Yearly Goals: Refecting on 2024 and Planning for 2025

I have mixed feelings about New Year Resolutions. On one hand, they are a great way to start fresh with something. On the other, they often end up as a way to beat ourselves up when we don't meet our own lofty expectations. And that doesn't help anyone!

I started 2024 with the decision to walk a mile every day in January. That was it, I pointedly kept it manageable. I was feeling really blah after the holidays and just wanted to get my body moving. That turned into two months, which turned into 100 days, which turned into six months and then a year. As I write this, I have three more miles to complete before I will have walked a mile every single day for a year (366 days to be exact, thanks leap year!).

So what did walking a mile a day for a year teach me?

-First, that I am more successful if I do something every single day! I have struggled with maintaining habits all my life, always juggling the all or nothing mentality. Turns out 2024 was also the year I finally got diagnosed with ADHD, and let me tell you, it really puts the habits thing into perspective.

-Second, you have to set the bar low enough that even when your dead tired or sick, you can still do the thing. The number of times I VERY BEGRUDGINGLY got on my walking treadmill at 9 or 10 at night, only succeeding because I could walk slowly and watch an episode of TV? I lost count.

-Third, I haven't noticed any physical changes from walking every day this year. THERE, I SAID IT. There have absolutely been a bunch of days where getting outside and moving my body helped my mental state. But when you see other people on social media saying completing similar goals changed x/y/z with their body?! Yeah, nope, none of that. In fact I went through a period of several months where I had intermittent foot pain from walking barefoot on my treadmill and had to get inside sneakers specifically for that purpose (we don't wear shoes in our house).

All in all, am I glad I did it? Yes. Am I ready to be done with it? Also yes, haha. Have I decided on a new daily challenge for 2025? Also also yes.

My plan for 2025 is to read every single day. That means at least 1 page of a book, or one minute of an audiobook.

Now, if you've known me for a while, you might be cocking your head to the side and saying, "That doesn't seem to be a challenge for you?" After all, I've averaged about 75 books a year over the last 10 years. I even had a book blog for three years that led me to meeting Sarah J Maas long before Booktok was even a twinkle in someone's eye (I regret not asking for a photo, but I have signed books!). Here's the catch: I am WILDLY inconsistent about my reading. I have the ability to read multiple books in one week, and then turn around and not read anything at all for a month. I also noticed throughout the past year that I've been spending more time doomscrolling when I would normally be reading. So that's my 2025 goal!

I'm also throwing an extra curve ball in there. I REALLY need to put a dent in the amount of unread books I own. I own 189 books that I haven't read yet!!!! While book reading and book buying are two different hobbies, it's still admittedly out of control at this point. I've tried for the last several years to work on this, but end up making the pile even larger. So we're going to give it another go in 2025!

Want to follow me on my reading goals? Find me on StoryGraph! It's a thousand times better than Goodreads, built and owned by a black woman who still does all the coding. You won't regret the switch.

Did you have 2024 goals? If so, how did they go? What are you planning for 2025?