anniversary special: looking back & planning forward

good morning my dearest readers,

i must start by wishing this newsletter a very happy one year anniversary! writing this weekly was a big 2023 goal that i actually achieved. we’ve now spent 53 monday mornings together.

i am so very grateful. i truly could not do this without you.

i see
prize
value
thank
adore
admire
cherish
treasure
& appreciate you. 

so in honor of our year together, we’ll start by looking back, before we plan forward for this next year of merrymaking.

my top 5 posts of 2023

reviewing my past 53 posts was a walk down memory lane.

we explored so many topics together: getting lucked up, my 100 card design challenge, my favorite youtube ever, the secret to friendship, the 5 love languages, DISC behavior styles, the big five personality traits, enneagram types, letter writing habits, & authenticity.

but a few really stood out & resonated with you more than others.

top merry makery 5 posts:

1. i owe you an apology (october 23, 2023)

2. 10 self-review templates for 2023 (january 1, 2024)

3. 21 truths i wish i knew at 21 (october 30, 2023)

4. shocking friendship stats (june 5, 2023)

5. presenting presence (march 6, 2023)

3 biggest benefits

i’ll admit that i started this newsletter due to “best practices” of building a brand, but i’m happy to report that this newsletter evolved into so much more.

i truly believe that committing to writing this newsletter is one of the best decisions i made in 2023. not for the flashy reasons of making money (though that would be nice!) or going viral or becoming famous.

the truth is that the habits & benefits of writing this newsletter line up perfectly with my personal values.

my 3 biggest (& surprising) benefits:

1. growth 🌱 i’ve learned so much, both internally & externally. learned new skills. studied new topics. e-met new people. played with writing styles. explored designs. and discovered way too many memes.

2. connection 🔗 i’ve loved writing about connection, but what i’ve loved even more is actually connecting with you. building this community is what gets me through the hard days & keeps me pushing onwards.

3. challenge⛰️ writing this weekly required way more time & commitment than i initially thought. but wow am i motivated by the accountability to y’all to show up as best as i possibly can in your inbox every monday. i prioritized this over many other tasks every week & was forced to develop more productive systems to support this goal.

new data, new year, same me

now lets move forward.

while i personally don’t love resolutions, especially since i can barely plan a quarter at a time for my life right now, i wanted to see what other americans believe.

fascinating to learn that 53% of american adults DON’T make resolutions,

but 52% of americans aged 18-29 DO make resolutions.

across all ages the most common resolution is to save more money at 23%.

digging deeper to the under 30 group shows that saving money is still #1 at 37%, but it’s closely followed by improving mental health at 35% (compared to 19% for all americans).

3 best annual planning templates

so based on the above, i know that at least a third you will enjoy these annual planning templates. likely even more if you are like me & don’t like resolutions, but love goals.

here are the 3 best (plus 3 runner ups) templates for planning your 2024:

#1) marie forleo: yearly goals map

what i love most is her 3P process:

• you purge all your dreams onto the page

• then your prune your goals to the critical few

• finally you plot your goals into your calendar

  • as she famously says “if it’s not scheduled, it’s not real.”

#2) sahil bloom: annual planning

what i love most is how he forces you to break your plan into smaller parts:

• big goals: the summit of the mountain

• checkpoints: mid climb campsites

• daily systems: each step of the climb

• anti-goals: what you don’t want to happen along the climb

  • i like to think of goals as 5 star dreams & anti-goals as red flag nightmares (e.g., packed calendar, no energy, negative people)

#3) amanda goetz: small a## google sheet

what i love most is how she forces you to put all the personal & professional into a daily plan on a google sheet. something satisfying about seeing your whole year ahead in one spot:

• tentpoles: travel, training, conferences, & festivals

• annual: birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, & appointments

• quarter: goals, launches, & deadlines

• month: big tasks, big meetings, & monthly non-negotiables

• week: to-do’s, recurring meetings, & daily non-negotiables

reflection runner-ups

resharing a few from last week that included goal setting in the self-review:

• steven schlafman: the ultimate annual review

• dickie bush & nicolas cole: the yearly review

• intelligent change: the best year journal

all together now

i’m deep in the throes of my reflection & planning process, using these same templates i’m sharing with you.

excited to give updates next week on what’s coming for merry makery!

cheers to you!

p.s. if you enjoy this newsletter, it would be mean the world to me if you forwarded this or used the link below to share merry makery with one friend.

i really want to help more people this year & i need your help to do that.

thank you in advance dear friend!

and if you’re looking for help with what to say, just use this message:

“i love starting my week with MacK’s newsletter.
i always learn something new & feel so inspired.
i know you’ll love it too!”