How to plan a personal "reboot" in 2024

Reboot

(verb)

To start anew, to make a fresh start.

Image: Shutterstock

There’s a general rule to working with computers: If something’s not working properly, start by pressing the reboot button. More often than not, this act of stopping what we’re doing and restarting does the trick. Our computers spring back to life ready to take on whatever it is we have planned for them next.

The idea that we might also be able to press the “reboot” button on an old year, or on ourselves, and start again sounds pretty great. But it isn’t that easy, is it? Personal growth, finding what it is we love doing, and working out how to do it is something we have to keep on exploring. As Stanford educators Bill Burnett and Dave Evans write in the book Designing Your Life: "a well-designed life is a life that’s generative—it is constantly creative, productive, changing, evolving, and there is always the possibility of surprise." (Read our review here.)

(Psst: We’ll be discussing this book later this month at our book club. Join us!)

So, although we’re focusing on “rebooting” this week, it’s only just the beginning. And if you’re not quite ready to shift into action, that’s okay. Take your time. You can keep returning to the tools and resources we’ve shared in previous weeks until you’re ready.

Your 2024 reboot planning

This week, look ahead to the rest of your year and plan the first small steps you’ll take.

• What have you learned this month that you’d like to take forward into the

• rest of the year?

• What one word or sentence captures what you’d like to focus on this year (e.g. “joy” or “action”)?

• What are three steps you could take to support your meaningful work journey?

---

What’s next? Looking for more ways to explore what makes your work meaningful? We’ve got you covered.

Take the Meaningful Work Survey*: A self-awareness assessment designed to help you uncover what really motivates you—illuminating a path to a more fulfilled worklife. For a limited time, we are also offering the opportunity to schedule a free 1:1 session with one of our expert Guides who can help you turn your survey results into action.

*Please note that, right now, we’re only able to offer the Meaningful Work Survey in the US. We hope to change that soon!

Join us at one of our virtual events this month: 

MeaningSphere Book Club - Designing Your Life Tues January 30 at 12pm EST 

Discovery at Work - A Meaning Circle Wed January 31 at 12pm EST