Setting Intentions And Goals For The New Year

Happy New Year!

It’s that magical first week of the year when we begin our manifestations for the year by setting our intentions and goals. I thought I might share a few of mine with you.

2024 Intentions

• Balance – I intend to find balance this year. Finding the balance between getting-things-done time and relaxation/self-care time is something I struggle with a lot. If I spend too much time and focus on things I feel I need to get done, I can get overstressed and burn out. BUT if I take too much time to relax and focus on myself, I’m not getting the things I want done. So, finding a happy, healthy balance is my main intention.
  
  
• Kindness and acceptance towards myself – I intend to not be held back by being overly critical towards myself. No one is harder on me than me. I often have reviews, recipes, pictures, etc. I want to share but will never see the light of day because I compare my content to others on social media and find myself lacking. “Comparison is the thief of joy” will be my mantra going forward.
  
  
• Social Media – I intend to use social media in a more healthy, mindful way. This means no more wasting time on mindless scrolling. Less checking and re-checking the same apps in a muscle memory cycle. It also means, more focusing on making friends and building community and less on gaining “followers”.
  
  
• Interaction – I intend to be more interactive. Being social has never been easy for me. Growing up I was “shy” and as I got older it was easy to see I had pretty severe social anxiety. I intend to take steps towards working on being less “Post & Ghost” and more responsive.
  
  
• TBR Control – I intend to be more in control of my TBR pile. I’m too easily entranced by a pretty face, adding books to my pile just because I like the cover and want to own it, even if it’s not in one of my favored genres. Then I find myself having to slug my way through a book that can’t hold my attention, and since I can’t DNF for some reason, it sets me back and kind of takes the joy out of reading for a while. So, less of that.
  

My 2024 Vision Board

I find a visual representation of what I want to manifest for myself in the new year to be very helpful in giving me something to look at and say “This is what I want and this is what I’m working towards”.

2024 Goals

• Read at least a book a week (52+ books)
• Post 1 recipe or more a month
• Make a posting schedule at the beginning of every month and stick to it to ensure more regular posting
• Start to integrate more reviews of other things besides books and coffee (coffee-scented perfumes, coffee-flavored foods, book accessory items, etc.) at least once a month
• Clear out NetGalley backlog by the first day of spring (March 19th)

Tips On Setting Your Intentions And Goals

I recently learned about the SMART goal-setting method and it’s been very helpful, I highly recommend it. With this method, you are more likely to achieve your goals and be less discouraged if you set them up to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely (or Time-bound).

✨ I hope sharing my intentions and goals for 2024 is helpful in some way. Feel free to share your intentions, goals, and any advice below! ✨