page.
It’s never too early (or late) to plan for your year!
When it comes to planning and scheduling my work and personal life, one thing I love to see is an overview. It really helps me to see a bird’s eye view of everything that is going on for a whole year!
From project timelines to vacations and high-level milestones, a yearly calendar overview is a really helpful planning tool for work and home. The great thing about a printable calendar overview is that you can print multiple copies to separate out categories if you wish!
See your entire year of projects at-a-glance!
So I’ve created a project calendar template that helps me to see all my projects on a yearly calendar. It’s high-level and not meant for all the details of course.
But when I map out all the timelines and milestones, I can see where things overlap, where I have room in my schedule and if anything needs to be adjusted.
I truly think it’s a necessity when it comes to planning long term and looking out into the future.
Download the Project Calendar Template
What do you use to keep track of your yearly schedule currently? Do you have a quick way to reference your entire year to help you make decisions on what can be added in as the year rolls onward? Are you able to see all your projects at-a-glance?
You might want to download this freebie project calendar template and start using it for your yearly overview. I find it truly helpful myself and wanted to share with you as well. I hope it helps with your planning this coming year!
Download this 2020 Yearly Calendar and start getting your schedule and plans organized with a full year view at-a-glance.
Yearly Calendar View
It’s never too early (or too late) to start planning and getting organized. I love yearly calendar printables because they give me that at-a-glance view of the entire year.
Here’s a freebie printable I created that is a bit more chic and modern in style. You can use it directly in your paper planner or print to attach to your office space, cubicle, desk, fridge at home… the possibilities are endless.
Yearly Calendar as Habit Tracker
Besides using this as a reference tool to see the date and days for the entire year, it makes a great habit tracker as well. Let’s say you want to workout daily. Just print a copy, write workout and tape it to the wall next to your workout shoes or gear. This way, every time you successful do the habit, you circle the date or X the date. Whatever you prefer. Super easy way to transform a calendar into a habit tracker.
What other uses can you think of? The sky is the limit, I’m sure!
Angel policy: All free printables posted are for PERSONAL USE ONLY. Feel free to share as long as you link back to this website. Thank you for spreading the love!
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