In the days leading up to New Year’s Eve, everyone talks about their resolutions and plans for the year ahead. Some wish to foster a healthy habit, while others hope to leave a bad one behind.
This time of the year means letting go of what’s not serving you and hitting refresh on your life. Even before the contagious energy of New Year’s resolution-making starts up, you may already be thinking about the goals you’d like to set for the upcoming year. And the holiday season is often the perfect time for reflection on what truly matters to you.
It’s challenging to craft realistic, measurable goals, and the process requires both soul-searching and strategy. Explore these goals for 2024 and start thinking about what you want the new year to look like for you, whether you want to drink more water or begin a big career change at 40.
Reflecting on past years
Start considering the yearly goals you’d like to make by focusing on the past. History has much to teach you about what types of achievements you gravitate toward, your methods of forming habits, and the kinds of goals that won’t hold your attention.
Here are three key considerations to think through:
Consider what worked
Think back to the last time you achieved a New Year’s resolution. Journal about how you felt taking on, what insecurities you had, and the plan you made to reach it, recalling what went well on the journey and the obstacles you hit. This exercise can help you craft a sensible action plan as you work toward next year’s aims.
Practice gratitude
Take a moment to reflect on what the last year brought. Perhaps you got a long-awaited promotion, met your partner, or made strides in your financial wellness. When you self-reflect on what you learned, you’ll inspire yourself, knowing that you’ve achieved goals before and you can do it again.
Take stock of your life
Before thinking about what types of goals to set, honestly assess your current life plan and daily routines. Take note of what’s working well and what needs improvement. In doing so, you’ll get closer to understanding what goals are important to you.
This process will also help you recognize the positive aspects of your life that you want to protect. Maybe you’re pleased with how much you saved last year and want to set a goal for buying a new car in 2024. Question how that move might impact your savings and whether you can maintain your financial security while taking this new step.
How to build smarter goals
Set smart goals using the method by the same name. The SMART goal framework — which stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound — uses each part of the acronym as a parameter for setting solid, reasonable goals. Here’s more on each of those characteristics and how to apply them:
Specific
When goals are too broad, it’s more challenging to determine a clear roadmap to reach them. Saying that you hope to improve your holistic wellness is too vast a plan. Instead, try, “I’d like to improve my cardiovascular health.” From there, you can find clear actions that lead toward that goal.
Measurable
Making measurable goals gives you a way of tracking progress. You’ll be able to divide your plan into bite-sized action items and set milestones along the way. If you hope to save a certain sum in 2024, you could set a measurable monthly goal for your savings. That way, you’ll know if you’re on track by monitoring progress toward the final amount.
Attainable
The conditions of your life may make specific goals out of reach. If you set a goal of working out for one hour per day but have a busy work and family life, you might not be able to reach it. Try 30 minutes every other day instead. Setting goals that make sense for you not only encourages success but also allows you to feel more productive and motivated as you track strides toward them.
Relevant
Your goals should relate to what’s important in your life. Think about your current strengths and weaknesses to spot the areas of opportunity that will impact your well-being most. Your doctor’s recommendation to get more cardiovascular-intensive exercise, for example, is a good point of reference for setting a relevant physical health goal. And feeling insecure financially is a solid clue that your goals should tackle this area of your life.
Time-Bound
If you don’t put time limits on goals, you risk losing motivation and stretching them out until they’re no longer relevant. Setting a goal to save $1,000 is a good start, but without an end date, you might lack the urgency to consistently contribute to your account. Saving $1,000 in three months, or by the end of the year, is much more clear. Having a timeline gives you a calendar to stick to and plan milestones and action items around.
60 goals for 2024
While soul-searching, you may identify areas of life that require more improvement than others. In that case, you’ll already know where to invest your efforts in the year ahead. But you may not know exactly what goals to set, or have a few ideas and aren’t sure how to narrow them down.
Use the following list of potential life goals to see what resonates and find inspiration. Here are 60 good goals for 2024.
Personal goals for 2024
Kick off the year with a focus on your individual wellness. With these personal goals, you can work on your emotional health and shift your behaviors toward healthier habits.
1. Start journaling for five minutes every day
2. Learn to meditate or practice mindfulness
3. Take an art, cooking, or dance class
4. Make a vision board
5. Plan a trip from your bucket list
6. Lessen screen time or social media use by a set amount
7. Read a certain number of books
8. Join a volunteer organization
9. Start therapy
10. Meet with a life coach
Financial goals for 2024
Financial goals don’t have to be huge. Saving even a few dollars per paycheck can make a difference, and it’ll help you maintain better habits. If you want to take steps toward a more financially stable future, use the following list of money-related 2024 goal ideas to guide you.
11. Save a certain amount of money by a specific date
12. Pay a certain amount of debt
13. Learn how to invest
14. Start an emergency or rainy day fund
15. Learn how to do your own taxes
16. Start or continue a retirement fund
17. Save for a specific vacation
18. Pay off your car
19. Sell items you no longer need
20. Try to reduce a certain expense by a percentage, like spending 10% less per week on groceries
21. Track spending to understand your habits
Professional goals for 2024
Professional goals include career changes, moving up the ladder at your workplace, and improving your professional skills. Any aim that could improve your work life falls into this category, and this list can inspire you if you’re ready to level up your career.
22. Take a class for a new professional hard or soft skill
23. Listen to an educational podcast every morning on your commute
24. Express your interest in more responsibility or a promotion to your boss
25. Aim to score higher on your performance reviews
26. Research new jobs
27. Polish your resume and cover letter
28. Mentor a peer
29. Earn a certification
30. Go back to school for a master’s degree or professional certificate
31. Make a business plan for an entrepreneurial pursuit
32. Work with a business coach
33. Rebrand your small business
34. Improve your small business's social media performance (like engagement) by a certain percentage
35. Update your LinkedIn and other professional profiles
36. Attend a conference or talk
37. Lessen your fear of public speaking
Health goals for 2024
According to one study on New Year’s resolutions, some of the most popular goals are about physical health and eating habits. This concept looks different for everyone, but you can use the options below to identify ways to boost your health.
38. Run twice a week
39. Get a certain number of minutes of movement or steps each day
40. Sign up for a gym class
41. Practice yoga
42. Hydrate correctly
43. Meal plan to make more nutritious meals
44. Sign up for a healthy cooking class or meal box service
45. Spend more time in nature
46. Quit smoking
47. Reduce alcohol intake
48. Establish better sleep hygiene
49. Practice several different types of rest weekly
Relationship goals for 2024
Relationship goals could aim to improve friendships, familial links, and partnerships. The following options provide different ways to deepen your relationships and set healthy boundaries.
50. Call a loved one a certain number of times per week
51. Check-in with your partners’ feelings once a week
52. Start a pen-pal exchange with a friend who lives far away
53. Set up a fun ritual with your partner, like a date night or cooking together, that’s proven to encourage closeness
54. Join a group (like a book club) to meet new people
55. Read a self-help book on communication skills or attachment styles
56. Reconnect with an old friend
57. Help with an older family member’s caretaking activities a few times per week
58. Express your gratitude to a friend with a note or gift
59. Repair a tense relationship with a coworker
60. Set a boundary in a relationship or let go of a toxic one
Set goals in 2024 you won’t want to give up on
As the goal-setting frenzy starts before the new year, you may feel pressure to meet certain milestones or match other people’s ideas of what makes a good goal. Hearing friends planning to go to the same gym together could tempt you to become a member — the same way you might agree to read one book per because your partner’s doing so.
Remember that your goals for 2024 should be relevant and achievable for you, not anybody else. If you don’t have time to read a book a week or prefer outdoor sports to the gym, don’t set those goals. Protect your energy and direct it toward the things that truly matter to you. Use the SMART goal method, take the time to self-reflect, and create an action plan to focus on you, and only you, in 2024.
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