January may not be the best time for making New Year resolutions, and here’s why.

I don’t know about you, but I have never really resonated with making New Year resolutions while in a holiday mode and resting. January may not be the best time for making resolutions, and there are very good reasons for it.

For me, it always felt forced, and the last few years I’ve let go of making any resolutions, set out plans or start on projects until the time was right for me. This post explore why this time is not optimal for New Year resolutions and how to rather use the natural rhythms of Nature and yourself to plan out a new year.

Lack of Natural Alignment

Seasonal Energy: January falls in the middle of summer (in the Southern Hemisphere) and in the middle of winter (in the Northern Hemisphere).

In summer, although energy might be high with sunny weather and outdoor activities, summer season is about expansion, play, and connection, not introspection or planning. It’s better suited for enjoying what you’ve already built rather than starting something completely new.

Winter is a time when nature slows down, and energy levels tend to drop. This is more conducive to introspection and rest rather than initiating action.

Biological Rhythms: Our bodies and minds are often still recovering from the holidays, making it harder to sustain motivation and focus on new habits.

Arbitrary Timing

The Gregorian calendar’s new year (making January 1st the first day of the new year) is a human-made construct that doesn’t align with natural cycles, such as equinoxes, solstices and the moon each month.

Many traditions, like astrology and systems like the Gene Keys and Human Design, emphasise cycles of growth and transformation that don’t necessarily start at the beginning of January. For example:

Spring Equinoxes: (September and March – depending on the Hemisphere you’re in) symbolises renewal and growth.

Human Design and Gene Keys: aligns with the solar transit into Gate 41 (the start codon in our genetic coding), marking the start of a new cycle. This is usually around January 21-22.

Lunar New Year: Often occurs in late January or February, aligning with seasonal transitions, and the moon. The Lunar New Year is based on the lunar calendar, which tracks the cycles of the moon rather than the solar calendar (used in most Western cultures).

Post-Holiday Fatigue

After weeks of indulgence, social gatherings, and travel, many of us feel emotionally and physically drained in January.

This fatigue can undermine the willpower needed to stick to ambitious goals, and quite frankly, is not the right energy to start anything new.

We must be resourced and rested to build something new, so that the foundational energy is good for what you envision and want to create.

Pressure and Unrealistic Expectations

January resolutions are often based on external pressures rather than genuine internal alignment, and this leads to goals that feel forced or unattainable.

There’s sometimes an emphasis on drastic changes instead of incremental progress, and this approach can lead to burnout and disappointment.

So if you feel tired now, and not ready for the ‘new year, new you vibes’ flying around, you are not alone and actually very aligned!

So what are better alternatives?

Astrological Timing:

In Human Design and Gene Keys, the new year energetically begins around January 21-22, when the Sun enters Gate/Gene Key 41, the Gate of Contraction and New Beginnings. This may be a more aligned time for intention-setting.

In the Gene Keys the archetypal energy explains this even better: 

• Shadow: Fantasy – Escaping reality through illusion rather than grounded vision.
• Gift: Anticipation – Tuning into intuitive foresight and preparing for growth.
• Siddhi: Emanation – Becoming a pure vessel for creativity and new beginnings.

This process highlights the energetic reset and alignment with our genetic and cosmic design, making it a more natural and supportive time for intentions and goal-setting.

Spring Renewal:

The Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere (March 20-21) aligns with nature’s rebirth and provides supportive energy for new growth. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere like I am the Spring Equinox was September 21-22 and many will have already started their new year around that time. That was when I started visioning new projects and working on my new offers and new way I want to move my business forward.

Lunar Cycles:

Setting intentions with the New Moon each month can offer a more fluid and natural rhythm for growth.

And there’s a New Moon every month, so it also supports slow and incremental growth.

The energies of the New Moon:

To work on a deeper level with your own unique energetic blueprint, inner rhythms, cycles and wisdom, book a free connection call with me so we can explore options.