Clear Your Mental Load: A Simple End-of-Year Life Admin Reset for 2026

Week 1: Time to tackle all those boring tasks we've been avoiding

If you’re new to these challenges, hi! I’m Jules (new to Substack, but definitely not new to newsletters hehe).

This is my *sixth year* in a row leading an end-of-year reset challenge for my community. In the past, I’ve always hosted these as a multi-part video series on YouTube — you can catch up on past years here. But this year, I’m bringing it to Substack, because that’s what sounds exciting right now, and I am also trying to meet myself where I’m at right now (hello, motherhood!).

So what does it mean to “design your year”?

For me, it’s simply about being intentional with how you step into 2026. Instead of letting the new year just happen to you — with resolutions you forget by February and goals that don’t actually align with your life — we’re taking time (together) to get clear on what we actually want and create a plan that feels good.

💛 Design Your Year also happens to be the name of my Notion template that over 5,000 people have used for their goal planning. If you want the full system after this challenge, it’s here for you!

last year’s vision board!

Here’s what we’ll dive into every Wednesday of this month:

• Week 1: Tackle boring life admin (that’s today!)

• Week 2: Reset your home (clear space, clear mind)

• Week 3: Declutter your digital spaces (inbox zero, anyone?)

• Week 4: Create your vision for 2026 (my personal fave one)

• Week 5: Actually plan and set goals that align (necessary, ya know)

If you’re tired of hustling, I hope you feel welcomed here in our cozy corner of the internet. Around here, we pause, breathe, and make space for what actually feels good.

At first, I felt a lot of guilt for breaking my streak of showing up on YouTube for these challenges. But I’m deeply focused in my motherhood era right now, and that’s a good damn reason to give myself permission to shift, if I do say so myself!

I want to practice what I preach about honoring the different seasons of our life and not trying to squeeze into a mold that isn’t fitting right now. Instead, we reshape that mold and be proud of where we are… even if it feels uncomfy at times.

For real though, I’m verrrry excited to be here and try something new! It was time to breathe new life into these challenges anyways, and writing is always where I feel most at home.

Could I have just as easily decide not to host the challenge this year? Yes, totally valid, too!

But as a mom, I still want to gift this to myself. Because when I feel good, when I feel clear and intentional, I show up better for my family. Taking time to reset isn’t selfish — it’s necessary.

So no matter where you are in life… whether you’re in a busy season like me, or you’ve got more bandwidth, or you’re somewhere in between — how would it feel to carve out intentional time for yourself these next five weeks?

That’s why we do this together… for the extra accountability and a shared experience! I also love that on Substack, we can keep the conversations going in our group chat throughout the challenge.

So whether you’ve been following these challenges for years or this is your first one — come say helloooo! I’m excited to do this together!

Week 1: Life Admin Day

You know that feeling when you’re trying to relax but there’s this mental ticker tape of undone things scrolling through your brain? Change the air filter. Return the package to UPS. Reply to the email(s) from three weeks ago. Finally deal with that kitchen drawer that won’t close.

Imagine how good it would feel to actually cross those things off. To sit down with your cozy coffee and actually be present because you’re not mentally running through your undone list.

Let’s step into 2026 with a clear space and a clear mind.

This week, we’re having a life admin day (a.k.a. tackling all those boring tasks we’ve been putting off forever). We’ll be gifting ourselves a fresh start to the year instead of dragging old to-dos into the new year.

✨ My Life Admin Day Ritual

• Make a matcha, of course. 🍵

• Sit down and brain dump everything — I make a list of everything swirling around in my head. All the things I’ve walked past in the house and thought “oh I should really take care of that.”

• Take a deep breath

• Set a timer (2-3 hours is what I do usually)

• Goal: Get as much done as possible, not everything

• Take breaks and reward myself after!

Something about having a deadline (even a self-imposed one) makes it feel more like a game than a chore.

Here are some things on my life admin to-do list:

• List my totally-not-baby-safe side table on FB Marketplace — or at this point, just give it away… I’m just tired of staring at it!

• Schedule dentist appointment — my tooth has been aching off and on for the past few weeks. Yeah, I should really get that checked out.

• Figure out why our utilities bill has been charging my business credit card instead of our personal card — can't get more boring than that, tbh.

• Declutter and re-organize the pantry, because that shiz is out of control.

• Go to UPS to mail Korea souvenirs to family — we returned home over a month ago and we still haven’t gotten around to it!

• Break down the boxes piling up in the garage — okay, that one’s for my husband… lol.

These are a few of the specific tasks I walk by every day and I’m like, “I do not want to deal with you in the new year.” So let’s get it 👏🏼 done 👏🏼 now 👏🏼.

If your list starts to feel overwhelming, consider sorting it into three categories:

• Must do before 2026 — the non-negotiables

• Would be nice to do — if time allows

• Someday — not urgent, we’ll get to it eventually

This way you’re not stressing about doing ALL the things. Just the things that’ll make you feel lighter heading into the new year.

And of course, DELEGATE where possible.

“You get a list! And you get a list!”

And listen — after you plow through your list, reward yourself! Get your nails done, take yourself for a treat, do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day (unless you’re a parent hahaha jokes on us ). You’ve earned it.

The best part is that feeling when you look around and realize you actually did it. The thing you’ve been avoiding for weeks (months?) is DONE. And now you get to enjoy the rest of December without it weighing on you.

Alright, your turn!

Grab whatever you use to capture your thoughts and brain dump everything that’s been weighing on you. Then sort it: what MUST get done before 2026? What would be nice? What can wait?

You can also copy pasta the below template to your notes app.

📋 Life Admin Brain Dump Template

• ✅ Must do before 2026:

• ✨Would be nice:

• ☁️ Someday:

Okay, please report back. Send pics of the progress over in our group chat!!

What’s the most boring, but totally necessary task on your list this week? Drop it in the comments, so we can chit-chat!

➡️ Next Wednesday: It’s home reset time. We’re clearing the clutter, organizing the chaos, and making our spaces feel fresh before the new year. See you then!

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