My ins and outs of 2024

Because it's okay to be late for a trend on a special occasion

Last year, there was a cute trend going around on social media.

As 2022 rolled into 2023, people—plus organizations, brands, media outlets, etc.—posted their very specific lists of ins and outs for the year ahead, breaking down the things they were declaring “in” and (you guessed it) the things they were declaring “out.” Sharing and commenting on lists from others became a game of its own! I had so much fun reading through all the ins and outs, but I remained a spectator of the trend.

I’ve seen a few in/out lists posted so far over the last few days, so I guess they’re back… at least to some degree. I’m fairly confident it won’t be The Big Deal it was in the run-up to last year’s New Year’s celebration, but I’m not afraid of being a little late to a fad party. And this fad party seems like a good time!

Once upon a time, I had a personal blog called Finding Plan A. (Don’t look it up. You won’t find it. I disappeared it from the internet amid a very low personal period in 2018.) Among other things, I posted quite a bit about goal-setting. When the blog started, I was in the very early days of my freelancing days and was super committed to the process of setting goals each month in a very particular way. At the start of every month, I would update my readers on the progress I’d made in the month before and share with them my goals for the coming weeks.

Yes, in case you were wondering, I’ve been known to be a little intense about these things.

The to-do list hacks I can't live without

As you might expect, there were some pretty intense New Year’s goal-setting and resolution posts on that blog, too.

While my husband and others who love me might tell you otherwise, I’ve mellowed over the last few years, and I try to take things like this a little less seriously. Typically, as the year comes to an end, I like to reflect broadly on my wins and shortcomings and on my hopes for the future. I can get into the whole “word of the year” concept and recently started using Canva to make a vision board-esque desktop for my computer.

Maybe this doesn’t sound chill, but I promise: it’s all very laidback compared to what I used to do.

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Currently Reading: A Winter in New York by Josie Silver

I’m less than 100 pages into this book, but I’m loving it so far! I don’t remember much about Josie Silver’s One Day in December, except that I liked it a lot… and it would seem that this book is following neatly in its footsteps. New York City, alternating timelines, and a gelato shop!?! What’s not to love?

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I still like this concept of the in/out list, though, and since it would appear that they are not totally uncool one year later, I’m ready to make and share my own. This seems like the perfect place for it to make its debut.

One of the last photos I have from this year, taken when we took a brief getaway to New York a few weeks ago.

And so, I give you my personal ins and outs for 2024. Feel free to borrow any or all of these ins and/or outs as you prepare for the new year yourself!

In