Have you given some thought to how you'd like 2024 to go for you?
I've got a simple way to manifest a great year AND to follow up on your progress all in one step! Think of it like a one-pot meal.
Easy-peasy goal planning.
I call it my Best Year Yet! letter. Here's how to do it:
1. Open up your email and start composing a new email.
2. Put your own email address in the TO section.
3. Subject line is "Congrats on your BEST YEAR YET!"
4. Write a letter to yourself as if you've already finished 2024. Yep - you'll visualize all the great things you accomplished, or maybe some progress you've made.
As you write, congratulate yourself for overcoming those pesky obstacles that you'll no doubt encounter over the year. ("I'm so impressed by how you mustered up the courage to finally excuse that person from your life. And your ability to maintain a cool head at the family reunion's three-legged race is proof of your good decision to refrain from drinking alcohol that day.")
Be specific about what you plan to do. You can even create fake memories to remind yourself of ("Remember how you built the best sandcastle on the beach? Then Adam accidentally kicked it over when he was playing chase with Amber").
Don't worry about how long your email is.
The more details, the better!
Imagine yourself in each scenario and lay down the framework for HOW you made 2024 such a successful year for yourself.
When you've finished composing the letter (and here's the secret), schedule the send date to be a date in the future! In the past, I've always scheduled mine for Dec 1 of the following year.
This year, I've scheduled it for March 31, so I can remind myself of what I planned and gauge how well I'm doing at staying on target. Then I'll "snooze" the email to show up again at the end of the next quarter.
I use Gmail and these features are included and free. There are also services that can do this (Boomerang for Outlook is one). Here's how to schedule emails on an iPhone.
This is a fun way to plan for the next year, check your progress, and also see what your state of mind was back when you were planning! And it's okay if the year doesn't go exactly as you planned, as long as you feel good about what did happen.
For example, in my Best Year Yet 2023 email, I congratulated myself on earning my ICF coaching credential. I'm not there yet...still short a few classes, but the good news is I have all the coaching practical hours already done (and getting more all the time)!
You could even do this with pen and paper. Just seal the envelope and store it in a place where you'll remember to open it on your chosen timeline. In the past, I've even collected sealed envelopes from personal training clients and I mailed them back at the end of the year!