23 Goals for 2023
If you’ve been following along for a while now, you might have seen me talk about how I have all these ideas of what I want to do and a general feeling of motivation to pursue all of them - but no action plan, no sense of direction, and a lot of procrastination. I have been feeling lost, confused, and all over the place, not to mention frustrated with myself for being stuck in a rut for almost 3 years.
As December approached, I wanted to write out my goals for 2023, get started on them before the new year came around, and feel like I was ahead of my plans by the time January 1st came around.
But I didn’t do any of that. And I’m glad I didn’t. Here is what I did instead.
I used December to focus on family, friends, work, and myself. I let my mind wander, and I observed how my thoughts were being allocated - how much time did I spend thinking about ideas for Twenties by Design, books I wanted to read, hangouts with friends, travel, career, etc.? Between that and reflecting on 2022, I rediscovered my priorities and passions. I don’t know for sure that I have gotten out of the rut, but I am heading into 2023 with so much more clarity and calmness about what I want and how I can get there.
As I mentioned in my 2022 reflections blog post, most of my goals from last year are carrying over into this year. If you’re in a similar situation, I hope you know that there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It certainly does not mean that last year was “unsuccessful,” nor does it mean that you are the same now as you were at the start of last year. Likely, you have learned, grown, and accomplished so much - you just need to take some time to acknowledge it. If your goals are carrying over, it probably means that these are still important to you. But it never hurts to check over them and make sure that you are pursuing these for yourself, not because someone expects you to or because the media is telling you that these are the “keys to success” (whatever that means).
These are high-level goals, but if you want to see how I break down these goals quarterly and monthly, you can follow along on the TBD Instagram.
Lifestyle
1. Do a random act of kindness every month
2. Develop and stick to a morning and night routine
3. Decrease non-work screen time to under 2 hours a day
4. Declutter my digital spaces (I was thinking of making this a community challenge that we could do together.)
5. Create a calming physical environment (I separated this out for 2023 because I had a lot of components for this one.)
Hobbies
6. Read 75 books
7. Develop my skills and confidence as a DJ
Career/Education
8. Become published (somewhere … this is still a pretty abstract idea, but if anyone has any ideas or tips that you’re willing to share, I’d love to know! I think posting on Medium would also be a great start.)
9. Work toward my next career/education move
Health
*content warning for anyone who is sensitive to fitness/exercise/food/body-related talk, please don’t hesitate to skip past this section to #15 ♡*
10. Go to physical therapy for my back
11. Get back into working out routinely, with a focus on getting stronger and improving my cardiovascular health
12. Stretch every day after work (and use this time to practice mindfulness)
13. Drink more water (my 64 oz. water bottle will definitely help with this)
14. Eat balanced meals to make sure I am getting all my nutrients (I am vegetarian and would love to learn more vegan and vegetarian recipes. I also love dessert and want to bake more!)
Recreation/Social
15. Capture more memories with friends through pictures, videos, and scrapbooking
16. Make a New York City bucket list (moving there soon, so stay tuned for all the New York content!!!)
17. Visit 3 new cities, 2 new states, and 1 new country
Twenties by Design (I really want to grow TBD this year and be a lot more committed to it because I find that it brings me a lot of joy, and I love meeting so many amazing people and getting inspired!)
18. Monetize Twenties by Design
19. Develop a routine to produce more and consistent content (ex. publish a new blog post each week, use Notion to keep track of tasks, etc.)
20. Meet other creators, work with brands I love, and expand my creative potential
21. Host challenges, create printables, and build a brand identity
Finances
22. Create and consistently use a budget tracker (come up with goal numbers for investing, saving, and budgeting)
23. Be mindful of only buying things that I need, when I need
I say this often, but just remember that you don’t have to set goals on or by January 1st, in January, on the first day of a week or month, or even at all. Goals can provide great guidance if you feel like you need them and they add value to your life. Otherwise, don’t waste your time or energy on something that doesn’t serve you.
This is kind of becoming the TBD motto, so I’ll say it again: trust yourself and design the life you want to live.
P.S. If there’s anything I can do to make these posts or even the website more accessible, please leave your feedback below or email/DM me. Inclusivity is super important to me, so I’d love to make any adjustments to ensure this content can be accessed by all!