70 simple actions that will improve your life in 2024

When a new year starts it’s too easy to feel overwhelmed, especially when you’re surrounded by messages like ‘new year, new you!’ and ‘change your life this year!’. It can just seem too big to achieve. However, in reality the things that bring long-lasting change in your life are the simplest things – the small swaps, the tiny tasks, the seemingly simple actions that compound to create a feeling of joy or contentment. To help you make changes like that this year here are 70 simple actions you can do to start changing your direction in 2024.

health and wellness:

1. Take a 30-minute walk each day.

2. Just before you close your eyes to sleep each night, name one thing you’re grateful for that happened that day.

3. Invest in a good water bottle and take it with you everywhere to stay hydrated!

4. Protect your non-work time – set up a notification schedule on Slack so your notifications are silenced outside of work hours.

5. Swap one unhealthy snack with a nutritious one.

career and work:

1. Send your manager a calendar invite to have a casual check-in about your role, performance and career goals.

2. Clean up your computer desktop – delete the old files you don’t need any more and select a new wallpaper to freshen up your screen.

3. Ask a professional in your network to meet up for a coffee and talk about your industry. Whether it’s someone you look up to or someone in a similar role to you.

4. Book in a photographer (or friend with a decent camera) to take a new photo for your LinkedIn profile.

5. Read Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen (order your copy through Booktopia or Amazon).

financial goals:

1. Name one thing you did well with your personal finances in the last 12 months.

2. Name one thing you need to improve with your personal finances in the next 12 months. Also identify one activity you will do to achieve that.

3. Start an emergency savings fund – aim for $1k as a starting point, then aim for 3-6 months worth of expenses after that.

4. Pay down consumer debt using the debt snowball.

5. Begin your education around investing by learning some beginner investing terms.

personal growth and development:

1. Read Quit by Annie Duke (order your copy through Booktopia or Amazon).

2. Name one personal challenge you’ve handled well. Identify one challenge you’d like to tackle, and identify one way you can work on that.

3. Remember that old hobby you used to do? Give it a go again. Book a class or set aside some time to enjoy that old pastime.

4. Be a beginner again! Pick a skill or hobby that is completely new to you and give it a go. Even if you feel foolish. Take a friend with you for company if that helps.

5. Find a podcast you have never listened to before that focuses on something you want to improve in your life.

relationships:

1. Plan a surprise date night for your partner. It doesn’t have to be elaborate – even a simple game of Scrabble at home with delicious snacks is a great way to start.

2. Call an older family member and ask for their greatest piece of advice.

3. Join or create a book club with friends! All you need are a few good friends who love to read, chat and discuss.

4. Join a local group to make new connections – a choir, a sports club, an art class, a fishing club – whatever it is you enjoy doing, use that as a way to meet new people!

5. Resolve a lingering conflict or disagreement – call the person involved, apologise for your part and take ownership of improving your relationship moving forward.

home and environment:

1. Switch from receiving paper bills to electronic ones.

2. Audit how much waste you create each week. How many kitchen tidy bags do you fill? How can you cut it down?

3. Reduce your energy consumption by switching your light bulbs to LED bulbs.

4. Try growing some herbs on your windowsill or in the garden. 

5. Switch out using cling wrap for beeswax food wraps.

leisure and recreation:

1. Do a hike (or part of a hike) near where you live. Make it fun by bringing a friend or family member with you!

2. Choose an actor and watch all of their films to see how their career has developed.

3. Book into a cooking class for a cuisine you’ve never tried to cook before.

4. Find a local performance group, like a drama society, and buy tickets to see their next production.

5. Head along to a local open mic night and support musicians and artists in your community.

personal projects:

1. Identify one thing that would make your house feel more like your home. Invest in that.

2. Work on a personal art project – buy some art supplies, set up a space, and go for it.

3. Create a vision board for the next 12 months of your life.

4. Set yourself a reading challenge – select how many books you’d like to read by the end of the year and set out to achieve that.

5. Give yourself a DIY project – a gift for someone, a home upgrade, or just a DIY challenge.

education and learning:

1. Start learning a new language! There are a bunch of apps you can use that offer daily language-based lessons.

2. Build your vocabulary daily – sign up for a ‘word of the day’ app that challenges you to learn new words each day.

3. Become a mentor or teacher to someone else. Find someone at work or in your personal life who would like to learn something you can already do, and mentor them through the learning process.

4. Brainstorm a list of all the career-related things you’ve learnt since you first began working.

5. Brainstorm a list of all the things you’ve learned about yourself – whether through life’s ups and downs, parenthood, struggles, joys, challenges, all of it.

organisation and time management:

1. Audit your current daily, weekly and monthly task list at work and home. Is your system working? What isn’t working, and what could make it better?

2. Try checking your emails once a day only at the same time every day, then focus on deep work outside of those times.

3. Clean up your desk! Throw out rubbish, pull everything off, wipe it down, organise your cables, put everything back and smile.

4. Ensure you have adequate light on your work desk, and if not, invest in a new desk lamp.

5. Identify what you could prepare the day before you need it – lunches, your kids school bag, shoes by the door – anything that could be pre-prepared to save time and drama in the morning.

giving back:

1. Volunteer at a local charity or organisation that aligns with your values and how you love to contribute to the community. Check out the ways you can get involved in supporting their activities.

2. Donate to a cause you care about. It doesn’t have to be a huge sum either – smaller and consistent donations are just as important for charities and non-profit organisations.

3. Participate in a community cleanup. You can contact your local council, Landcare or Coastcare group to see their next planned cleanups in your area.

4. Text a friend and ask how you can help or assist them.

5. Swap out buying products from a major department store or brand, to a smaller, local business.

travel and exploration:

1. Pick a destination within 2 hours of your home and explore it with friends or family.

2. Explore your own city or town like a tourist – look for walking tours or local historic tours to get to know where you live better.

3. Try new foods or cuisines – take friends along to a local restaurant and give new flavours a go.

4. Visit a local museum or art gallery you’ve never been to before.

5. Even if you aren’t travelling any time soon, do some online research into the sites, areas and attractions you’d like to visit when you are able to travel. Save those spots on your Google Maps to come back to later.

technology and digital life:

1. Go through your emails and delete old ones you don’t need to store anymore. Also close down old emails you don’t need anymore.

2. Set a timer when you go on social media, to limit the amount of time you spend doom scrolling.

3. Update your online passwords for security, ensuring they aren’t the same across multiple accounts or platforms.

4. Freshen up your website or social media profiles with new profile images and descriptions or bios.

5. Read Digital Body Language by Erica Dhawan (order your copy through Booktopia or Amazon).

self-care and relaxation:

1. Once a fortnight select one day where you don’t have your phone on you. Spend the day out in the world without the never-ending digital communication and notifications.

2. Get out into nature! Download the All Trails app and search for nature walks near you.

3. Stop and take 10 deep breaths. It’s amazing how focusing just on your breathing can centre you and reduce stress.

4. Find a spot in nature to sit, close your eyes and listen to what’s around you. What can you hear?

5. Grab a towel, your hat, sunglasses and a book and find a patch of grass at home or in a local park to lie down and read.