My intention is to post a Thoughtful Thursday column each week and share some of the insights I have learned in the past week. Here are some of the things I’ve learned this week:
- What are the highlights from the past year of your life? Don’t do this based off of memory alone. Look through your journals, calendar, camera roll, social media posts, etc.
- What were the hardest aspects of this past year? Reflect on categories such as health & wellness, career/money/school, relationships, and purpose/spirituality/meaning.
- What are all of the things you learned about yourself this year?
- What would you like to stop doing? Ex: complaining, working so much, saying yes to everything
- What would you like to start doing? Ex: strength training three days each week, a morning routine
- What would you like to continue doing?
- Drop one vice that’s holding you back. Think about what you need to get rid of instead of what you need to add. Where are you wasting a lot of time in your life?
- Evaluate your circle. 4 quarters is better than 100 pennies. Aim to have more depth and quality in your relationships. Surround yourself with people who make you the best version of yourself.
- Encourage more feedback from others.
- Allocate more time to be creative – podcast, workout routines, art, music, etc.
- Invest in yourself. That could be with time, money, energy, or all three. Read, take courses, hire a coach, etc.
- Re-evaluate and develop a morning routine you can consistently do.
- Invest in your sleep routine and sleep space.
- Plan a getaway/trip you are looking forward to.
- Take a daily media break, whether it be one day per week or even 30 minutes each day.
- Go above and beyond. Set some aggressive goals. Aim to push yourself to go further.
- Cancel the subscriptions that you are not using. Review your bank statements for recurring charges. Do you use all of the streaming services you are paying for? If you share the same address, you only need one Amazon Prime account. You can still have different payment methods.
- Clean up your photos. The key to remembering your life is to delete photos you no longer need. Delete selfies if you are done with them.
- Delete screenshots you don’t need anymore. Make organized albums if you need to reference them often.
- Go through the Notes app on your phone. Make organized albums if you need to reference them often.
- Clean up your e-mail. Unsubscribe from e-mail lists you don’t need, block senders, etc. Make a new e-mail for only important stuff! Use your old e-mail for shopping, subscriptions, etc.
- Unfollow people on social media who make you feel bad about yourself or who influence you to buy things often.
- Delete your downloads folder.
I am definitely going to start working on this before the new year, as I have over 39,000 unread e-mails (mostly marketing e-mails) and thousands of screenshots and photos on my phone.
These notes are from the podcaster. These are not my personal habits.
- Don’t drink coffee on an empty stomach.
- Get ready for the day no matter what.
- Retrain your hair to wash it 1-2x/week instead of every day.
- Create a skincare routine.
- Body care – dry brushing, body lotion/oil, etc.
- Go to bed earlier and wake up earlier to stay productive throughout the morning.
- Add electrolytes into your daily routine.
- Learn how to cook and make healthy, delicious meals.
- Schedule workouts for the week in advance.
- Drink less alcohol.
Here are some of my personal habits.
Some of my daily habits from 2023:
- Read every day
- Elevate and Lumosity apps (“brain games”) every day
- Dishes before bed every day
- One Line A Day every day
- Podcast every day
- One bottle of water each morning before work
Some of the best things I did for myself in 2023:
- Turned off push notifications for e-mails and most apps
- Started unsubscribing to some marketing e-mails
- Took a leap and started a new job in an area I’m more passionate about
- Started a wind-down routine before bed (reading instead of tv/electronics)
- Started walking during lunch breaks when working from home
- Attended monthly group hikes to meet new outdoorsy people and explore new areas
- Started prioritizing a social life more, while still allowing myself to say no to some things
- Finance: tracked all income and expenses each month and made necessary changes, moved funds to a high-yield savings account, rolled over retirement accounts to Vanguard (much lower expense ratio and more control over my investments), shopped around for home and auto insurance
Possible habit ideas for 2024:
Mental health:
- No screen time after ___ p.m.
- Spend 10 minutes outdoors each day
- Sleep by ___ p.m. each night
- Follow a morning and night routine each day
- Write down three things you’re grateful for each day
- Write affirmations each day
- Schedule time for yourself each day where you won’t use electronics
Personal growth:
- Read every day
- Spend time learning something new each day
- Listen to a podcast each day
Creativity:
- Journal each day
- Cook a new dish each week/month
- Listen to a new song every day
- Take one photo each day
Cleanliness:
- Dishes before bed each day
- Set a timer for 15 minutes each day and clean/organize
- Put aside one thing to donate each day
Finances:
- Save $___ each month
- Set a budget and stick to it
- Keep track of all income and expenses for the year
Physical health:
- Walk ____ steps each day
- Drink ___ oz of water each day
- Keep a food log each day
- Work out each day
- Create a meal plan
As you consider habits for 2024, consider the following notes and questions from the book Life Worth Living:
“Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most” was written by Matthew Croasman, Miroslav Volf, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz, three Christian theologians and professors at Yale who teach the popular class, Life Worth Living. This book served as a guide to defining and creating a flourishing life, contained wisdom from many minds and cultures, and cited 276 sources. This book was incredibly thought-provoking and life-changing. 
**I highly recommend everyone reads this!** This book encourages readers to reflect on the following questions (and many more): What matters most? What is a good life? Does our daily routine have a justification? Is what we do getting us what we want? What do we really want? What is worth wanting? Who are you responsible to? What do you admire most about those you admire? What feelings do you think characterize a genuinely good life? What are my highest ideals and deepest values? How big is your forest? Who and what is in your forest? What is worth dying for? Are there people or ideals you hope you would be willing to die for?
Your life is worth living well. Your life is too valuable to be guided by anything less than what matters most.
I look forward to reading, learning, and sharing more with you soon! Soon I will be sharing a list of the books I read in 2023 as well as my plans for my blog in 2024!
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