dreams for 2024

Every new year, I get excited about the year ahead. For the past few years, I’ve adopted a habit from Gretchen Rubin that’s been really helpful for me — I write a list of things I want to do in the coming year. Past lists have included the mundane (get plumbing fixed, get passports for family), the challenging (teach a yoga series), and the fun (visit the roller derby, go swing dancing).

To come up with this list each year, I consider questions like these:

• Which activities and relationships gave me joy this past year? Which ones didn’t give me joy?
• What new things do I want to try?
• What could I plan for the new year that would lead to a larger life?
• Who do I want to see? Which relationships do I want to grow?
• How can I help?

And one very important point: I don’t have to do all the things on the list! This is just an exercise to help me live more intentionally; this is absolutely not something to induce guilt. In 2023, I did about half the things on my list, and that’s totally fine. Many of them will carry over to 2024 (except tennis — I’ve decided I don’t love tennis!). While writing this post, I realized that many past lists include going to the roller derby and biking to Purcelville. They’re on the list again this year, and I have a good feeling about it!

Instead of one long list this year, I broke my plans into separate categories. The list on orange paper is places or restaurants near me that I want to visit. It includes highbrow stuff like museums as well as a fantastic crab shack down a dirt road in Maryland. It’s all about balance! The list on blue paper is friends I want to spend more time with this year. As we’re thinking about vacations and other plans for 2024, it’s helpful for me to think about which relationships I want to grow. How can I see those friends more often?

I’ve also added a few entries this year for volunteer activities I want to begin in the new year. It seems like everyone is talking about the epidemic of loneliness, and that got me thinking about one of our neighbors who lives alone. I’m hoping to have him over for dinner a few times in the new year. I’m also planning to participate in a service trip with some teenagers from my church. For me, it’s helpful to plan these things now, before the calendar starts filling up with kids’ activities.

Do you have any specific plans for 2024? Is it helpful to write them down? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.