Side quests 2024

Happy New Year!

As I’ve been reviewing and planning (namely where I’ve been and where I’m going), honesty, I’m on a winning streak. I’m in the thick of it. I’ve had a couple really good, kick-ass years in a row. What started in 2022 as a revolutionary period just transitioned into 2023’s heel-digging year of grounding and growing. Now it’s time, I hope, to continue the upward trend of living and learning and having a pretty damn good time as I go.

My incredible friend Amanda has an annual list of “side quests” for the upcoming year, in lieu of resolutions. They’re a low-pressure alternative to resolutions, because they’re easily loaded with stress or guilt. Side quests, however, are casual and fun additions instead of a full-throttle mission.

Brilliant, right? Amanda offers her side quest template on her website and I highly, highly recommend checking it out! This is my second year participating, and I’m ready to dive into 2024 with 24 new side quests to explore.

(Note: Chad’s in too! In fact, we went to Pilcrow Coffee on New Year’s Eve to recap how our 2023 side quests went and to discuss our list for 2024, all while sipping on a yummy flight of coffee. I love this for us.)

So, here they are: my casual, low-stakes, low-pressure side quests for 2024.

24 side quests for 2024

1. Read (at least 24!!) books
2. Play pickleball as often as possible
3. Finish our loft space, then use it
4. Publish my existing short story with a literary journal or magazine
5. Aim for 100 barre classes!!
6. Put a dent in my novel
7. Collaborate with at least 3 Wisconsin brands
8. Mail birthday cards
9. Really make an effort to use/wear the clothes I own thoughtfully
10. Take a girl’s trip with my mom
11. Write a pickleball e-book
12. Take my vitamins
13. Run a 5k
14. Add a few more tattoos to the collection
15. Volunteer to make dinner more + master a dish to impress for company
16. Learn a new skill for my business (liiiiike taking a photography class)
17. Take a lengthy vacation
18. Get more fresh air
19. Level up my bedtime routine (aka, go to sleep before midnight and keep flossing!)
20. Ride my bike!!
21. Fluff up the joint savings account
22. Finally finally finally take up roller skating (lol)
23. Plan more non-drinking activities with friends
24. Make a conscious effort to move my body once a day

So, there you have it: 24 low-pressure, no-big-deal ideas to live a life that’s simply true to me.

In all, I want 2024 to be even more so about community, authenticity, and connection. Intimacy, fun, and a steady stream of doing my best.

Review of my 2023 side quests

✅ 1. Work more at a desk, rather than exclusively in my bed (lol)

Note: mostly! I mostly worked from my guest room bed (lol) – which did master the whole point of separating where I work and where I sleep. This was huge for my mental health!

✅ 2. Take at least two exercise classes a week (or, stick to a program in full)

Note: mostly! Though there were breaks, it probably averaged out to be this much! At the very least, I did complete the 8-week Fit by Katy program.

3. Get my existing short story published in a literary magazine
4. Walk Wally to the river more, not just on special occasions
✅ 5. Take my vitamins, drink my greens
✅ 6. Read (at least!!) 23 books
7. Play skee ball as often as possible
8. Finally finally finally take up roller skating
✅ 9. Seek out more group activities
✅ 10. Plan a kick-ass 10 year high school reunion (class president things, lol)
11. Take a class that I can benefit from both creatively and in my business (photography, graphic design, etc.)
✅ 12. Paint our staircase
✅ 13. Travel to Door County
✅ 14. Consider a morning routine that involves less screen time + scrolling

Note: mostly! Overall, I cut down on my screentime in the morning. Now, to switch to the same before bed, lol.

✅ 15. Get a new client that I’m stoked about (bonus points if they’re based in MKE)
16. Be more intentional in the kitchen – especially when it comes to cooking tempeh in a reasonable timeframe
✅ 17. Write creatively! Wherever that takes me
✅ 18. Monopolize the summer with beach days / lake days / water days
✅ 19. Travel to a popular Midwest destination I’ve never been before
✅ 20. Start taking spin classes

Note: it counts! I did take a handful of spin classes this year! I loved it. I couldn’t sign up for another gym membership (lol, would be nice!), but I do plan to take them sporadically in the future, too.

21. Make Chad brunch every once in a while
22. Use my planner the *entire* year
23. Read a book start to finish on the treadmill

Onward

As you can see, there were some side quests accomplished, many not. There were quite a few that I realized maybe didn’t serve me, after all. That flexibility—the ability to evolve and change my mind and be a fluid human—is exactly what I love most about this idea.

So??? Fill me in! What are your side quests for 2024?

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