Tools for ’24: Learn from the past, set your intentions, stay present every day

The new year is a great opportunity to reflect on the past, present, and future, and to set your goals and intentions for the next 12 months. Whether you want to improve your health, career, relationships, or personal growth, having a clear vision and a realistic plan can help you achieve your desired outcomes. However, sometimes it can be hard to know where to start, how to stay motivated, and how to measure your progress. That’s why I have compiled a list of five tools that can help you plan and achieve your goals in 2024. These tools are designed to help you become more aware of your strengths, challenges, values, and aspirations, and to guide you through the process of creating and implementing your action plan.

These are the five tools that I have used in the past and that have helped me to be clearer in my intentions for the year ahead and to help me to stay present and grounded during the year:

Year Compass

This year helps you to review the year just gone and then helps you to set intentions for the year ahead with thought-provoking questions that help you to understand what is important in your life. The ‘compass’ consists of a booklet of 20 pages and is divided into four sections:

• Closing the year: This section helps you reflect on the highlights and challenges of the past year, the lessons you learned, the people you met, and the things you are grateful for.
• The year ahead: This section helps you envision your ideal year, the goals you want to achieve, the habits you want to change, and the actions you need to take.
• Magic: This section helps you tap into your intuition, creativity, and imagination, and to create a vision board, a mantra, or a symbol for your year.
• Regular check-in: This section helps you track your progress, celebrate your achievements, and adjust your plan throughout the year.

It’s surprising how much the questions draw you in to reflecting on your life.

Future Me

FutureMe is a website that allows you to send an email to your future self. You can write a letter to yourself, choose a date when you want to receive it, and then forget about it until it arrives in your inbox. You can use this tool to:

• Give yourself advice, encouragement, or feedback
• Remind yourself of your goals, values, or dreams
• Express your feelings, thoughts, or emotions
• Document your current situation, challenges, or achievements
• Make predictions, plans, or promises

It’s amazing how impactful a letter from yourself can be.

Tim Ferris’ Past Year Review

The Past Year Review is a simple and effective method for planning your year, created by Tim Ferriss, a best-selling author, entrepreneur, and podcaster. The method involves two steps:

• Step 1: Make a list of all the people, activities, and things that made you happy or unhappy in the past year. You can use your calendar, your journal, your photos, or your memory to recall them. Then, divide the list into two columns: positive and negative.

• Step 2: Review the list and ask yourself two questions: What 20% of the sources caused 80% of your positive emotions and outcomes? And what 20% of the sources caused 80% of your negative emotions and outcomes? Then, based on your answers, decide to do more of what makes you happy and less of what makes you unhappy in the new year.

You can use this method to identify and prioritize the most important and impactful aspects of your life, and to eliminate or minimize the ones that drain your energy and happiness.

Oxford Mindfulness Foundation – live daily practices

The Oxford Mindfulness Foundation is a charity that aims to promote the benefits of mindfulness for mental health and well-being. They offer weekly live, donation based, practice sessions with the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation enable you to stay mindful all year round.

The sessions are open to anyone (beginners, experienced practitioners) who wants to practice mindfulness with a group of like-minded people. The sessions are led by experienced mindfulness teachers, and they last for 30 minutes.

The sessions are a great way to stay mindful all year round, and to learn from and connect with other mindfulness practitioners.

Atoolkitforlife’s Instagram Page

atoolkitforlife is a platform that aims to bring greater joy and self-awareness in the world through mindfulness practice. Our Instagram account has over 500 posts on mindfulness, happiness, and personal growth. You can find an inspiring quote, a practical tip, or a beautiful image to anchor you in the present, every day of 2024.

These are some of the tools that can help you to reflect on your intentions and maintain your mindfulness in 2024. Wishing everybody a mindful year ahead.