January 2024: Tabula Rasa
New year, new you?
A new year is upon us again, with its big NYE energy and beautiful blank planners.
Despite being a future-oriented maker of big plans, I wouldn’t say I like resolutions. They tend to fall into the category of Total Self Transformation, which is not a thing on this time scale. Like it or not, no “new you” is waiting to appear in 2024. You’re still you. Your unfinished projects are still unfinished. Your questionable habits are still wired into your neural pathways.
I have used the New Year as a time to make big goals. You know, SMART goals? I’ve come to realize that’s not always so smart. It’s too easy to misjudge “achievable.” What can I achieve in 12 months? It can be very hard to predict. The measurable metrics are hard to guess and often impossible to control.
A well-worn maxim is attributed to Bill Gates: “We overestimate what we can do in one year and underestimate what we can do in ten years.” Looking back on the last ten years of your life, you may find this true. We see big shifts on that time scale. New jobs, remodeled houses, fully formed children, bodies of creative work, new friendships, increased fitness, etc. But we rarely see those outcomes in a single year.
So why plan for the new year if we know that resolutions fail and our big life goals take longer?
Clear the decks
I’ve stopped creating yearly plans and goals. I can make concrete plans for the first few months, but things get a bit murky beyond that. I don’t know enough about what will happen in the spring to commit to projects or make early social plans. Instead, I plan on a seasonal scale and use the New Year to mark accomplishments and correct my trajectory.
It’s also a great time to clear the decks. Accumulating half-finished projects, procrastinated tasks, and wishful intentions is easy. Like my closet seems to accumulate new clothing of its own accord, my project list can start to feel overloaded with things I want to do but know I cannot do all in one year.
A backlog is a beautiful thing. You don’t have to say no to your wishful intentions when you can instead say, “Not right now.” This is something like the GTD “someday maybe” list, but I think of it more as a “definitely next” list. If I’m never going to do the thing, then why keep track of it? I have a Notion database of life goals where I can dream. Dreams are not plans.
Try this: Write down everything you have accomplished in the last year. Take a moment to do a celebratory dance! Now, list everything you didn’t do or didn’t complete. Do you still want to do these things? If so, make a short list of actions to take on them in the next three (or so) months. Anything beyond that range is probably wishful thinking.
I suggest limiting yourself to three projects at a time, and I define a project as anything that spans multiple days of work. This is the foundation of my seasonal plan: pick three projects every few months and let other projects wait in the backlog. Some projects span multiple seasons, while others are done in a few days or weeks. When you finish one, you can add one from the backlog. Or you can enjoy of a bit of free time.
Sometimes, it can be nice to start fresh. Sit down with a blank page and do a brain dump of everything you want to work on. Ignore your old to-do lists and unstarted projects. Leave off anything that feels heavy or like too much right now. Treat each project like it is new. Where do you start?
Trajectory setting
You will accomplish a lot of things in a decade without even trying. But without some directional planning, you might accomplish things you did not intend. You can, for example, develop a pretty serious drinking habit in ten years (I’ve tried that and do not recommend it). You can climb a corporate ladder that leads you away from your values and identity and probably reach a high rung. You can float from one thing to the next, never quite feeling like you’re on track.
This is why vision-setting is more powerful than achievement-oriented goal-setting. You need an idea of your destination before you start sailing into the wide open sea, and you need to check your course regularly. Tiny shifts lead you to totally different trajectories.
Vision-setting is not the same as making an aspirational collage of superficial symbols. Vision boards tend to privilege affluence: Beautiful homes, new cars, and vacations. Not that there’s anything wrong with those things, but they have been proven — by science! — to fail to bring the happiness they promise.
Instead, create a vision of who you are. What principles do you live by? What behaviors are aligned with your identity? What accomplishments are you proud of? How do other people experience your presence? What do you believe matters? Envision how you want to be, not what you want to have.
I was not a person who prioritized a healthy lifestyle. But now I am. I decided when I got a cancer diagnosis that my most important work was taking care of my body. That principle has guided my daily decisions ever since.
I am naturally a bit of a hermit. But human connections matter to me, so I plan and show up for social activities. I create bonds over creative pursuits, another important part of my identity.
In some ways, I have discovered a “new me” by excavating the principles and values I want to live by. She’s still evolving and revealing herself. This is an ongoing process, not a wishful list on New Year’s Day.
Plan with me in March
I host a free workshop to share my seasonal planning method twice a year. Join me on March 23, 2024 for a 90-minute workshop focusing on vision-setting. Free, printable worksheets will be provided.
