Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2024
I’ve been writing about the importance of reflection and planning for the new year. Now that things are slowing down for me, I took time to do this exercise for myself. The end of the year used to conjure up a crazy mix of emotions for me but this year feels different. The one prevailing emotion I’m feeling is excitement ✨ No regrets, no stress, no anxiety, just excitement about what opportunities lie ahead in 2024.
I started my reflection by jotting down a personal note of things that I’m excited about from a personal, professional, and wellbeing perspective. It was so helpful for me that I thought I’d share it with you.
Here’s what I’m looking forward to next year!
Professional Outlook
2023 was a year of transition for me. At the start of the year, going full-time as a coach & consultant wasn’t even a consideration. Now, I couldn’t be happier doing this work. Here are my plans for the business in 2024:
Going deeper with coaching: I plan to continue to help clients navigate the job search, new roles, and earn the promotions they deserve. In order to do that, I’ll be focusing on expanding my list of clients. I’ll also be spending some time researching additional service offerings and free resources for my current clients and potential new clients (I introduced a free resources hub and my favorite reads this year). Friends & family receive a 10% discount on all my services, this extends to referrals of friends & family as well! E-mail me if you or anyone you know is interested in coaching (hello@workwithashleyr.com).
Growing and nurturing my professional network: The best decisions I’ve made this year are joining professional networks and communities, connecting with new people I find interesting on LinkedIn, reconnecting with old colleagues, and getting rid of my self-doubt by actively sharing my work with my close friends. I’ll expand on the first two points below since the last two points are self-explanatory:
Professional networks and communities: Some of my favorite professional communities are Pollen (a support network and resource hub for consultants and solopreneurs), Fractionals United (a Slack community and resource group for Fractional Leaders), and Ready Set Coach (a Circle community for all kinds of coaches)!
Optimizing how I use LinkedIn to build genuine connections: I’m sharing this just in case it helps any of you. I stopped passively scrolling my feed and occasionally liking posts in favor of doing the following 3 things consistently. I like this approach because most people use LinkedIn when they need something (a new job, a reference, a referral, engagement on a post) and sometimes that comes across as inauthentic — this has been a more authentic way for me to regularly engage with the platform:
Reputation building: I’m intentional about commenting and participating in discussions that are genuinely interesting to me.
Network expansion: I connect with individuals (read: strangers) who post content I learn from - I don’t just focus on “influencers”. I send requests to other consultants, C-suite folks, ICs with interesting points of view, etc.
Helping others: I use the “support” emoji for every single job opening I come across that might be interesting to my network. It’s one small thing I can commit to doing and by doing so, maybe I’ll help someone find their next opportunity.
Personal Outlook
My second theme for 2024 is being intentional about the time, energy, and financial investments I’m making in my personal life. Here’s what I’m doing next year:
Being more intentional with my relationships: Some of my best memories from 2023 were with friends, family, and my boyfriend. One thing that feels different than when I was younger is that these moments now take planning and coordination. In 2024, I want to find more excuses to throw gatherings, plan dates, take trips to see my mom and friends, and have fun hangouts.
Nurturing my appreciation for the arts, culture, & travel: All 3 of these things are still important to me, but how I choose to incorporate them into my life has changed over the years. Here’s what I’m making time for in 2024:
Arts: If you know me, you know I love NYC museums (who doesn’t?). I plan to make a few more trips to The Met on Friday nights and drop in on the upcoming Swizz Beats & Alicia Keys’ exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.
Culture: I did my first Jane’s Walk tour in 2023 and I learned so much about my neighborhood. The walks take place all across the 5 boroughs (and in other cities globally). They’re led by locals, who love (and/or live) in the neighborhoods they lead tours in.
Travel: I want to continue to travel stress-free with Kindred. I
Practicing new and old hobbies/pastimes: Learning new things is a passion of mine. Here’s what I’ll be diving into next year:
Candle making: I learned how to make luxury candles in 2023 and I plan to continue blending my own scents and making more candles in 2024.
French: I’ll be starting French lessons in January for the first time in 10 years!
Podcasts: Still not sorry that listening to podcasts is a favorite pastime of mine. Here’s what I’m keeping on my rotation: Keep It!, Every Outfit, First Class Founders, Modern Love, and Scope Creep.
Health & Wellbeing Things I’m Focused On
My third major category of focus for next year is health & wellbeing. It may sound cliché to some but I’ve recognized that I’m happier and more productive when I invest in myself. Here are three things I’m committing to doing to improve my wellbeing:
Develop a consistent positive thinking habit. I’ll be listening to nightly affirmations on ThinkUp. I started focusing on positive thinking in Q4 of this year and it’s helped me be more open to opportunities (rather than think about all the reasons not to do something, I now consider all the reasons I should and take action) and I’ve noticed that I’m much more proactive. This isn’t to say that I didn’t go after opportunities and wasn’t proactive before - now, I’m focusing on optimizing something that has historically come natural to me. I like the ThinkUp app because you record affirmations in your own voice and add soothing background music to the recording. You can also play your affirmations on a loop. I do it right before bed; it takes less than 5 seconds to press play and they’re so relaxing that I fall asleep while listening.
Increasing my weekly workout commitment to 4-5x per week. In 2023, I worked out 3-4x a week on average. Working out helps me with mental clarity, it keeps my energy levels high, and I feel better overall. So next year, I plan to continue with my strength training routine (2x a week), continue my OrangeTheory workouts (1x a week), and add in light cardio (1-2x a week).
Rituals, rituals, rituals. I’ve come to realize that rituals are an important part of my daily routine (they’re important for society as well, apparently). Here’s a peek at the rituals that made me feel sane in the second half of 2023:
Daily: listening to nightly affirmations, drinking that viral TikTok bedtime mocktail, taking daily walks with Ailey in Central Park
Weekly: publishing new posts on Substack, date nights, and dedicating time each week to learning new things and improving my coaching practice
Monthly: Ordering prints from Mootsh (I love physical photos!), Saturday/Sunday morning showings at the movies, volunteering with New York Therapy Animals, and Russian manicures (they really do last for 3-4 weeks!)
Annual: Supporting my favorite causes (including Alvin Ailey) and conducting personal annual reviews
Thank you for subscribing, reading, and sharing my posts with your networks this year. I’ve come to genuinely love sharing my musings with you all. See you next year 👋🏾