That strange week between Christmas and New Year’s? It’s not dead time. It’s decision time.
While most people coast through these days in a foggy haze of leftovers and Netflix, you have a different opportunity. Not to work yourself to death, but to create breathing room for everything that’s coming.
Think of it as clearing the deck before the ship leaves port. You’re not rebuilding your entire life in five days. You’re removing the friction that’s been quietly slowing you down.
Why an end-of-year checklist
Your inbox is quieter. Slack has stopped pinging every twelve seconds. Your brain finally has enough space to notice all the half-finished tasks you’ve been mentally stepping over for months.
This is your chance to close loops, clean systems, and make 2026 feel lighter from day one.
Here’s how to do it without turning your holiday week into a productivity death march.
1. Close Loops and free mental space
You know exactly which tasks I’m talking about. The ones that make you feel a tiny pang of guilt every time they cross your mind. The email you need to send. The form you need to submit. The decision you keep postponing.
Open loops cost you more than time. They cost you focus. Your nervous system treats each unfinished task like a browser tab running in the background, quietly draining your battery.
Here’s what to do:
Make a “Fast Closure” list of 10-20 items you’ve been avoiding. Keep it simple. Start with anything that takes less than 15 minutes.
Then batch similar actions together. Send all the quick emails in one sitting. Make those two phone calls back-to-back. Submit the forms. File the documents.
For anything that’s not getting done, make a clean decision: delete it, delegate it, or schedule it with an actual date.
The pro move: If something has been sitting on your list for months, ask yourself: “What’s the smallest possible next action?” Then do only that. Sometimes the hardest part is just starting.
2. Clean Up Your Digital Life
Your phone and laptop aren’t just tools anymore. They’re entire ecosystems, and right now, they probably look like a teenager’s bedroom.
Your Camera Roll has too many photos you don’t need
Scroll through it right now. You’ll find fourteen versions of the same photo, sixty-three screenshots you meant to “reference later,” and at least one accidental picture of your ceiling. I promise.
Clear it out:
Delete the duplicates, the blurry shots, the accidental videos of your pocket.
Create one album called “2025 Wins” and save only the highlights: finished projects, key milestones, moments that mattered.
Move important receipts and screenshots to where they actually belong (Drive, Dropbox, Notion, whatever system you actually use).
Back everything up to the cloud. Amazon Photos works great if you have Prime. Your phone shouldn’t be your memory vault.
Your Inbox Needs breathing room
Inbox zero isn’t a personality trait. It’s just a system. And you don’t even need zero, you just need “nothing hiding.”
Here’s the quick version:
Unsubscribe from anything that doesn’t actively support your goals, your curiosity, or your joy. Be ruthless.
Archive everything that’s just sitting there making you feel vaguely guilty.
Convert actionable emails into tasks and put them where tasks actually belong (your task manager, not your brain).
Create three simple folders: Action, Waiting, Reference. That’s it.
Pro move: Search your inbox for these four words: “unsubscribe,” “trial,” “invoice,” “meeting.” Those searches alone usually cut your clutter in half.
3. Check Your Financial Plumbing
This is the unsexy stuff that high performers do anyway, because you didn’t get where you are by ignoring the scoreboard.
Use What You’re Already Paying For
Pull up your credit card benefits. You’d be surprised how many free statement credits expire unused every year.
Check for travel credits, shopping credits, lounge access, and subscription reimbursements. If you’re paying for it, use it.
Cancel What’s Not Serving You
Look at your last two credit card statements and highlight every recurring charge. Then ask yourself: “Would I buy this again today?”
If the answer is no, cancel it. You’re not being prepared by keeping subscriptions you don’t use. You’re just funding clutter.
Set Your Retirement Contributions
This is one of those grown-up tasks that can quietly change your future more than your next marketing campaign.
Check where you landed for 2025 with your IRA and 401(k). Make final adjustments if you still can. Then set your 2026 targets now so they run automatically in the background.
4. Update Your Professional Presence
Even if you’re not job hunting, your reputation matters. Your digital presence is working for you whether you’re paying attention or not.
Refresh Your LinkedIn
People check it even if you never post. Make sure it represents where you are now, not where you were three years ago.
Update your headline to clearly state what you do and who you help. Add a few keywords your ideal opportunities would search for. Update your About section with outcomes, not just duties. Add a few wins from 2025, with numbers if you can.
Update Your Resume
Not because you’re leaving, but because you’re smart. Future you will thank present you.
Add your 2025 accomplishments while they’re still fresh. Keep a “Master Resume” with everything, then you can tailor it in minutes when you need it.
Pro move: Write yourself a quick “Brag Doc” with your top ten wins, biggest lesson, hardest thing you handled well, and any metrics that prove growth. That document becomes fuel for content, interviews, annual reviews, and confidence on your worst days.
5. Book Your Health Appointments Now
If you wait until spring, you’ll get whatever time slots are left, which usually means Tuesday at 2:10 PM wedged between school pickup and your sanity.
Book your dentist, doctor, vision appointments, and annual screenings now. Pick times that actually work with your real life. Schedule recurring appointments for the entire year.
Front-load anything that impacts your energy, sleep, focus, or pain levels.
Here’s the truth: If you’re running a business, your health is a core operational system. Treat it like one.
6. Handle Home Maintenance Before It Handles You
Your house won’t send you a reminder email before it ruins your week. But you can get ahead of it.
Most HVAC, plumbing, and pest companies offer maintenance plans with free inspections, priority scheduling, and discounted repairs. The catch is you actually have to schedule the visits.
Set it up this week:
Pull up your past service invoices (search your email for “invoice,” “service,” “maintenance”).
List your key services: HVAC, plumbing, pest control, sprinklers, chimney (if applicable).
Check if you already have unused freebies sitting in a plan you forgot about.
Book everything now while schedules are lighter and you can pick times that work for you.
Preventive checks catch small problems before they become “hello, emergency fund” problems. And you avoid the panic of everyone calling the same day the first heat wave hits.
Pro move: Create a recurring calendar called “Home Ops” and set reminders for HVAC (March and October), plumbing (once a year), pest control (quarterly), and filter changes (monthly or quarterly).
You already do proactive maintenance on your business. Your home deserves the same energy.
Three Best check off items This Week
If you do nothing else, do these three things:
Delete and cancel what no longer supports your 2026 priorities.
Close ten loops that have been quietly nagging you.
Protect future you with a clean inbox, backed-up photos, scheduled checkups, and booked home maintenance.
You need fewer loose ends, less friction, and a clear runway.
Because 2026 is going to move fast. You might as well start it a fresh digital space and clear mind.