Goodbye 2023, Hello 2024

Guidelines and links (a dozen of them!) for those who like to review and plan

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I can’t help it, I’m a sucker for year-end reviews and planning. I think this obsession started years ago when Chris Guillebeau used to devote posts to his lavish process. Even since then, I’ve been hooked. And there’s nothing I love better than finding a template for my planning. I’ve used them from Leone Dawson, Max Daniels, Michael Hyatt (his was a whole, long program I faithfully slogged through) and many, many, more I’ve forgotten.

The best of these are to the point, relevant, and also helpful. As in not overwhelming, not making you feel bad about what you didn’t do, and not being anything but positive about the coming year.

The worst of them tend towards the repetitive, as if the author wanted to make really, really sure that you go through every single emotion you felt on every day and made sure you processed them all. And wrote them all down, too!

Some will fit you better than others, which is why it is good to have a choice. And some will work perfect one year for you but fall flat the next! (At least that’s what happens with fickle ole me.)

Because there are now so many annual planner/workbooks on the market (most of them free), I’m not going to make up my own here. Instead, I've compiled an extensive list for you (there really are a dozen choices)* and am listing several loose guidelines that I hope will be helpful.

Some loose guidelines and thoughts on the process

Make it work for you. If you have the time and wherewithal, take a day or a weekend and dive in. If not, do it whenever you can. See next entry.

Do it pretty or ugly. Pretty: light candles, put on your favorite music, meditate before you dive in. Ugly: Work on it when you have a spare minute, ponder it in the shower and make notes on your phone to add later. (My goal every year is pretty. But my reality is ugly. Ugly but still satisfying!)

Give yourself permission to skip anything (questions, prompts) you like and dive deep into the questions that resonate.

Devise a plan to accomplish your grand goals. This is, ahem, where I most often fail. Don’t just make the plan, figure out ways to follow through with it.

Ignore the calendar. As in, this process does not have to be finished by January 1st. You can work on it all of January! Or into February! For as long as you want!

It’s supposed to be fun. Or at least satisfying. (Like writing.) Resist the perfectionist urge, relax and have at it.

Make it a working document. As in, something that you pull out and refer to, perhaps monthly, maybe quarterly, and see where you are. Not only look at what you’ve accomplished, but what you might want to change.

And with that, let’s get to the good stuff.

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Special Resource Section

Chris Guillebeau The one that started it all! The link is to a fun post that has lots of explanation and personal examples.

Caroline Donahue This annual planner, Your Writing Year, is all about the writing! You could complete this one in tandem with one of the others, because, as we know, writing is a special beast all its own.

Heather Demetrios One of my all-time favs to follow for all things writing and meditation, Heather offers the Get Clear 2024 workbook. It’s packed full of useful ideas, questions, and prompts.

Leonie Dawson Here goal books are great fun and I’ve used them repeatedly. If you like bright colors, goofy drawings, and exuberance, you’ll love them. If you abhor curse words, not so much. Leonie is an Australian who was one of the first lifestyle peeps to master internet marketing. To the tune of becoming a millionaire. And her goal setting books have been a huge part of her success.

Kerstin Martin She offers a Calm Business review for you entrepreneurs out there. It’s the opposite of the usual push, push, push, be productive business stuff, as the word “calm” in the title implies. And if you need to learn Squarespace, Kerstin is your woman.

Max Daniels Her planner falls into the category of not too much, not too little, just enough. I’ve used it for a couple of years, but because I am a fickle, easily bored human being this year I went rogue and bought a new plan. Anyway, Max is great and her planner is $20. Also, her weekly newsletter is sometimes odd but always great and even though it is ostensibly about recovery from binge eating, there’s more to it than that.

Creative Dream Incubator Andrea Schroeder runs classes and programs for creatives, as the name implies. She’s another one with fun drawings but minus the cussing. If you like rainbows and fairies and sparkles, you’ll love her. I bought her year-end review journal for $9 this year and enjoyed it.

Susannah Conway This is the fifteenth year that Susannah has created these workbooks. They are lovely and extensive, focused a bit more on the emotional side than some, but delightful. I didn’t do it this year, but in the past I’ve given myself permission to skip some of the pages—there are a lot! Free!

Sahil Bloom’s Annual Planning Guide. This one is far more techie/business-y but I love it because he allows you to name more than one goal and advocates for checkpoint goals along the way. This helps you put the plan into action. Whish is where I have trouble. Free template if you provide your email!

Michael Hyatt What used to be a program has turned into a book (affiliate link). Not sure I really want to spend this quiet week between the holidays referring to a book as I make my plans, but Hyatt’s work is always reliably good. Very, very practical, research-driven, etc.

Year Compass I just heard about this one on Reddit (one of the best places on the internet, even though I’m a lurker). It’s free! And it’s got some good stuff in it—like going through your calendar to remember important events. Another good memory jogger is looking through photos.

Ryan Holiday He runs an annual Daily Stoic Challenge starting January 1, that promises to help you change your life through learning new skills, ending procrastination, etc. etc. I’m never sure about this stoic stuff because it seems so masculine, but I like Ryan a lot. He runs a bookstore in a small town in Texas and has cool newsletters. This challenge is 21 days and costs $99, but it’s tempting.

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*I don’t get any kickback from recommending any of these. I share them in the hopes you’ll find one that resonates.

Do you have a favorite I’ve missed? Please do list it in the comments. Or tell how you like to do it!