As 2024 unfolds, I find myself reflecting on the past and looking ahead with a sense of purpose. My intentions for 2024 revolve around personal well-being, mindfulness, and the creation of meaningful memories with my family. I used to set out resolutions and goals at the beginning of each year. They were normally one time goals which could build up a lot of unintentional pressure and disappointment if not achieved. The last few years I have instead set myself Intentions. These intentions are a mixture of one time things I’d like to achieve, as well as long term habits I’d like to adopt and continue long term. The intention is that I’ll have something to strive toward every day—and hopefully, something that will bring more joy and purposefulness to my life.
I have set my intentions into categories, Personal and Work. Some will be linked to the 101 in 1001 Challenge that I am currently doing ( think of it as a bucket list ) and loving!
PERSONAL
Complete Couch to 5k
Cath from @cathrynlaurawood is the inspiration behind this one. I have watched her smash Couch to 5K and continue to running after, sharing the benefits and how it has changed her life for the better. I am hoping it will do the same for me. To help me not only get healthier physically, but also help my mental health too. I have wanted to try it for so long, and always found some reason to not do it – Not this year! Hopefully it’ll become a habit of mine, to run regularly. I am going to start off slow due to my back injury, and complete it walking first. Then I will hopefully work my way to completing it how it is meant to be completed.
Sort out my back
Addressing my back health is a non-negotiable aspect of my intentions for 2024. Through regular physio sessions, mindful stretching routines, and ergonomic adjustments in my daily life, I am dedicated to ensuring that my spine receives the care it deserves now we know exactly what’s wrong with it. Prioritising my back health aligns with the overarching goal of achieving holistic well-being in the coming year. I am aiming to alternate Yoga and HIIT at home at my own pace, and then attend a Aqua aerobics class once a week. I am trying to have a variety in workouts so I don’t get board. For the HIIT workouts, I am going to use EmKfit – her workouts are just the best and SO much fun! Hamilton workout here I come!
Spend my time more intentionally
I have always felt like I don’t have a lot of “free time”. When, actually I do. I just didn’t know it. This year I really want to utilise that free time to doing something productive, intentional, instead of aimlessly scrolling social media and wasting an hour or so where I could have been doing something else productive to get the dopamine going! For example, Evelyn still naps an hour or so a day. This is when Molly will have “quiet time” and I’d normally sit and scroll. I want to get in the habit of utilising that time. Ticking some bits off my to do list whilst having a hot cuppa tends to make me feel less anxious and overwhelmed and it gives me that sense of accomplishment – which for me, leads to a dopamine hit.
I have been using timers more in our day to day, to prevent me from getting lost in a hyperfocus and to help me utilise my time better to get different tasks done – it’s still a working progress, but something I am hoping to nail in 2024.
To cultivate a Morning and Evening routine for myself
I have no routine when it comes to myself. Some days I won’t even get dressed, or shower ( gross, but welcome to life with ADHD ) It just gets left at the bottom of the pile of priorities. In the evenings I just scroll my phone constantly and always end up feeling pretty meh. I want to try and implement a few things in the morning and the evening. For example in the morning before the girls wake;
- Wake at 4.30am Everyday ( I used to do this and loved it )
- Have a shower and get dressed.
- Have a hot drink & eat Breakfast ( or at least something )
- Morning Skincare
In the evening;
- No screens after 8pm
- Read a chapter of a book each night
- Fill out my Bullet Journal
- Write my list for the next day
- Evening Skincare
Hopefully these things will help make me feel a bit more human, and help me to feel more motivated!
Make more memories.
By this, I mean take the photos and videos I take and either print out the photos, or make little family movies with the videos. Last year I made more of a conscious effort to capture moments, but I didn’t improve on doing anything with them . The girls are growing up SO fast and I feel like if I blink, I’ll miss it. I want to remember and watch back the way they currently dance around the living room. They way that they sound when talking/singing. I want to make a few videos every month of what we get up to, and then a big one at the end of the year to make one long video. This may not seem important to some, but I’d love to have had more footage of my childhood.
WORK
Be consistent in all areas of ‘Simply Together.’
I think it’s safe to say that I have trouble being consistent with Simply Together. Posting on Instagram and Tiktok is sporadic and I think I posted less than 5 times in 2023 here on the blog, I wanted to launch a Newsletter but never did. I have wanted to start a Youtube forever and never have…and even though I have posted a few videos, I want to try and post on there at least 4 times a month! 2024 is going to be the year that we just go for it. Hopefully, by implementing routine in other areas of my life, that the spark for creating content and posting on here comes back. I want to take the pressure off, and have fun with it all again, and see where it takes us. I have so many ideas of where I want to take ‘Simply Together” and hopefully 2024 is there I finally make it happen!
To not focus on the numbers.
As a content creator it can be difficult not to focus on how many followers you have, how many you gain and how many you lose. It’s hard to not fixate on the number of likes, comments, saves etc. Especially when you have brands asking for stats for collaborations and you sometimes end up feeling like you’re not good enough. This year, I really want to try and not focus on the number side of things. I want to focus on posting and sharing what I want, building relationships with brands. Building a little community on here, engaging, inspiring and supporting people the best I can. That’s what I want to use this space for.
Making ‘Simply Together’ my full time job.
That’s right. One of my intentions this year, is the intention of making my brand my full time job. I had to leave my day job of 9 years at the end of last year due to my back injury, so I am going to try and use that to my advantage! Being able to work from home, spend time with the family and travel is literally the dream for me. There is a lot that I need to do to get to that point, and I’ll be a journey, but I’m going to do it the best I can to make it happen!
My Word for 2024
Every year I pick a word to represent that upcoming year. This year, I find myself drawn to a singular word that encapsulates my aspirations, mindset, and approach —Evolve. This single word encapsulates the essence of my aspirations, symbolising a commitment to growth, adaptability, and continuous improvement. As the months unfold, “Evolve” will hopefully be a constant reminder to embrace change, learn from experiences, and evolve into the best version of myself—one small, intentional step at a time.
Have you set any intentions for this year? Let me know some of yours below!
