 Designing your year is very similar to designing a room in your home. But you won’t need to hire a designer – you are uniquely qualified to be your life’s designer. Living with intention instead of by default is the recipe for an exceptional year and life! Begin with the end in mind: a new kitchen remodel project begins with concept boards, selecting each appliance, fixture, and finish in that room, construction drawings, budget spreadsheets, and color renderings before anything in that physical room is touched. Borrow this concept from design and begin with December 31, 2024. Grab a journal for this exercise – I love this blank notebook by Maureen Claffy at her Threadless shop. Set a timer for 20 minutes, and write yourself a letter from that future self, reflecting on 2024, and how happy and grateful you are for what you accomplished. Note: This is not the place to say how you “fixed” yourself. Nothing is wrong with you – we are all perfect in the eyes of our Creator. Instead, let’s borrow that word – creator – and create our exceptional life this year and who that version of us is. It’s a wholly different energy than approaching yourself as a DIY fixer-upper project.
 Now comes the hard part for the less decisive among us. Remember that the meaning of the word “decide” comes from the Latin word, decidere, which is a combination of two words: de = “OFF” + caedere = “CUT.” The nature of deciding is cutting off other options. To truly gain traction and momentum, pick one area to focus on. I know from experience that upleveling one part of your life does have a ripple effect on the rest of your life, meaning you’ll probably also crush some of your other goals on the way. Here are some categories for your yearly focus:
Then state the main thing you want to have/achieve in 2024 that will make this year exceptional. Ideally, you will pick a swing-for-the fences goal that not only betters your life, but also requires you to change how you show up in life. For example, a business goal to increate top line revenue by 10% is probably shooting too low. You can probably get there by grinding and hustling more the same way you’re showing up now.  Instead pick a goal big enough that it will require you to change how you’re showing up in the world, that will require you to master your mindset, and will require you to do uncomfortable (out-of-comfort-zone) things. Discomfort is where the magic happens. Next, remember this old saw to make it measurable. Health goal? Instead of improving your blood pressure, why don’t you research the diet and exercise requirements that will allow you to stop taking or greatly decrease your high blood pressure meds? Your deadline for achievement will be December 31, 2024. This goal should scare you a bit. Just remember these words of wisdom from my business coach: “The person who achieves this goal and is living this life is not who you are now. You will grow into the person that achieves it.” Now that you have your exceptional goal for the year, it’s going to be too big to bite off in one chunk. Focus on this month. What can you accomplish this month that will bring you closer to this goal? Maybe it’s signing up for Barre classes 3x/week. Or systematizing your business so that you can delegate more. Journal on how you can accomplish this this month with all your current resources. Another note is an accountability partner would be a terrific idea for this exceptional year. The way it works is that you pick a permanent date and time to connect via phone/Zoom or in person. Normally, first thing Mondays or Fridays is a great time for this. Each person will take 10 minutes to describe what they plan to accomplish by the next meeting and share any concerns or challenges that kept them from meeting last week’s goals. The final 10-15 minutes is spent celebrating each other’s accomplishments, as well as brainstorming and sharing resources to overcome any roadblocks. In that same journal, plan to check in with yourself each morning before your day begins. Start by repeating your yearly and monthly goals. Celebrate yesterday’s wins and list any challenges, along with a plan to tackle them. 
This was a crash course in planning for an exceptional year. It’s such an expansive topic, I can’t do it justice in a single blog post. Other resources to check out include:
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