Finding My Groove in 2024

Background

To be caught up to speed on what a word of the year is, you can read my first word of year post from 2023. I chose the word Intention for 2023 and overall I think I made great progress and I thoroughly enjoyed having a lens to look at my progress throughout the year. You can read my reflections on the word Intention for 2023.

Since you have read the title of this article, you already know what my word of 2024 is: Groove. I thought about setting Routine as my word, but I feel like there is a cold connotation to that word, like it is rote and unresponsive. Rhythm was a runner-up word, but I think that Groove is just such a cool and fun word. Something that I value is flexibility and responsiveness, so I think that Groove somehow better captures that, probably with its association with jazz.

Last year I was trying to be intentional and trying to fold that into everything that I did. However, this year I want to focus on not having to try so hard. In a way I’m trying to front load intention via building systems and habits that allow me to not have to think about maintenance tasks so much. This is something like meal prepping or stocking healthy fallback options or building reading and listening habits.

I saw a TikTok of a person describing the four years post-grad as almost reflecting the ebbs and flow of the four years of undergrad. Last year I would have been a “freshman” and I am at the time writing this a “sophomore”. I have found this observation to generally ring true because in my first year post-grad I felt on top of the world; I was trying a lot of new things and felt like I was figuring a lot of things out. Then flash forward to sophomore year and the dreaded Sophomore Slump which I have definitely been feeling (as well as some of the isolation of living alone). I forgot some of my learnings from my first year of “real world” living, and have found myself feeling a bit more lost than I was last year as I start to think about home ownership, career, etc. However I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I think that filling my days with art as well as community will help alleviate much of the loneliness that I feel from living alone.

My Plans

1. Plan meals better.
   • Cook less and have food around that is easy to prepare and/or assemble.
     • I rediscovered my love for the Costco Bacon Bits as well as making shredded chicken that allows me to slip protein into more dishes in a really quick and easy way.
2. Do an arts & crafts hobby.
   • I’ve already bought inkpad stamps for cardmaking, but have not done anything with it yet, so I hope to break it open and use it sometime soon. I want to make birthday cards for people, so maybe for the next birthday it will kick me into high gear.
   • I hosted a lot of things last year and I want to continue that this year, but with more focus. In this way, I want to host some arts & crafts nights at my apartment.
3. Make less impulsive purchases.
   • This doesn’t mean spend less, in fact, it could mean that I spend more on higher quality goods.
   • Implement systems to think about purchases and explore alternatives before buying things.
     • I just want to do my due diligence and research the options of what’s out there and not be stuck with something that I don’t really want anymore after a couple of months.
   • Buy IPAs within 90 days of canning, no exceptions. I just don’t want to be disappointed by beer blind buys anymore!
4. Learn, think, and write more.
   • Consume information consciously and critically whether it be YouTube video essays, Internet articles, or books.
   • I want to write more and better.
     • I will continue writing and analyzing on my blog or in my Notes app.
     • I will consume aspirational writing content that will make me a better writer (better prose, planning, etc).
5. Listen to more music.
   • Since living alone, I have felt that it gets to be very quiet in the apartment without other people, so I want to play music on my speakers more often to fill the space.
   • I want to do another new music listening sprint.
6. Leave the apartment more.
   • It doesn’t have to be something social, I just don’t want to stay in the same environment too much.
     • I have already been going to the office and the gym which definitely helps.
   • Go to a cafe, bar, or brewery and write/read or something like that just to soak in vibes.
   • Try working remote from places other than the apartment, like a cafe or a friend’s place.