Things to Do to Kick Off 2024 Like a Winner

Happy 2024, my dear Life Lover friends! May this year come full of love, travels, happiness, and everything you deserve. 

“New year, new me” is what many say; we cleanse, review the past year, and prepare for the new year, so let’s talk about what to do to start the year like a winner.

By Pat Aguilar

@pataguilar_

Traditionally, we say that we need to prepare to receive the new year in the best way, but with the rush of the festivities and many commitments, it’s hard to prepare everything the way we would like. But the energy around the new year lasts beyond that first day. Many cultures don’t celebrate the new year on the same date. For example, Chinese culture celebrates the new year in February. See? The energy of beginnings can last for a month or even more. 

Let’s start with the most known one: Intention settings.

First, let’s be clear that this can apply to any aspect/area of your life. I set intentions in eight aspects of my life: spiritual (expansion, soul, being), mental (mind, learning, wisdom), work (career, contribution, service), love (family, relationships, connection), wealth (financial goals, assets, resources), social (connections, community, fun), physical (health, fitness, well-being), and inspiration (travel, creativity, adventure). 

Getting a new journal or notebook is a way to set intentions first. Even if I still have pages left in the one from the previous year, I will buy a new one. I always believe in one that motivates me to write in it because it will be my “map” during the year. 

Then, choose one of the aspects of your life in which you want to set your intentions, or you can do this with each aspect of your life. On one page, you will write what you would like, and on the following page, you will write the actionable steps. For example, the spiritual aspect of life: I would like to be more grateful. Actionable steps: write ten things I am thankful for every day.

Intentions must be clear and can be as big and crazy as you want. Please don’t feel afraid to ask; we are talking about energy and pathways, and what we are is what we attract, so think big. 

I like to keep this on the first pages of my journal so that I can go back and check them as I want. 

I also recommend doing this on the 11th of January, as it is the first new moon of 2024, the best time to set intentions for the year.

Detox.

This one is big in January, as we tend to excess in everything during the holidays, or is it just me? 

How to do this? There are plenty of cleanses that you can buy on the market these days. From juices, food, etc., you can choose the one that is best for you: a month without alcohol, a three-day juice cleanse, modifying your diet (for example, no sugar for a month), etc. 

Another detox that I like to do is my screen time. We all know how much social media can affect how we feel, so I take this time of the year to cleanse my social media: am I following pages that help me be the best version of myself? Am I following pages that are teaching me something? How much time am I spending on social media? 

Phones now have a timer; this is handy to limit your time on social media. You can set it up for 10, 15, or however many minutes you like on social media. Once you use those minutes, the screen will get blocked. Yes, you can add another 15 minutes during the day, but instead of scrolling for one hour two times a day, now you can be scrolling for 15 minutes three times a day. For me, that sounds better. Having that timer is the signal your body will need to change activity. I did this and changed my use of time on social media and what I was checking.

Declutter.

This is another way to start the year: clearing our spaces. The first one that comes to my head is the closet. How many clothes do you have there? Or even clothes that you have no idea are there? As Marie Kondo says, grab your wardrobe, check all your clothes, and keep the ones that bring you joy. That is the easy part, but what happens with those? A trick is to hang your clothes with the hooks facing you, and as you use the clothes, you change the direction of the hooks. After six months, you can check the ones you use, and for the rest, you can donate, find a market to sell them in, or organise a clothing swap with your friends. 

To declutter the rest of your home, I recommend the following tips:

1. Set a list of what you need to declutter. 

2. Set a day to do this so you don’t have any other responsibilities. If you took two days off from work, leave one to declutter your home. 

3. Do it in small steps. If you feel overwhelmed, like me, try this: do one drawer per day or one area per day. Or set up 15-20 minutes per day to declutter. Whatever makes it easier for you. 

4. Organise your things in boxes as you go and try to give a home to each item. That way, it will be easy to keep everything tidy, and you will know where everything is, avoiding buying new items you probably already have.

When we start the year, it is expected that we want to make that significant change. Also, we want it to be quick. But this can lead to failure. Our body or routine doesn’t adapt as quickly as expected, and we will return to our old habits. It is best to make small, but consistent, changes. 

As I once read somewhere: It is better to do 10 minutes of exercise than none. It Is better to read one page of a book every day than none. We can get stuck in the thought of “if it is not a big change, it doesn’t count”, but that is not true. If we improve by one percent daily, we will see a noticeable change in our lives. This is called the principle of “aggregation of marginal gains” and is the idea that if you improve by just one percent consistently, those small gains will add up to remarkable improvement. You can apply this to any aspect of your life.

As I mentioned at the start of this article, we have a whole month, even two if we consider other cultures or beliefs, to start making these changes. You can follow the moon, Chinese culture, or astrology if you like (according to astrology, the start of the year is in March). Whatever time you choose to start will be the perfect one for you. 

I hope you achieve all your goals and intentions for this year. Don’t forget to write to us on social media if you have any questions.

Until next time!

Pat

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