2024 review

2024 felt like I was in some sort of stasis. Much of this was relationship-induced as my now ex and I were deciding whether to call it quits. With such uncertainty it’s often difficult to make plans or embark on long term projects. Anyways, here’s an overview:

Romantic relationships – obviously the biggest event of the year was my breakup, bringing an end to an 7.5 year relationship. I’m still processing it and getting used to being single.

Platonic relationships – I have a good core group of friends where I live. However, as a remote worker, I don’t get much social interaction. This is something I want to work on in 2025 by joining sports clubs and possibly a co-working space.

Career – at the beginning of the year, I accepted a new job for a startup, where my current role is Head of Marketing. This position has been gruelling, trying to sell expensive physical products that haven’t been properly prototyped, despite telling investors and leadership that it was a recipe for disaster. Finally, they’ve started to listen and we’re now ironing out the product kinks, alongside investing in stock (and proper images/video!) to actually show prospective customers.

Financial – after my breakup, I decided it was time to take positive action with something I’d been thinking about for a while – I’ve had an offer accepted on my first house and am now waiting for the chain to complete. Hopefully I could be moving in the next 4-6 months, so something to look forward to.

Travel – before our breakup, my ex and I traveled to Austria to go skiing and then Ibiza later in the year. Despite picking up skiing late in life, I’m a full convert and absolutely love it. We stayed in St. Johann in Tirol and skied in different places each day, including Kitzbuhel and Steinplatte. The latter was my favourite. Ibiza also surpassed my expectations. We booked a beautiful bed and breakfast in a quiet part of the island and explored all the lovely little coves on a hired scooter, snorkelling and reading books on the beach – paradise.

Physical health – I’ve always been reasonably active when it comes to exercise. That said, I didn’t do enough cycling, tennis and resistance training for my liking. I re-joined the gym to work on the latter and my plan for 2025 is to double down on racquet sports, which I’ve always loved. Towards the end of the year, I also started playing Padel, which I’ve really enjoyed.

Mental health – despite the work stress, I actually feel that having a steady job and regular pay check improved my mental health, compared to the feast and famine of freelance life. Then came the relationship struggles, which obviously took their toll. I sort of feel like I’m rediscovering myself now, learning how to be alone and exploring new activities. More generally, I’m attempting to embrace a more positive approach to life.

Fingers crossed for a good 2025.