Happy 2024, everyone! I’m such a sucker for the New Year, New Me crap and this year feels different to me. I’m ready to embrace change and definitely feel a shift within me. Come back to me in March and I’ll still be the same though! Here’s a first look at my 24 goals for 2024.
BUSINESS
Get 12 new clients
This works out to one a month. It seems like a lot but right now, I have the capacity too. My current clients have regular work for me every week. I’d love to get some clients signed to my retainer packages of 1-8 blog posts a month. I’ve thought about adding social media and newsletter content back in but for now, I just enjoy writing blog posts and articles.
Earn more from my business every month
January is usually a slow start because I don’t work as many hours because of my birthday. This year, I have a few day trips out of town so I’ll only be working for half of the month. However, from that point, I’ve tried to space out my travel so I have time for client work from February onwards. It also means making the most of my time with time-blocking and tracking my time.
BLOG
Focus on short-form content
Truth be told, I’ve never fully got my head around Instagram In fact, I find it to be like another full-time job. I’ve never really got a lot from social media, apart from ramblings on Twitter. However, I want to push my blog to the next level, which means using Instagram and TikTok more. I need to learn how to make Reels and TikToks as well as make more graphics for my accounts on Canva.
Reboot money blog
This is my fourth website and third blog but I’ve done nothing since I bought the domain a year or so ago. I’ve always been fascinated by personal finance but there’s always so much jargon involved. The people in the industry are often over-achievers and I’d love to bring some realism. I’m not affluent but it’s okay to want to earn more money. I love the personal aspect of finances and want to keep myself accountable by sharing!
Be 1 week ahead of all blog content
This will definitely require some planning and might take a while to make it happen. However, the best way to take your content to the next level is to post consistently. I don’t always have the time to write and post there and then. Planning ahead and giving myself a dedicated blog day every week should help to make this happen. It’s a main aim of my 24 goals for 2024 so it’s the year of the blog!
MONEY
Save £10k
This will be an annual goal until I actually achieve it. Ideally, I want to save more but that relies on me earning more too. I’ve set up a saving plan of what I want to save each month for each account or pot so I’m definitely focused in 2024.
Buy a car
This is the main reason why I want to save £10k. When I first bought a car, I spent about £2000. My second car was £4000 and now I’m looking at having to spend double that! Since when did they get so expensive? I wouldn’t say I need a car but living in a village with just 6 buses out a day, I would like to be able to go out without planning around a bus timetable. Plus it would make attending press nights at the theatre so much easier!
Get a credit card + use it wisely
This is called peak adulting. I’m nearly 31 and have never had a credit card. In fairness, I’ve only ever had a full-time job for a few months and since then, I’ve either worked in retail or been freelance. The consistent income is obviously the trickiest part when you’re self-employed so that’s the main aim before getting a credit card.
Set up digital product stores
Diversifying my income is going to be a side hustle that I work on throughout 2024. For now, I’m just debating what products or printables they will be but it’s an end goal for December. It’s not a priority for early 2024 but as the year goes on and I get more organised with work, I’ll have the time to dedicate to it.
Keep track of sinking funds
2024 will be the year that I make sinking funds my thing. My plan is to set a goal for each one and try to put away a certain amount every month. However, I might do it whenever each invoice gets paid to make it easier for myself. If I leave it until the end of the month, I’ll probably have already spent that income on something else!
Aim for 20 NSDs a month
It’s probably a high number for most but I don’t count days when I have bills or planned expenses as spend days. However, if I know I’ve got a nail appointment on that day, I’ll purposely save any other spends for that day. Another example is going to work from a coffee shop for the morning. I’ll use that day to run any errands or pick up any shopping.
HEALTH + FITNESS
Work on 80/20 lifestyle
Getting fit and healthy is all about balance for me. I love food, especially the unhealthy kind! However, I’ve also found a love of cooking since the pandemic and a lot of the recipes I’ve tried have been fairly healthy. Moreso, 80/20 is about daily healthy habits rather than a one-and-done sort of thing. The main area for me to improve on is moving my body much more.
Cook more new recipes
As I said above, I’ve really started to enjoy cooking. I mostly cook Asian cuisines because they’re the tastiest to me! I’d just like to keep trying more recipes as well as new foods to push my limited palette. If any of you have favourite recipe websites, send them my way!
Find my groove with my fitness routine
Like I said earlier, I’m being that typical person of saying fitness is a high priority for me in my 24 goals for 2024. I’ve said it nearly every year since I became an adult but this time, it feels different. Now I’ve hit 30, my body is starting to ache a lot so I need to get it supple again! To begin with, I’d like to get back into AM workouts. When I worked in retail, I’d be awake at 6am to workout for half an hour before getting ready. Now, it’ll be more like 7.30am but it means your workout is done before you even start the day!
PERSONAL
Declutter all of my possessions
Even though I think of myself as a minimalist, I seem to have collated a lot of stuff over the past year or so. That’s why in my 24 goals for 2024, I need to go through every room, empty everything out and only keep what I use, need and love. If I want my own place, it’s going to be a lot smaller than this house so I won’t have space for all this stuff!
Publish decluttering ebook
Surprise, I’ve been writing a book loosely for over two years now! Ironically, it’s all about decluttering so maybe I need to go through it all again with my own spaces! I’d say I’ve only got about a third of it written so far, and that’s before editing it too. I was trying to write daily but it’s a massive commitment when doing client work and blogging too. Instead, I might try to spend a couple of nights a week writing for an hour or so to push it along.
Take a BSL course
I’ve always been fascinated by sign language and want to push myself to learn something more. If only Duolingo offered it! Of course, I still need to look into it properly but I think it’s important to be able to communicate with a range of people. Whether I take a course online or in person, it’s something that can only enrich my life.
Go on a solo writing trip
I’ve seen a few business owners and content creators do this and I think it’s a fab idea. I’d love to stay out of town in an apartment and spend the week writing. Whether I focus on my eBook or blog content will depend on the time of year probably. Of course, I want to explore the area I’d be staying in but for the most part, it would be a writing trip!
Take a week off work/blog per quarter
Similarly to the above, I need to start taking some proper time off work. As a freelancer, because we don’t get paid holidays, it can be hard to take time off. In fact, when I’m away for a short break, I end up doing client work! If I can organise my time and capacity properly, I can get on top of my client work and get ahead with my blog posts. That will allow me to take some time away from my laptop!
Get to an Arsenal women’s match
This was on my list for 2023 and didn’t happen so I’m adding it again. I’ve only been to football matches when I was a trainee journalist for work experience. Now I want to go and enjoy it properly! Supporting Arsenal means probably booking a trip to London but I could see them in Manchester if I could get a ticket.
Read all books on physical shelves + Kindle
I’m basically putting myself on a book-buying ban unless it’s a great deal or by one of my favourite authors. I’ve got hundreds of unread books on my Kindle and a good bunch of paperbacks too. Whilst I know I won’t get through them all, I’d like to at least make a start! I might delete my card details from Amazon to stop me from purchasing!
Try 25 new eateries
Because I’m a list person, I’ve actually made a list of places I want to try in Hull and will do some extra research for Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and York. They’re the places that I visit the most! Whilst I’m very loyal to my favourite places (Yinjibar is my number 1 place in Hull), it depends on the time of day. Hull city centre doesn’t have many great night-time restaurants so most on my list are cafes. I’m always looking for recommendations though!
Read 52 books
I was nowhere near that number in 2023 but I have reached it before. If I’m working on my capacity and organising my weeks better, I’ll have more free time in the evening and on weekends to read! Again, I want to read a range of books because I either read non-fiction or chick-lit exclusively. Now I want to switch between the two so I don’t get bored.
See 50 theatre shows
Another stretch goal for me because it requires seeing nearly one show a week! That’ll require a few overnight stays and hopefully a couple of London trips. I think I’ve got about 40 pencilled in so far with press nights in Hull and pre-booked shows. I might drop this total mid-year but it’s always nice to try!
And those are my 24 goals for 2024. I’m really trying to push myself because I’ve decided that I’m giving turning 30 another go. Yes, I might turn 31 in January but I’m treating it as 30+1.
If you enjoyed this post about my 24 goals for 2024, I also write monthly goals posts too! I just love setting goals for myself, it’s very type A/Capricorn of me. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, where I hope to share more of my progress throughout 2024.
