2024 year in review

I wanted to take a moment to reflect on 2024.

Mostly for my records, so I can look back on it in the coming years.

But also to consider what went well and what didn’t.

That way I can approach 2025 with the best outlook.

Reflection

Going into 2024, I didn’t have a plan.

It was business as usual – be there for my kids and work on exciting projects whilst getting paid.

And although that did happen.

There have been several moments where days and weeks have all felt the same.

Hence the importance of reflection.

Therefore I’ll be looking at the following areas of life:

Business

Financials

Financially 2024 was very similar to 2023.

So overall, it was a huge financial success (what I consider to be successful anyway).

Projects

I’m grateful that I’ve been able to work with so many amazing people on such great projects.

I’d happily work with every single one of them again in 2025.

Tech stack has been some combination of  NextJS,  Sanity,  Dato or  Prismic.

Personal projects

I’ve not spent a huge amount of time on personal projects this year.

Notably  Stryve or my personal website.

I’d love to post more recipes on Stryve next year, but not blog posts.

Instead, my focus on blogs and  newsletters will be on this site.

Health

Walking

I’ve stayed consistent with my walking habit – which I developed 3 years ago.

Although, I did injure my heel earlier in the year and shied away from weighted walks.

Weight training

I’m still struggling to get to grips with weight training.

I made a huge amount of progress in 2019.

But when Covid entered our lives in 2020 I struggled to incorporate it into my routine.

I’ve struggled to work out in my garage as I miss the social aspect of going to the gym.

And so, the only thing that made a difference this year was joining my local gym.

But I then had to drop it because of my family and work commitments – the gym’s opening times aren’t the best.

Diet

I’ve adopted what is best described as a flexitarian diet (if I had to put a label on it).

This means I follow a predominantly vegetarian diet, but eat meat and fish on occasion.

Mainly because eating enough protein through plants became cumbersome for me.

And although I believe protein has become overhyped and the importance of fibre shunned.

Protein is still hugely important for longevity and muscle growth/retention as mentioned in  Outlive.

All of that said;  Planthood has become my favourite plant-based recipe kit this year.

Supplements

I’ve been taking  Vitals⁺ by Heights for the entire year.

I also started taking their  Magnesium⁺ supplement when it came out.

However, I’m going to take a break from Magnesium⁺ as I didn’t notice a change.

So we’ll see if I notice a change coming off of it.

Why do I take supplements?

Namely to cover any deficiencies in my diet.

I see these as an investment for my long-term health.

But also to improve my ability to work.

Personal

Family

School runs… it feels like I’ve done a lot of these.

Coming in at around:

But their excitement for school and nursery makes it easier.

As for date nights with my wife…

Well, that’s an inverse of the above coming in at:

Which largely includes dates at home.

Life definitely got in the way with this one.

Holidays

I’ve been on a total of 6 holidays this year (including weekends away).

This included:

The trip to Crete was lovely, but not worth the money in my opinion.

Our annual trip to Poland however was amazing:

Our weekend away in Devon was also great:

I went on 2 stag do’s – one of which was in Amsterdam:

I’ve come to realise, I enjoy the more wholesome holidays where we spend our time outdoors.

Coaching

This year I hired a business coach – Dave Merton .

We underwent a 12-week coaching programme which snowballed to massively improve my mindset.

Before this, I was well and truly stuck inside my comfort zone and had no goals.

We covered a lot, but the above was the best thing I could’ve taken away – so thanks, Dave.

House

As part of my coaching, the first thing we did was create a 3 and 20-year vision.

On my 3-year vision, I visualised moving house.

So in November we sold and bought a new one – scheduled to move in Feb/Mar next year.

The house will need some work to make it our own, but we’ll be happy there for 20+ years.

I’ve come to realise, the coaching subconsciously played a role in making this decision.

Closing thoughts

Overall it was a great year.

Not filled with too much intentionality in the beginning.

But next year I want to improve on the following points:

And we’ll for sure have to scale back on holidays with the house move.

So that’s what I’m taking with me in 2025.

Be more intentional about how I spend my time.