What Worked, What Didn’t, and What’s Next: My 2024 Year in Review

Hello there,

As we close the chapter on 2024, I’ve been reflecting on the year—the wins, the setbacks, and the lessons that emerged from it all.

Some years you win, some you learn (no regrets).

Reflecting on the past isn’t just a way to pat ourselves on the back (though celebrating wins is important); it’s also a chance to recalibrate, extract insights, and build momentum for the future.

Here’s my honest look at 2024:

What I accomplished, where I stumbled, and how I plan to make 2025 my best year yet.

I usually break my yearly reviews into 4 core categories:

• Health [Fitness and Mental Wellness]

• Wealth/Finance [Investment and Passive Income]

• Experiences [Family and Friends]

• Hustle [Work + Side Projects]

Now let's dive in

What Worked: Wins and Accomplishments

This year wasn’t without its bright spots.

Here are the moments and milestones I’m proud of:

Health

This year, I really wanted to hit the gym 3-5 times a week, cycle consistently (indoor/outdoor), and be in the best shape of my life, but to be honest, I didn't achieve all that.

I managed to hit some really big milestones, though, and I still had some really good workout sessions. I have a busy 9-5, where I have to show up daily to lead some design projects and in addition still run this community - not an easy one.

Overall I will rate myself a 5/10; although I was fit and healthy throughout the year, I didn't fall sick or burnt out from multitasking.

• Breaking records: I completed my longest bike ride ever—an incredible 120km! London - Brighton Bike ride

• Consistency in fitness: I completed 90 workout sessions over the year, steadily prioritizing my health.

I feel energised and ready 10x my fitness in 2025 through careful weekly planning and reviews.

These six packs must grow.

Wealth

Even though I didn't meet my passive income goal of making an extra £100,000, I wasn't even close to that. I made around £2000 this year mostly from teaching at Brainstation and some 1:1 coaching calls.

• Investing in the future: I stuck to my goal of investing £1,000 every single month. Not once did I overspend or find myself in debt, which feels like a big personal win.

• Invested a lot in tools, mostly AI-related - ChatGPT, Claude, Bolt, v0, mid-journey, premium AI writing tools

• Invested ridiculously in education - I bought a lot of courses on writing, webflow premium community, AI-assisted coding courses, premium communities, productivity education, AI agents etc. I am a sucker for education and being resourceful. In total, I must have spent more than £10,000 on education this year.

I will rate myself a 7/10 wealth-wise.

Even though I don't have much in my bank account because I invested almost everything, I am wealthy when it comes to knowledge and resources - so it is a 7 for me.

We go again next year.

Experiences

Exploring the world: Travel lit up my year. I visited Dakar with friends and took work trips to Spain, Germany, France, and Seattle. Even though some were work-related, they were opportunities to see more of the world.

I went on the largest cruise ship this year - the Royal Caribbean and spent quality time with family and friends.

This year, I attended three concerts (Davido, Adekunle Gold, Asake) and a standup comedy show (Basket Mouth) and I only went to the cinema twice.

I will rate myself a 4/10 here because I think I could have done better.

Hustle

I launched a couple of projects at work, had to shutdown one of my products - Amazon Insurance Store a decision that was made by my leadership team a very tough one to make because we have all invested so much time, effort and resources on this project but it is always better to know when to pivot to something else.

I started working on a financial services product at work and I have been loving every bit of it. Quite challenging but fun, I have always loved to work on projects that gives me the autonomy to own the end-to-end design process and that's exactly what I got with working on this project.  

Creative ventures (side projects): I hosted six design workshops this year - goal was to host 12, I launched the “Switch to UX” initiative, and conducted 1:1 design coaching sessions.

I taught UX design at Brainstation and posted consistently on LinkedIn and Instagram (If you're not following me yet, please do)

I worked on a saas project with a friend - vendbite, and a couple creative projects that didn't make it past my note book.

These moments reinforced my passion for teaching and mentoring.

These wins didn’t happen by accident. They were the result of intentional effort, but they also revealed areas where I could do better.

What Didn’t Work: Lessons from Challenges

Of course, not everything went as planned. And that’s okay—failure often provides the richest lessons. Here are some of the hurdles I faced:

• The VendBite project: This was one of my biggest disappointments. Despite investing significant time and money into the project—including hiring a front-end engineer—we couldn’t get it off the ground. By September, it was clear we had to abandon it. I will revisit this in 2025 with a different strategy and plan

• Procrastination and missed opportunities: I wish I had embraced AI tools earlier in the year. Leveraging them from the start could have saved me time and opened up opportunities to build projects like VendBite myself.

• Inconsistent habits: While I worked out, I struggled with consistency across months. I also didn’t dedicate enough time to spending quality moments with loved ones or planning for long-term goals.

Key Takeaways

1. Don’t chase too many goals at once. It spreads energy too thin and dilutes focus.

2. Plan deliberately. Without clear quarterly objectives and weekly reviews, it’s easy to drift off course.

3. Failure isn’t final. The VendBite experience taught me what doesn’t work—and that’s valuable information to carry forward.

What’s Next: My Goals for 2025

Armed with the lessons of 2024, I’m stepping into 2025 with clarity and intention.

Here’s what I’m focusing on in the year ahead:

Health Goals

• Hit the gym three times a week, focusing on weightlifting - because summer body - duh 🙄.

• Join group cycling on Zwift and train twice weekly indoors 🚴🏽‍♂️.

• Begin Padel classes to mix up my fitness routine 👟.

• Dedicate time for meditation and mental clarity 🧘🏾‍♂️.

Wealth Goals

• Continue my monthly investment habit, and consider investing more in crypto for portfolio diversification. I have decided to automate this process, and I don’t bother looking at what the market says or try to sell. I’m 100% dialled in on investing and just focus on doing my day-to-day stuff

• Build passive income streams with a target of £50,000, I guess 100k was too much to set as a target considering this isn’t my full-time gig. This will be achieved through digital products and leveraging my skills in design and building AI products.

Experiences Goals

• Train for and complete the London-to-Brighton cycling event (120km), doing this again this but with the goal of having fewer stops and completing more climbs.

• Travel to an African country and explore Europe for new adventures - most likely ski ⛷️.

• Participate in two to three outdoor cycling events each month.

• Register for Padel classes and set up a recurring social activity in my calendar

Hustle / Business Goals

• My focus for the year would be to launch Mockcodes, a resource for individuals who want to learn how to leverage AI to build products without writing a single line of code.

• Create and sell a Figma Prototyping Course on Switch To UX.

• Host at least 12 workshops and hire two virtual assistants to scale my efforts.

• Collaborate and build innovative AI-powered projects e.g Vendbite, ChurchAI.

Announcing the next workshop and launching a new website this week, keep an eye.

How I’m Making 2025 Different

This year, I’m focusing on deliberate planning and execution.

Quarterly goals and weekly reviews will help me stay on track.

I’ve also realized the importance of balancing ambition with self-compassion—knowing when to push and when to rest.

Your Turn

I’d love to hear about your own reflections and goals.

What are you most proud of this year?

What’s one thing you want to focus on in 2025?

Let’s inspire each other to make the coming year incredible.

Just hit reply and share with me.

Final Thoughts

Reflecting on 2024 wasn’t just about looking back—it was about building a roadmap for the future.

Success isn’t always about doing more; it’s about doing the right things with focus and intention.

Here’s to making 2025 our most purposeful year yet.

That’s all for now, thank you and see you on the next one.

John