From The Pumpkin Patch

How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?

I read this quote in one of my regular Daily Stoic emails, and it really stuck with me. In fact, it’s going to be my theme for 2024.

There are a few areas of my life that I want to improve this year, and I plan to demand the best both for myself and from myself. I don’t believe that I’ve completely stayed in my comfort zone during the last twelve months, but I know I could be doing so much more. So why wait?

I’m also being mindful to set goals that are in my control, as some things just aren’t possible to predict – no matter how hard you work for them.

Below you’ll find my personal, professional and financial goals for 2024. I’ve also included a wish list, which are small goals that will simply be little bonuses to achieve.

I have a feeling it’s going to be a good year.

Personal Goals

Knit a jumper

I completely fell in love with knitting in 2023. It’s so relaxing, as well as being incredibly fulfilling when you can eventually wear something that you made with your own two hands.

By now I feel reasonably confident with my scarf and hat-making abilities, so in 2024 I want to knit myself a cosy jumper in the most beautiful shade of forest green.

Read 20 books

How did I fall out of love with reading for so long?

Since the beginning of 2022 I’ve been challenging myself to read a specific number of books each year. I began with 12, increased it to 15 for 2023 and have now set myself a goal of reading 20 books before 2024 comes to an end.

Write 15 blog posts

I created this website back in 2017 and have been updating it semi-regularly ever since. It’s just something I do for fun – I don’t make any money from my posts or even attempt any kind of promotion, as I don’t believe we should be monetising everything we enjoy.

However, I do want to hold myself accountable and post more frequently this year. I have a tendency to go quiet throughout the summer before overflowing with creativity during autumn, so instead I want to keep the momentum going all year and post 15 blog posts in 2024.

Professional Goals

Expand my writing career

This goal is intentionally vague, and that’s because I don’t know what I want to do yet. My plan is to build a career around writing, as it’s something I love and feel that I’m good at, but I haven’t quite decided how to go about this.

Do I want to become a published author? Do I want to write for a specific publication? Do I want to work for a company at a regular 9-5?

2024 is the year for figuring this out and working towards my goal. It’s scary, but exciting!

Write a short story

I’ve really enjoyed reading short stories lately and have been inspired to try writing one of my own. I have an idea that I’m really excited about, so this year I want to put pen to paper and get it out into the world.

To help me with this goal, I plan to complete a MasterClass course that teaches the art of the short story. But more importantly, I need to set aside the time to write regularly and find the confidence to try something new.

Write a children’s book

This has been a goal of mine for a few years now, and I’m determined to make it a reality in 2024. I have a handful of great ideas, and I just know I can turn one of them into a children’s book this year.

I suppose this goes hand-in-hand with my goal of expanding my writing career, just like my plan to write a short story. It looks like things are already coming together, in theory at least!

Financial Goals

Save a specific amount of money

This goal is pretty self-explanatory – I don’t feel comfortable sharing the exact amount of money I plan to save in 2024, but I’ll be working hard to resist all the pretty things in the shops and get back to earning an extra income that goes straight into my savings account.

Wish List

Learn to play ‘One Summer’s Day’ on the piano

My husband recently got a piano for Christmas, and it’s been lovely listening to him play during the evenings.

I’ve never been musically talented, but I can appreciate beautiful songs. I’ve always loved ‘One Summer’s Day’ from Spirited Away, my favourite film of all time, so my husband has been patiently teaching me how to play it.

It would be amazing to be able to play it all the way through by next Christmas!

Travel overseas – anywhere!

I never want to stop travelling and exploring the world, and I’ll be so grateful if I get the chance to do so this year.

Whether it’s a trip back to New Zealand to see my family and friends, visiting New York at Christmas (my dream!) or discovering a completely new (to me!) country such as Iceland, travelling is definitely on my wish list in 2024.

Make physical photo albums

The other day, I decided to reorganise and declutter my drawer full of cards and other memories that I’ve collected throughout the years. Of course I ended up sitting there for hours reading through every single one, and was filled with a deep appreciation and love for the life that I’ve lived so far.

Now I’m only 34, and I plan to live for many more years! I wondered what my older self might appreciate in years to come, and came to the conclusion that physical photo albums dotted with little notes and memories would be a wonderful way for her to look back on her life.

I’d love to find the time this year to start sorting through the past decades’ worth of photographs, collating them into physical albums for my 85+ year-old self to eventually rediscover someday.

If I’m honest, I’m happy to leave 2023 behind. I have so many wonderful memories from the last twelve months, but it’s also been one of the toughest years of my life.

It’s time to demand the best for myself, and I’m excited for what’s to come.