I saw a lot of Reels and Instagram posts at the beginning of the year about prioritizing rest and a slower pace of life in January, instead of spending the first month of 2024 trying to “start over” and reinvent. If I had my act together, I actually would have preferred the starting over—to finish all my goal setting in that week between Christmas and New Years so I could start off 2024 with a plan already in mind. But instead, my procrastinating self unintentionally took the Instagram girlie route, and I ended up spending most of January reflecting on what I want to accomplish in the new year.

At the end of 2023, I really felt like the year had gotten away from me. Sure, sure, it always feels that way a little around NYE, looking back at all you did (or didn’t) accomplish in the short 12 months before. But this year was different. 2023 came to a close and I felt like I hadn’t done anything with my time. I was barely blogging, not exercising, struggling to find the time to cook real meals, yet I always felt busy! How?! How could I feel so slammed when I wasn’t spending any time doing the things that are important to me?

I’ve reflected on it a lot. Identified possible areas for improvement. Brainstormed things that can be cut. But I think what I realized most is that I need to reassess my priorities. Surely scrolling too much on my phone and trying to “multitask” is part of my productivity issue. But I also recognized, when I tried to figure out exactly where my time was going, that I’ve been spending so much more time with my boyfriend and friends than ever before. That’s not a bad thing and not necessarily something I even want to change. But when I always feel guilty for hanging out instead of tackling my to-do list, that’s a problem.

My biggest goal for 2024 is to reclaim my time. I wish I had a more elegant or poetic way to say it, but that’s the mantra I keep repeating in my head—take back my time, take back my time. I’m so tired of feeling like I’m constantly behind, with a to-do list that never gets any smaller. I keep describing it like I’m drowning and can barely keep my head above water.

So what am I going to do about it?

I think the biggest change I plan to make in 2024 relates to blogging. I’m not ready to give up Graceful Rags yet, but what I realized this past year is that I just can’t keep up with it the same way I could when I was in school (which is kind of crazy—back then I was taking the maximum number of credits, posting three times a week, working parttime, exercising regularly, and still finding time to socialize and participate in clubs. I’m not sure why it feels so much harder to balance it all now that I have a fulltime job).

While I would love to continue to post as often as I used to, it’s just not feasible, and it ultimately was a large contributor to my feelings of discouragement—I started every week with the expectation that I should publish three blog posts, so whenever that didn’t happen (which was almost always), I felt like a failure.

As much as I love writing, my new plan for 2024 is to scale back my written blog posts and increase my social media presence instead. I will still post my weekly recaps every Sunday because, while time consuming, those are easy and fun and include a lot of outfit inspiration in one place. I also want to keep posting my monthly recaps, travel content, and collaborations. However, I’m only going to expect myself to share one blog post, my weekly recap, each week. Anything else I manage to share will be gravy on top, purely for fun when I feel inspired rather than a to-do list item.

As for social media, I would like to start posting more consistently on Instagram every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. My goal is to spend a few hours each weekend bulk creating content because I’ve found that creating outfit Reels in my apartment is much easier than trying to find a photoshoot location with good lighting to take blog photos. I would also like to get serious about growing my TikTok, which I am still working on… I’m thinking I’ll try to post on TikTok on the days when I do not post on Instagram (probably Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays). I would like my TikTok account to focus mainly on cost per wear and to post everything else on my Instagram, to ensure I am providing some amount of unique content on each of my platforms.

That’s my plan at least… I have been trying to be more consistent this month but haven’t been doing a very good job—yet. I’m hoping I’ll fall more into my new routine throughout February. My thinking is, if I can spend a couple of hours on the weekends creating my content for the week, then that will leave the weeknights free to exercise, cook, and maybe even (gasp!) relax a little.

I’m really excited about this new plan. While I haven’t been the most consistent in my posting yet, I have already felt a huge difference in my time—I’ve been able to start exercising again and haven’t felt nearly as guilty when I sit down to watch TV with my boyfriend. I’m sure it will only get better!

As for scheduled events on the horizon in 2024, I already have a very busy remainder of the winter and spring planned—a week in Puerto Rico in February, a week of working remotely from Vegas, a weekend visit from one of my best friends for her birthday, a work trip to D.C. in April, my brother’s graduation in Minneapolis in May, and a bachelorette party the weekend after. In addition to trips and my new approach to blogging, I also have more tangible goals, like buying a new car, writing a haiku a day, and reading two books a month. But those all depend on how successful I am at taking back my time.

Even though I felt pretty disappointed in myself at the turn of the new year, I now feel really hopeful for what 2024 has in store. I’m confident I’ll be able to spend more time doing what’s important instead of just trying to stay afloat.

As always, thanks for reading today’s post, and I hope you’ve had just the start to 2024 that you imagined.

 

Miles of smiles,

Grace

 

P.S. How great is this outfit for work? The red ruched blouse and liquid leather blazer were recently sent to me by Clara Sunwoo. I love their stuff and these work staples are no exception. I paired them with my go-to dark wash jeans from Express and some tall patent booties, though I wish the brown of the shoes matched the blazer a little better. I threw sunglasses and gold earrings on to match the stylish lady on my purse.

Red Blouse: Clara Sunwoo, gifted by brand, buy here, use code GRACEG for 10% off | Brown Blazer: Clara Sunwoo, gifted by brand, buy here | Cropped Flared Jeans: Express, $25 ($0.61 per wear), last worn here | Brown Boots: Express, $23 ($2.30 per wear), last worn here | Sunglasses: Charming Charlie, $7 ($0.20 per wear), last worn here | Purse: Envy Boutique, gift, last worn here