Winter Arc for the Girls: Setting Goals and Focusing Inward

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot out there on social about the idea of a “winter arc”. The thinking is that you can use October-January to drill down on your goals!

And I have to be honest, my first reaction was, “DO NOT talk to me about winter on October first!”. Like, can I have a fall first please?

But the truth is, fall into winter is basically the perfect time to start drilling down into our goals. The seasonal changes mean that we’ll have fewer trips scheduled, fewer summer BBQs, and more time to focus inward.

I’ve seen a lot of tiktok creator work focused on dividing this into mental, physical, and spiritual. This post will help you brainstorm your own personal goals and then give you a ChatGPT prompt to help you write out your tasks in an illuminating way.

Why Should Women Do a Winter Arc?

The concept of a “Winter Arc” comes from the idea that our lives, like a story, have different seasons and chapters. A Winter Arc takes advantage of the colder months where we consciously shift gears from being out and having outside experiences, towards focusing more on internal growth. This is the time of year where we generally make fewer plans.

For women especially, this period can be incredibly powerful. Women often balance a lot of external demands—family, work, relationships—leaving little time for self-reflection and personal development. The Winter Arc is about reclaiming that space, even in the smallest ways, to nourish our minds and spirits. Without all those social demands, we can focus on ourselves.

When you Google “winter arc challenge”, most of the results are male-dominated. The very first Google result as of the day I’m writing this post has “no girls” as part of its rules! And, look, that’s fine for that person if that’s what’s best for him, but we obviously aren’t in alignment.

What girls and women tend to need to add to our lives is balance!

Fall/Winter Means Fewer Obligations

Fall and winter are seasons of reflection. The slowing energy of these months naturally allows us to turn inward, assess our goals, and recalibrate our paths. Without the distraction of bright, busy summer days, it’s easier to sit with our thoughts and feelings. The quiet solitude of winter encourages us to connect with ourselves on a deeper level.

Social media will tell you to “go ghost” and disappear from your life to focus on yourself. We know that isn’t really possible for most people. But fall and winter tend to mean fewer obligations except for the holidays. (And if for you, like me, the holidays seem to be one long relentless stretch from mid-November to January 5… you probably do need to decline some invitations. But it doesn’t mean disappear completely.)

One of my winter arc goals that you’ll see below is to defend my Sundays: when I have a full day on Sunday to take care of myself, my home, and my family, the whole week goes better. And when I don’t, I’m behind. Winter arc

Planning Your Winter Arc Goals

A lot of what’s out there on social media looks like 75 Hard. And that’s fine for those people. But in the darkest days of the year, I feel like we need some more gentleness for ourselves.

So consider starting your winter arc planning with how you want to feel. Skip the strict rules, and focus on what’s going to give you want you need.

How do I want to feel this winter?

For me, my big goals for my winter arc are:

I want to feel calm/at peace
I want to feel nourished
I want to feel fit

Other ways you might want to feel:

strong
accomplished
stable
rich
self-respecting
powerful
smart
curious
nurturing

or anything else that resonates with you!

What can I do that’s going to make me feel this way?

For me, my three core feelings of “calm”, “nourished”, and “fit” are all things that I can control with my behaviors.

Calm, for me, means:

restricting social media use,
reading instead of scrolling,
planning meals and childcare weekly instead of the day of,
defending my Sundays so that I have time to decompress and prepare for the week. If we have something to do on Sunday, then keep Saturday open
and staying on top of my teacher workload

Nourished, for me, means:

preparing healthy breakfasts and lunches for work on Sunday
picking easy, healthy dinners and doing as much prep as possible on Sunday
keeping sugar out of the house and limiting dessert to once a week
limiting eating out or takeout to once a week, except when familly/friend outings demand

Fit, for me, means:

getting to the gym at least 4 times per week
lifting twice per week (in those 4+ gym visits)
getting 10,000 steps per day

These are behaviors, and I am in control of them! They’re not strict, and they’re not going to exhaust me. My responsibility in these goals is to set myself up to make good choices, not to force myself to do harsh, draconian things. But by the end of the year, 12 weeks of this will have significant results!

I don’t want anyone to read this post and decide to be super hard on themselves for results. It’s not good for your mental health, and it backfires. Winter arc should be soft, gentle, generous to ourselves. If you set yourself up to make good choices, then you will make good choices! Nurture yourself.

Now flip those goals into what the actions actually are

Calm, for me, means:

using my Brick every day to limit social media
plugging in my phone in a different room at 8PM
reading before bed
planning meals and childcare on Sunday
defending my Sundays so that I have time to decompress and prepare for the week. If we have something to do on Sunday, then keep Saturday open
staying on top of my work to reduce stress

Nourished, for me, means:

Sunday: prepare healthy breakfasts and lunches
Sunday: picking easy, healthy dinners and doing as much prep as possible ahead of time
keeping sugar out of the house
limit dessert to once a week
limit eating out or takeout to once a week, except when familly/friend outings demand

Fit, for me, means:

getting to the gym at least 4 times per week
lift twice per week (in those 4+ gym visits)
getting 10,000 steps per day

A ChatGPT Prompt to Help You Schedule Your Winter Arc

I love ChatGPT, and I use it a lot, so I’m getting pretty good at prompting it. Here’s a base prompt you can use to give yourself daily and weekly checklists for your winter arc personal growth.

Copy and paste the below into ChatGPT or your AI site of choice, and then fill in your specific goals.

“I’m working on my winter arc plan and I need daily and weekly checklists for my goals. Please write me a list I can print out that will set my weekly goals, and then list my daily goals seven times so I can print it out weekly.

Split these goals into daily and weekly goals for me, and make a weekly checklist, then a daily checklist. Repeat the daily checklist a total of 7 times.

(copy and paste your goals in here)

Give me a box before each goal so I can check things off as I go. “

This simple prompt will save you the hassle of transferring this to a plan. Now, you can copy and paste what it says to a Doc, print that every week, and be ready to go.

If you need your goals to change weekly, try this one:

Maybe you want to step up to some of your goals. For example, if you don’t currently go to the gym, you probably don’t want to start with five days a week. Instead, you can add a prompt like this:

Split these goals into daily and weekly goals for me, and make a weekly checklist, then a daily checklist. Repeat the daily checklist in full for a total of 7 times.

(copy and paste your goals in here)

For the following goals, please have the weekly goals start at a beginner level and step up slowly to intermediate level. Prepare me a different weekly version for the 12 weeks of my plan.

(copy and paste changing goals in here)

Give me a box before each goal so I can check things off as I go. “

Now, you can add those different goals for each week into your plan. The more specific you are in your changing goals, the better your result will be.

Using ChatGPT to come up with goals

Try this prompt:

“For my winter arc, I want to feel [insert feeling]. The challenges I have in this area are [summarize challenges]. Can you suggest me some goals to help me feel the way I want?”

Here’s an example. I wrote:

“For my winter arc, I want to feel self-respecting. The challenges I have in this area are I always give into people and end up doing things I don’t want to do. Can you suggest me some goals to help me feel the way I want?”

ChatGPT said:

To help you feel more self-respecting during your Winter Arc, here are some goals that focus on setting boundaries, honoring your own needs, and cultivating self-confidence:

1. Set Clear Boundaries

Goal: Define what your non-negotiables are in your relationships (e.g., alone time, saying “no” to extra commitments).
Action: Each week, pick one area of your life (e.g., work, family, friends) and practice saying “no” when something doesn’t align with your priorities.
Reflection: Journal about how setting boundaries makes you feel—both the discomfort of doing it and the empowerment afterward.

2. Prioritize Your Own Needs

Goal: Check in with yourself before committing to anything.
Action: Before agreeing to plans or favors, take 10 minutes to reflect on how it aligns with your goals. If it doesn’t, respectfully decline.
Daily Reminder: Ask yourself, “Is this something I genuinely want to do, or am I doing it out of obligation?”

3. Practice Assertive Communication

Goal: Use “I” statements to express your needs clearly and respectfully.
Action: Practice phrases like “I need time for myself this weekend” or “I’d prefer not to join this event” in situations where you might feel pressured to agree.
Weekly Focus: Each week, choose one conversation where you’ll practice assertively stating your needs.

4. Reflect on Past Decisions

Goal: Recognize patterns where you’ve given in and reflect on how you can respond differently next time.
Action: Write down situations where you gave in to others and evaluate how you could have approached them differently. Use this reflection to handle future situations with more self-respect.

5. Create a Self-Respect Mantra

Goal: Develop a personal mantra that reinforces your value and boundaries.
Action: Each morning, recite a mantra like, “I honor my needs and respect my decisions.” Repeat it before social interactions where you know you might be tempted to give in.

6. Schedule Time for Yourself

Goal: Dedicate specific times in your week for activities that are just for you.
Action: Block out time for something you love, like reading, exercising, or relaxing—no compromises. Defend this time as non-negotiable, just like you would for an important meeting.

You might not be able to do all of these, or they may not all feel right for you, but I bet you’ll find something that resonates for your winter arc!!

really well, thanks!