What's In for 2024
Ideas to be mindful about for the new year.
New Year, New Platform
I recently found myself sitting in a café with a sudden urge to write and capture a few creative ideas on my mind, but my journal didn’t feel like it was enough — I wanted to add images/idea/products/lists of things I love, and my website blog felt so daunting with all the logistics involved. Thus, my entry into Substack. I’ve kept a blog since I was in University and actually have an undergrad degree in English and Masters degree in Fashion Communication because I always wanted to work in the editorial department at a magazine. A decade later and I’m now an interior designer, which I love, but that urge to create content and share never goes away. At least not for me. So to kick off 2024, I felt like doing a little January round up focused on reset. Below, I’ve put together a short list of my ins and outs.
1. In: Make Space to Create
Carve out time for yourself. I don’t mean on the weekend. Our weekends are filled with chores, errands, visiting friends and family. For me, this means taking time each Friday to sit down with a cup of coffee (maybe at a café) and allowing myself space to create, find inspiration and write. Scrolling through Pinterest, creating mood boards, researching travel itineraries, putting together capsule wardrobes with new products for each season. I whole-heatedly enjoy doing all of these things for fun. So in 2024 I’m creating space for myself to do this. Whatever fills you up, make space for it. I swear to god you will find so much more joy in your day to day.
2. Out: Overworking
In order to carve out time for yourself and allow space to be creative, you need to manage your work-life balance. Something I for sure need to work on. I have a bad habit of getting lost in my work, saying yes to all projects and then coming up for air a couple months later only to realize I’m slightly burnt out in the form of I don’t want to do the usual things that bring me joy and I’ve fallen off my wellness bandwagon. This is the year to say no and protect your boundaries. One way I’m doing this is creating a “4-Week Workday.” This has never actually worked for me in the past because I had too much work, but I figured the 5th day I would reserve for business development, creative pursuits and more fun day date activities. I’ll also be saying no to more projects and being super selective of which projects I take on to ensure they completely align with my values. While I technically won’t be loafing around on the sofa each Friday, I will be investing time into my creative side hustles, looking at my business goals, meeting with friends and colleagues for work lunches, as well as just taking a moment for myself in the form of self-care. More on that below.
3. In: Invest in Your Health
This is obviously a huge one at the start of every year, but to me this is the perfect opportunity to reflect on your wellness goals and reset your routine. To kick-off the year, I love a good little fitness challenge so I did Melissa Wood’s 7-Day Reset and Renew program which includes daily pilates workouts and meditations. This year I’m planning on a few things:
Trying a new weekly yoga class with a friend
Focusing on eating a variety of seasonal, organic foods, trying new healthy recipes, cooking most meals from home by meal prepping as much as possible
Continuing to build on my strength training routine
Improving my tennis game with lessons
Getting back into running
Since I was a teenager, I’ve always been a leisurely jogger, but somehow fell off it for the first time in my life this fall. I recently got back into it with my dog and just let myself enjoy the slow steady pace of a jog while actually soaking up the nature and beauty around me. Such a good feeling to get back into something, let alone the health benefits associated with it. I’m also just finishing Mia Rigden's ‘Foodwise’ 21-Day Reset which is full of amazing nourishing recipes I’ll continue using in my day-to-day. Highly recommend!
4. Out: Rushing
This literally applies to everything in my life. Stop rushing. Enjoy the moment. Sit down to eat your meal without scrolling on your phone. Focus on the flavours and smells from your meal. Actually chew your food, rather than scarfing it down in order to get on with your work day. Ugh, such a bad habit I hope to be more mindful of this year. Other areas this applies to: enjoying nature/running or walking without a podcast or music blaring. Actually signing off work for vacation. Scheduling plenty of breaks throughout the day. Waking up slightly earlier to allow extra time in the morning to enjoy my workout and meditation routine before starting work for the day. Focusing on one task at a time by setting a timer that keeps me accountable during the work day for not scrolling on my phone. The list goes on and on!
5. In: Check Off A Bucket List Item or Two
My husband and I sat down to do a little financial planning for the year and realized we really want to make time to enjoy ourselves this year. We had been so prone to overworking and not prioritizing taking breaks or planning anything that sparked joy over the last couple years, so we knew we needed to rejig our routines this year. We thought, what better way to do that than checking off a bucket list item together? We’ve always talked about attending one of the European tennis open tournaments so we’ve decided to make that our goal. To make this happen, along with a few other little trips, we’ve decided to shift our finances to support our travel goals for the year, which is also a nice way to really take control of where you’re spending your money. It’s been a little while since I’ve planned a good trip and I cannot wait. Stay tuned for details!