When readying myself for the start of 2024 I did my usual goal-setting activities of creating mood-boards and working on my annual bucket list, but as I was doing so, and simultaneously reflecting on previous years’ goal setting and goal completion, I realised that I needed to try something new. I’m someone who thrives on setting routines, schedules and being an all-round planner, so I wanted to create a new way of incorporating my goals into my life that allowed me to feel like I was achieving goals and reaching milestones in a tangible way. This is what led to me developing my priorities for the year; a new approach to goal-setting that made me focus on what I wanted to be important in my year ahead, and then working backwards on how I wanted to incorporate more of those themes into my life.
CREATIVITY
Creativity is such an important part of my life, and a defining feature of who I am, but with how busy life can get, especially with a job and social life, it has often got pushed to the wayside in the past. This year I don’t want to let that happen, so this is what I’m doing to incorporate it into my life…
- Work in my sketchbook at least once a week; at the minute I’m loving collage art
- Learn a new medium every season; this winter I’m focusing on oil pastels!
- Choose creativity over screen time with a daily screen time of under four hours; one of the main barriers to my creativity is my phone addiction so I’m hoping that less time on my phone will lead to more time spent thinking, dreaming and creating
CULTURE & EDUCATION
Continuing my education and becoming a more well-rounded, cultured person, is always important to me, and I wanted to make a conscious effort towards working on this in 2024. I plan on doing this by by making sure I…
- Visit a museum or cultural heritage site, such as a National Trust Property (I have a membership that expires in April!) once a month
- Watch a documentary bi-weekly; I’ve already watched Breaking Boundaries: The Science of our Planet on Netflix, which was equal parts fascinating and heartbreaking
- Complete my ‘learn something new everyday’ spread on Notion where I, as it says on the tin, research a new random topic each day
- Do free online courses to expand my skill repertoire monthly
- Read at least three books a month, with at least one non-fiction book per season
MEMORY-KEEPING
I am what could be classed as a ‘memory-hoarder’, from journals to photo albums, to video diaries and memory boxes, I have a tendency to want to record and keep every moment that fills my heart with joy. I wanted to find even more ways of doing this in the new year so I am going to…
- Journal daily; something I’ve done fairly consistently since I was eleven!
- Write handwritten letters monthly
- Consistently keep my photo albums up to date; I have a real backlog of photos to sort after my three-month trip to Asia so this is quite a mammoth task at the moment!
NATURE
Nature is something that has become increasingly important to me over the last few years; I’m truly happiest when out on a walk, and I always feel better for it. However, in a similar way to creativity, it is also one of the first things that I begin to neglect as life gets busier, and I’m determined to stop that from happening this year. To make sure that I spend time in nature I am going to…
- Aim to spend 750+ hours outside annually; this is my own variation of the ‘1000 Hours Outside Challenge’ as I don’t think I’m capable of hitting the 1000 mark!
- Visit a new natural wonder each season; England is packed full of gorgeous places that I am yet to explore, so hopefully this will get me out and about looking at beautiful waterfalls, forests and natural places of beauty
- Do nature art studies in the park; I am so lucky to live next to a stunning nature reserve, which provides so much inspiration. This way I can work on my art skills, and spend time outside!
SOCIALISING
After spending three months backpacking, and socialising almost everyday, I realised how much I enjoy it. I’d always thought of myself as quite an introvert, but I’m beginning to question whether that is actually the case. Surrounding myself with my friends, and doing fun activities, makes me feel so full of happiness, so I want to…
- See friends at least three times a month; I’ve already got pub quizzes, comedy nights and craft days on the horizon!
- Journey to see a further away friend or family member at least once a season
- Set aside time to make memories with family, particularly elderly members of my family
Love Chloe x
