Do New Year’s Resolutions Really Work?

This Week

• Long Read: Do New Year’s Resolutions Really Work?

• AI Tools for goal setting and productivity

• Around the Web: Trends and Technologies to Watch

• Report: How Does Your AI Readiness Compare?

• News: AI Artistry, Influencers, and Sales Professionals

• Folks to Follow

Why I Swapped New Year’s Resolutions for All-Year Goal Setting

Are you a New Year’s resolution setter? I’m not. I’ve always thought it was a silly tradition, carving out a set of goals on January 1, only to abandon them a few weeks later.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely goal and task-oriented. I love plotting out my yearly plan and ticking things off my to-do list, but I never embraced the do-it-in-January thing. Goals are more fluid for me, rising and falling at any time of year.

But given we’re about to dive into 2024, I thought I would look into this strangely persistent ritual and where it came from — and perhaps find a few useful hacks I can apply to my goal-setting along the way.

Find out the surprising things I discovered at Medium.

AI Goal Setting & Workflow Tools

• Worksteams.ai allows you to "magic" add subtasks to a project using the AI button. You can try it for free. 

• Clara can help you coordinate a time to meet so you don’t have to. Join the Beta.

• Goblin.tools helps you break down big projects into single tasks with the click of a button. Try it for free.

• Keep track of your responsibilities and action items with Read.ai. Invite it to your video meetings, and it will provide meeting summaries, transcripts, and a list of to-dos. Try it for free.

• Track your resolutions and goals with Socra. It acts as your personal coach and motivator.

The #1 Trend for Marketers to Watch

According to Forbes, the number one trends for marketers this year will be conversational marketing and AI-driven interactions:

As we tread deeper into 2024, conversational marketing is poised to redefine customer interactions. Gone are the days when customers would wait patiently for responses; the modern consumer seeks immediate gratification and instant solutions.

Through AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants, brands engage consumers in real time, answering queries and guiding purchasing decisions. Such AI-driven conversations provide a seamless and personalized experience, increasing customer satisfaction and conversions.

Read the full article here.

2024 Emerging Trends and Technologies

According to 2Stallions, AI-powered customer interactions, voice search, and influencer marketing are a few of the top trends to keep an eye on.

You can find the full list here. 

Are You Ready For 2024?

The 2023 State of Marketing AI Report from the Marketing AI Institute is a great place to level-set your expectations for marketing AI adoption. Where are you in comparison to other companies and marketers? Ahead of the game or behind?

Download the full report to find out. 

New Year’s Resolutions with AI

2024 Focus: Direction Over Speed

Sahil Bloom introduces a useful approach to goal setting inspired by aviation's 1-in-60 Rule. This rule suggests that small deviations can lead to significant misdirection over time, a concept directly applicable to our goals and plans. To stay on track, Sahil proposes a monthly ritual of 30 minutes, where we ask ourselves three critical questions:

1. Current Priorities vs. Big Goals: Are our significant goals still aligned with what truly matters in our lives right now? This question helps us ensure our big goals are still relevant.

2. Daily Systems Check: Do our daily habits and routines support our big goals? This is about assessing if our everyday actions are moving us closer to our ambitions.

3. Eliminating Obstacles: What negative habits or toxic relationships do we need to cut out for more efficient progress?

By writing down the answers, we create a focused opportunity for reflection and necessary course corrections.

News

• AI development expected to 'explode' in 2024, experts say. Read more.

• AI is saving sales professionals more than two hours of work each day. Read more.

• An Artist in Residence on A.I.’s Territory. Read more.

• Instagram influencers, watch out: AI is already coming for your jobs. Read more.

Folks to Follow

• Vanessa Van Edwards on goal setting and relationship building

• Sahil Bloom, on goal setting and productivity.