Welcome to 2024! I got to celebrate the way many parent of littles do… by binging on shows and audiobooks in between my kids’ bedtime and my own, making it just across midnight, giving my wife a quick little kiss then promptly passing out.
Might be a while before New Years’ Eve is once again what it used to be, but in spite of that, I really am in one of the most incredible stretches of my life… family life, creativity, travel, career, and so on. I’m trying to savor that and let the year pass slowly in 2024.
Here’s what’s in:
In 2024… allow generous amounts of time to do things.
Last year, I started the habit of being more generous to myself with the amount of time I allotted to get things done.
Can I edit a shortform video in about half an hour? Probably, but if I give myself a full hour to do it, it won’t feel rushed. I’ll enjoy the process WAY more and will probably make a better video. This simple shift takes things from being a chore to being an experience.
On top of that, giving myself a moment in between activities to transition, get in the mood, and remind myself the bigger reasons why I’m doing the thing I’m about to do really improves everything.
In 2024… give stats with the eyeball test.
In baseball, there are some players who certain statistics suggest should be pretty bad, but are absolutely scary to face as an opponent. (See: Kyle Schwarber, WAR/Batting Average)
In reforestation, there are ecologically devastating ways to plant a whole bunch of trees.
In economics, some numbers can suggest mild inflation that just doesn’t match up with people’s pain at the grocery stores.
Numbers are helpful, but don’t forget their limitations.
In 2024… seek community in real life.
I’ve missed this so much.
Seriously, I can’t help but believe pretty strongly that if all the effort people put into building a massive online audience went towards building a strong real-life community, we’d take a huge step towards health.
(Like, seriously. Imagine if all those TikToks and Reels about hooking your audience and mastering the formula for posting frequency were about hosting game nights and book clubs!)
This year, I’ve met way more new people than I have in a long time. Ah, I’ve got a few group texts going now, where invites to nights outs with groups are commonplace. I wish I could say yes to a lot more of them. Still. I’ve managed to get in a lot more quality time with new friends this year and there’s simply no replacement for IRL community.
In 2024… I’m fully embracing audiobooks + drawing.
I’m an audiobook guy now. Didn’t see that coming! But being able to play one while drawing and not having to choose between the two activities when I want to unwind at the end of the day has been wonderful.
I’ve drawn a lot more and read a lot more as a result. The two activities pair so well.
Currently, my favorite recipe is to pair the library up with Everand (the audiobook platform of Scribd. Pretty strong selection!) I discourage Spotfiy for financial reasons while acknowledging I might start a book there in a pinch since Premium gives you 15 hours for free each month.
In 2024… we’re done caring about social media math.
I’ve roughly doubled my follower count last year and had a couple of posts go viral. Whenever that happens, it messes with my notifications for a while and then everything goes back to the way it was.
Social media platforms are hyper-aware of what people are willing to give up for the prospect of being seen, and while it’s hard to totally rebel against the way they’ve impacted the way our world works, we have the power to be more apathetic to their metrics.
The algorithms are too fickle and change too often to even worry about appeasing with every turn. I’m more invested in creating stuff that would be enjoyable offline that I can also release and post there as a bonus. If it does well there too, so be it.
In 2024… I’m aiming to make the most positive assumptions we can.
Whether this is your closest relationship or somebody you find yourself diametrically opposed to, it always serves us all best to make generous assumptions about other people. Give the benefit of the doubt. Allow people to be human. This year will have inevitable drama. Hold your boundaries while allowing everyone else to be a work in progress.
In 2024, I’m all about letting myself produce less work so you can produce deeper work.
I started last year by trying to aggressively cut back on my workload and I don’t regret that at all. This year is starting on a similar note. I’ve already found a way to cut back on my production schedule, and I’m excited for all the extra time that equates to. I’ll bet no one even notices I’m producing less.
It’s kind of funny, because I feel like this is a goal I take on every year, and somehow I keep finding more and more to cut back on. You’d figure mathematically we’d run out at some point, but it hasn’t happened yet, and that keeps giving me more space to take life in full
In 2024, I’m all about emphasizing the immediate benefits of climate action.
So much of climate communications is like, “save the earth now so our kids can even still have an earth.” In reality, so many things we can do right away will have an impact that’s felt right away. Walkable cities that lead to better social lives? Yes. Healthier soil to reduce food insecurity? Better biodiversity? Those are benefits that can be had almost right away.
Dr. Kate Marvel recently wrote a pretty great op-ed in the New York Times about how it’s not just about sounding the alarm bells but that the advocacy, research, and efforts by many over the past several years have paid off significantly. Yes, there’s further work ahead, but not all of that work will involve catastrophizing
In 2024, I want to keep getting back in my body.
After years of spending most of my time engaging the empirical side of my brain, it was really nice to get back into my body in a number of different ways.
I’ve been mid-marathon training right now, and the feeling after a long run is always surprisingly amazing.