EE 320 - The Complete 2024 Masterplan Guide
My gift to you for 2024 is my complete guide to reviewing your year and planning 2024.
This episode breaks down in detail how I plan my entire year and the systems I use for success.
Happy New Year and I hope this episode helps you plan your best year yet.
Your Complete 2024 Guide
Happy New Year!
Today, I’m going to share a simple version of the system I use for reviewing 2023 and planning 2024.
I’ve done a special podcast episode explaining this system and released it today. You can listen on Spotify or Apple.
To be honest, I could have written 10,000 words on goal setting, systems and planning.
If you want to learn more you can join me and Shane Cradock for our Mindshift Course in 2024. Learn more here.
Now, let’s get down to business.
I don’t make resolutions anymore. They are for people who don’t have systems.
After reading Atomic Habits by James Clear, I adopted a systems mindset and it’s transformed my productivity.
Over 50% of resolutions are forgotten by the end of January.
We aren’t those people so today, let’s put our systems together to make 2024 the year of growth and success we want.
Systems are clear, concise frameworks you apply every single day to achieve your longer-term goals.
Give yourself about 3-4 hours to complete your 2023 review and 2024 plan.
Allow a few sessions to do this. Do 90 minutes in one session and another 90 minutes a couple of days after.
You want to let it settle in your mind and give it time to mull over. You are setting 12-month goals here so it’s not something to do while you are rushed or distracted.
The key thing here is to treat this as a living document. This isn’t a one-and-done situation. I cannot stress that point enough.
Revisit this document each week and ideally glance at it daily to keep yourself clear on the mission.
Treat this as your journal, north star and accountability buddy rolled into one.
You can use a notebook and pen or a digital planner such as Notion. I use Notion and also carry a notebook around with me to jot down ideas, reminders and to-do lists to keep me on track.
The only thing that matters is you pick a system you can stick to. The method is secondary, the actions are always primary.
I do my review and planning simultaneously as there should be an overlap between both. Take the learnings from 2023 and apply them directly to 2024.
Right, let’s get going.
When you finish reading, hit reply and tell me your ONE massive goal for 2024.
Gary
P.S. If your company wants to reach the key business leaders and entrepreneurs in Ireland, you should sponsor my podcast in 2024. Fill out this form and I’ll be in touch if it’s a fit.
Your 2023 Review Guide
The key to planning and reviewing is to keep it simple. You can always go deeper if you want, but for now, do the basics.
Here’s how I do my year review.
Wins
Start by jotting down 5-10 wins, successes or things that went well in 2023. What were you proud of? It’s important to recognise what you did right. Often yearly reviews can become pity parties about what went wrong or be too hard on yourself for things that didn’t work out.
If you hit all your goals and your review is just one list of brilliant things, then you’ve set your goals too low. Aim higher in 2024. It’s all about finding a balance of goals that are achievable but push you beyond your comfort zone.
Moments
This one is shorter. Write down 5 moments where you were happiest or felt most fulfilled. Can be big moments or tiny moments. The goal here is to try to identify patterns that help us shape our vision for 2024.
Learnings
Same as Wins, make a list of 5 things that didn’t work out or could have been better. Make sure to follow that with how you will change it or why it was a bad goal to set in the first place. Remember - play silly games, win silly prizes. Your daily and weekly actions must reflect the goals you’ve set at the start of the year.
I’ve rebranded this from losses. You only truly fail if you quit or keep making the same mistake over and over. That is why sessions like this are so valuable. We often overlook bad habits or actions simply because we don’t take the time, to be honest with ourselves and stop to see where we can improve.
Blockages
This is a new section for me as I only uncovered this idea in 2023.
We all have things holding us back mentally. You know those things that keep you awake at 4 am in the morning. Those things. It’s time to drop them like honours maths.
Once you acknowledge them and make a plan to address them, the impact is transformational. The dread of thinking about it is always 100 times worse than the challenge of tackling it.
Quick Fire Questions
This section is about brain-dumping your gut reactions. Write 1-2 sentences each. They will prime you for 2024 planning.
What was the one thing that held me back last year?
What would my closest friends or business partners say is my biggest weakness?
Where did I waste most time this year?
What excuses did I use in 2023 to not hit my goals?
Who made the biggest impact on me in 2023?
Where did my planning not match my real day-to-day life/capacity?
Where am I happiest/least happy?
What did I enjoy most/least?
When were you proud of yourself this year? If you don’t respect yourself, then no one is going to respect you.
Where and on what did you spend most of your time this year? Was this by design or by accident?
Planning 2024
Step 1: The good news is step 1 is already complete. Every planning cycle must begin with a complete review of the year.
Step 2: Identify the categories you want to work on. For me, it’s Business, Body and Brain. These are personal to me and are all about my own goals.
You must have things in life that are just for you. Too often people fall into the martyr complex of putting everyone else first and then resenting it down the line.
Make decisions about where you spend your time or other people will make them for you.
I’ve two sub-categories for Adventure and Family which are shared with my friends and family.
You pick your own categories and they can be anything you want.
Step 3: I make 3 primary year-long goals per section.
Here is an example using my goals in the Business section.
Be the number 1 Business podcast in the Ireland & UK (and top 10 globally)
Hit 5 million downloads & earn €XXX.
Build 1 x stand-alone digital product & 1 x high-ticket conference/live event.
You then break those down into quarters, months and weeks.
Your goals for each quarter, month and week should be building towards the end-of-year goal. It’s a system that allows you to break the major goal down into bitesize chunks. This is a KEY STEP. Take some time and think this through. This is one of the key defining steps that will shape your entire year.
I pick 3 main goals in each section of Business, Brain and Body.
They are big, meaty, specific goals. For example, one of my goals this year is to hit 5 million downloads of the podcast.
Break your goals down into Output and Input Goals. An output goal is “I will run the New York City Marathon in November”. An example of input goals to support that would be joining a local running club, getting a programme designed and following that for the next 6 months. Goals without systems and input goals underneath are simply wishes and dreams. Don’t be a dreamer with no plan to back it up.
Step 4: Be realistic & set micro goals for January. The reason most people’s resolutions fail is they set goals that are completely disconnected from their lives. If you’ve never run before and say you’ll run every day in January, you’ll fail.
Apply SMART goal setting. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound.
We want to build progression over 12 months. We’re in a marathon not a sprint.
Step 5: Be accountable. Find a person or group who you regularly check in with. Apart from setting good goals, this will singularly be the most defining reason for your success or failure.
Step 6: Put everything on your calendar right now. See where your time is going. As humans, we overestimate what we can achieve in a day and underestimate what we can achieve in a year. The goal for 2024 is to have tiny wins every single day that will compound over the year. We aren’t in the business of quick unsustainable victories here. We want to win the year-long war. If it ain’t in the calendar, it ain’t happening.
Step 7: Once you are locked in do what I call shut down and setups each day. Shut down in the evening by reviewing your daily goals and map out tomorrow. This will help shut down your active brain so it knows you don’t need to think about it until tomorrow.
In the morning, carry out a quick “setup”. Review your main goals for the month and quarter and ensure today’s tasks will move you towards those goals.
Where your focus goes, the results will flow.
Quote of the Year 2023
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
― James Clear
I have shared this quote multiple times now. It’s one of the most powerful ideas I’ve ever embraced and has completely changed how I operate my life.
New Year Reading List
Here are the 5 best books I’ve read that will help you with setting and hitting your 2024 goals
Atomic Habits by James Clear - The book I have recommended most on the podcast. This is THE book on goal setting and building habits.
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy - Similar in style and content to Atomic Habits so pick one to read.
Deep Work by Cal Newport - We live in an age of distraction. This is a super breakdown of the impact of that and how it can derail your goals.
Mindset by Dr Carol Dweck - In reality, the only real thing standing between us and our goals in 2024 is ourselves. This book is a superb read to improve your inner mental game.
The 5am Club by Robin Sharma - Confession. I disliked the book the first time I read it. The second time I devoured it and loved it. It’s cheesy in parts but it’s written in story form and contains all the essential lessons for elite habit. This book was the one that gave me the belief that it’s all about picking the right book at the right time.
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