With the new year in full swing, I’m excited about a fresh start in different areas of life. New goals, new ambitions, and a lot of exciting energy. So let’s get into the 6 ways to start 2024 off right!
How to start 2024 off right
This year, I have a few goals that are important to me. By the end of 2024, I want to be able to run a 5K, be consistent with my blogs, and be an early riser. I’ve already started working on these goals in the past month or so, but want to make sure I’m sticking with them in the new year.
Staying disciplined is a trait I’m working on within myself. It doesn’t come naturally to me and it’s a lot easier to go with the flow and do whatever I’m feeling in the moment.
So I need all the tips and tricks I can get when it comes to sticking with my goals in the new year and starting 2024 off on the right foot.
It’s all too easy to set resolutions on January 1, keep them for the first month or two of the year, and then give them up completely.
This year, instead of setting resolutions that I’ll inevitably give up, I’m going to set realistic, attainable goals.
Which brings me to the first tip…
1. STOP making resolutions, START setting attainable goals
We’ve all fallen victim to the New Year’s resolution trap. It’s January 1 and you’re feeling super motivated to accomplish everything you’ve ever wanted out of life.
So you set out to hit the gym EVERY DAY (even though you haven’t worked out once since November…) You’re also going to eat “perfectly healthy” (NO sugar OR carbs OR…anything enjoyable).
Not only that, but you’re going to get a promotion this year, be a perfect spouse/parent/friend, keep a pristine home, start biking to work, run a marathon… You get the idea.
Setting goals is amazing and it’s something that I’m a firm believe in in day-to-day life. But let’s be real, you’re not going to change your entire life in a year if you’re taking on way too much and setting unrealistic goals.
When coming up with goals for the year, take a step back and visualize completing them in your day-to-day life.
- Is it something that you can fit into your schedule? If not, re-work it so it doesn’t take up as much of your time.
- Is it something you feel excited to do (& will be able to stay disciplined enough to continue doing it even when you aren’t feeling it?) If not, it’s time to re-work the goal or set a new goal entirely.
- Most importantly: are you setting this goal for yourself (because it’s going to bring you joy and truly improve your life) or because of societal standards / other people’s expectations of you / what other people are doing? If it’s for you, great, let’s freaking do it! If it’s for anyone else, scrap it.
2. Stay organized with a planner
Staying organized and keeping track of your goals, schedule, and to-do lists each week is essential for accomplishing your goals.
I’m a sucker for a cute planner and a firm believer that having one you love boosts your productivity by 1000%. Is this scientifically backed? Probably not. But from my own experience, if I love a planner (or anything for that matter) I’m way more likely to pick it up and use it. If I have a boring gray patternless planner, it’ll end up on the shelf all year.
For 2024, I stepped up my planner game and bought a Papier planner.
Some other great planners (that are a bit less pricy) are Paperage, Anecdote, and Kokonote.
Each week, I plan to write down my goals for the week (based on yearly goals), to-do lists to make sure I’m staying accountable, and weekly plans based on what’s going on that week.
It’s so much easier to accomplish your goals when you stay organized and hold yourself accountable. Another awesome way to stay accountable is by convincing your friends to be your accountability buddies…
3. Find an accountability buddy
A few of my good friends and I have been doing on & off goal check-ins with each other for the past year. It not only holds me accountable to my own goals, but seeing them crush their goals is so inspiring!
For Christmas this year, I thought it’d be fun to get us all matching planners. So we can be equally inspired to hit our goals in 2024.
For the goal check-ins, we’ve all been using different systems or habit-tracking apps, and doing monthly check-ins for our goals. The check-ins can either be over text or in-person, whatever works for you!
4. Track your habits
For the past year or two, I’ve been using an app called “Habit” to track my progress and share in our accountability group text.
It allows you to track daily and weekly goals and see your progress over weeks/months. It even celebrates you when you knock out all your daily habits. It’s amazing! & even better, it’s free!
Here’s an example of my daily/weekly goals:
- Morning routine (daily)
- Run (2x/week)
- Reset day (1x/week)
- Power hour (daily, as often as I can)
- Up before 8 am (daily)
The fun colors, emojis, and customizability of the app keep me motivated and excited to check off my goals every day.
You can track your progress by week, month, and year as well. Here’s an example of my weekly habit progress:
It also lets you add widgets to your home screen, so you can have a little habit reminder whenever you open your phone.
5. Use a focus app
Okay, this is the end of the apps section after this, because I know we all have enough apps on our phones! But honestly, this one has changed my life and exploded my productivity.
The app I’ve been using is called Forest. It lets you plant a tree in your virtual forest every time you complete a focus session. You can customize the length of your focus sessions, the type of tree you plant, and the category of your focus. For example, I have different categories for blogging, personal development, work, and simply being present.
The Forest app costs a few dollars on the app store, but there’s a free similar app called Flora. They’re both super helpful, I just like the design/aesthetic of Forest a bit more, which helps motivate me to actually use it. (Sensing a trend here?) 😉
See, here’s the tree I’m growing right now as I blog!
6. Give yourself grace
Starting new habits and working towards goals is hard work! Know that where you are in life already is more than enough. Personal development and working towards goals are amazing, but we all have our days where we just don’t want to do anything.
I’ve tried to stick with a rule for my daily habits: one day off at a time, but not two in a row.
This allows me to have bad days where I don’t want to get up early, work on my course, go on a run, or do anything besides lay in bed if I’m being honest.
But I know that the next day, I’ll get back to it. So I can fully enjoy my day off without beating myself up for not accomplishing my goals.
How to Start 2024 Off Right: In Conclusion
I hope this helped you to find some inspiration when starting your new year! The tips and tricks in this list are what have worked for me, but I’d love to hear from you! If you have additional ideas on life hacks to make 2024 the best year yet, reach out to me.
Unfortunately, I had to disable open comments due to a disturbingly high number of spam/bot comments coming in daily. So if you’re unable to log in to comment but want to get in contact, feel free to email me. I’d love to hear from you! 🙂
If you enjoyed this blog, you’ll also like:
- Project 50: Day 1
- Starting Natacha Oceane’s Hybrid (running/strength training) program
- How to stop boredom/nighttime eating
Disclosure: This post isn’t sponsored, but it does contain affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you purchase an item through them (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for your support!
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