How I want to spend my 2024
Now that my productivity setup for this year is ready I want to write about my areas of focus for this year. I don´t like bucket list posts in public, so I hope this gives you a bit of inspiration concerning what you could do instead of setting New Year’s intentions.
My theme for this year is EXPERIMENTATION.
Finally, Covid restrictions are gone, I´ve just started the office job I wanted to have for a long time which is unterminated… So it´s time to move on and focus on other stuff in everyday life.
My low-buy year
The new job comes with a slightly lower salary. I decided to take it as a chance to reduce my expenses on areas I tend to overspend such as ebooks, stationary, hobby items, and eating out. Some of the rules I´ve set for myself are:
- Not buying scrapbooking paper
- Buying new journals when I have 3 or fewer left only
- Buying new pens of a kind when I have less than 8–10 working ones left only
- Reducing food waste by trying to work with a meal plan
- Eating out as a social event only. When my body highly needs it I´ll get a small food item, I´ll choose it from a supermarket or a bakery for about 2–3€ instead of eating a meal at a restaurant or Subway.
- Unplanned fashion or accessory shopping: allowing one item of about 20€ no more than any other month.
- Buying books only when I´ve finished or dropped some others. Excluded from this rule are books I´ll be reading as part of book clubs.
My most important goals for this year
- Starting a weight loss journey. I´ve gained 25 kg during the last 2 years and plan to lose at least half of that this year.
- Mastering the trial period at my new job. It´s an unterminated one with a higher-up I admire. I´ll do my best to make the most out of this chance.
- Moving closer to my workplace this summer to avoid the need to own a car. I plan to get a monthly subscription for public transport and subscribe to a car-sharing service afterward. It´s not sure yet if I´ll move together with my boyfriend as part of that move or not. It´s still undecided and will depend on the flat situation there.
- Learn to unwind and to relax. This is a huge one for me as I have a tendency towards toxic productivity. I´ll experiment with different techniques such as exercise, meditation, consuming more fiction content, and handicrafts… I don´t know where my journey will lead me.
- Joining a program to become a certified journaling coach. I have a specific program in mind but I don´t know yet if it´s within my budget and compatible with my work schedule. It´s not officially published yet, so please don´t ask yet ^^
My mental health goal for this year
I want to reduce my “I have to do it all” tendencies and allow myself to say no, to do “unproductive” things, and stop feeling guilty if I don´t reply to a call or a message on Whatsapp or wherever. I don´t want to feel the urge of having to explain myself 24/7 to anybody anymore. This means I´ll need to learn to say “no” and internalize the concept of JOMO (joy of missing out).
I´ve started another round of a physical decluttering journey to support this journey. I am planning to simplify some issues in my life as well, such as cooking.
If this year goes perfectly…
- I´ll go on my first “real” vacation. This means I´ll fly to a random island within the Mediterranean Sea during October or November for approx. one week.
- I´ll finally find a “healing” for my tinnitus. In April it will be two years of living with these chronic ear hearings.
- I´ll lose 17 or 20 kg of weight.
- I´ll establish a daily exercise routine.
- I´ll barely make excuses and just do the stuff. Or decide that it´s not worth doing and move on in life.
- I´ll loosen my focus on the negative side of the coin
- I´ll win a few € from the yearly lottery ticket I got as a Christmas gift from my step-mother XD
- I´ll still be publishing one blogpost every weekend here.
- I´ll do my first coaching sessions by the end of the year.
- I´ll still be working in this job.
- I´ll be living in my dream flat with a 10–15 min commute to my workplace with my partner.
My focus for the first quarter of 2024
… is experimenting with different types of exercise and developing a slightly healthier lifestyle. This includes:
- Going to the library for blogging/laptop work (primarily) or down-time (secondarily) more often
- Small adaptions towards exercising at least once every other week by doing things such as swimming or bouldering
- Consuming more fiction in the form of animes and books
- Trial lessons for 2–3 new sports such as dancing and Yoga
- Start cooking with more vegetables and less carbohydrates
- Upgrades in my supplementation plan to improve my sleep
- Reading books about tinnitus and sleep
- Saying “no” to something or someone at least twice per week
BUT: showing self-compassion and keeping a flexible mindset if something doesn´t work out as expected
For the first time in many years I don´t feel overwhelmed by my plans for the new year because I´ve narrowed it down to the most essential things. I don´t have bucket list of like 100 items to do in 2024 or something like that. And it brings me peace in mind.
What about you? Do you work with New Year´s resolutions? Or bucket lists? Themes?
