It’s that time again, a new year is upon us. 2019 sneaking right in there, you cheeky so and so! Resolutions are being made left, right and centre. Kitchen cupboards are being cleared out of anything vaguely tasty to make room for variants of edible cardboard. We’re all feeling inspired and… Oh wait, are we really?! I mean, I’m a lover of the whole ‘New Year, New me’ movement, don’t get me wrong, but where does everyone get this sudden burst of motivation from?!
As I said in my last blog post, my Top 10 best bits of 2018, I really do love a new year starting. It’s a time to draw a line, re-focus and set new life goals. However, I don’t find it easy to glide straight into it. One minute, you’re happily eating copious amounts of chocolate and cheese, all washed down with plenty of *insert alcoholic drink of choice here*. Then before you know it, those famous Big Ben chimes have kicked in at midnight. We all sing Auld Lang Syne (arms crossed, naturally) and then get smacked in the face with reality, quicker than you can say ‘dry January’.
Having done the whole ‘I’m going to change EVERYTHING EVER’ list, pretty much every year, as far as I can remember, I wanted this year to be different. Rather than making strict resolutions or creating a 50-something long list of unachievable objectives for the year ahead. I just wanted to focus on the top 10 things that I’d like to work at this year. No pressure, no judgement if I don’t manage them, but I’d love to sit in this very spot next year and say I gave most of them my best shot.
So, in no particular order, here are the top 10 things I want to ‘have a go at’ in 2019:
1. Read more
I love reading but I probably got through less than 10 books in the whole of 2018 and that’s just not good enough. This year I want to devour (yes, devour) a whole lot more. Be it fiction, self-help or educational, I already have a list piled up ready to kick things off. Three of which I’ve already read before posting this, but what’s a cheeky head start between friends?
2. Improve time management
I’m very good when it comes to managing my time for work. After all, providing organisation assistance, in one form or another, is essentially what I do for a living. However, when it comes to my home-life, I procrastinate like there’s no tomorrow. (Anyone else with me on that one?) This year, I really want to change that. Be it finding time for odd jobs around the house (like actually cleaning it), making time for hobbies, getting outside more or just having less ‘sort out this’, ‘sort out that’ tasks, sitting in a rolling to-do list every week. I just want to get better with my time. Oh, and to stop having rolling to-do lists that you never intend to tick-off, would be a good start!
3. Get creative
This year is the year for getting my creativity on. I want to write more, blog more, make more videos and learn how to take ‘proper’ photos (without just relying on my iPhone to make things look pretty.) I also want to do a creative writing course, learn how to use at least one graphic design programme and put more effort into cooking and baking. Those are just to name a few! Actually, that’s probably it, I’m exhausted just reading it back…
4. Give less f**ks
I did this a lot more at the end of last year and it felt SO good! We all have different opinions and I need to care a lot less about what people think of me or my decisions. You can’t please everyone and with certain people you really can’t win, whatever you do. Do I honestly care about those kinds of negative opinions, anyway? No. So, this year I’m going to stop trying. If you like me and support me, that’s great and if you don’t, then never mind. We have one life to live and we can choose who gets to share it with us. Let’s ditch the negativity and do want makes us happy, people! (I definitely didn’t fist bump the air after typing that…) Oh and here’s a cool AF pineapple, check him out!
5. Exercise more
Like many of us, I have a love/hate relationship with exercise. I’ve joined gyms, done various fitness classes and had numerous bouts of taking up running here and there. I know how important it is and I’m forever trying to motivate myself to get on with it. I don’t have an actual goal this year, I just want to do something every day. Be it just going for a walk or doing a YouTube HIIT workout. Moving for 30 minutes a day (ideally outside) is all I’m aiming for. Especially, as someone who works on a computer for a significant amount of hours per week (I hate to think how many). It’s really important I schedule in time, on the daily, to make sure I get off my butt!
6. Becoming a morning person
Trust me, I couldn’t be any further away from being a morning person. I’m 100% a night owl, and have been for as long as I can remember. You might wonder why it matters and if I already know what I am, then why try and change it? The quickest answer is, I just really want to! I’d love to be one of those people that wake up immediately on their first (FIRST) alarm. I imagine myself sitting up in bed with impeccably tousled hair whilst yawning softly and stretching out my arms in perfectly ironed pyjamas. Then I would slide gracefully out of bed and skip to the bathroom…. okay, you get the picture! The reality is, I go to bed too late. I then struggle to shut off and sleep, thus getting up at the last possible moment I can for any given morning. Never giving myself enough time and always rushing around in a tizzy. Worst of all, I’m more often than not feeling like a complete zombie for the rest of the day until 5pm when I suddenly have a burst of energy and feel wide awake! Classic night owl. Anyway, I’d love to start 2020 as a newly converted ‘early bird’, so watch this space!
7. Buy less stuff
I’m one of those people that will just buy things without giving it too much thought. If I want it, I buy it. Within reason, of course, I mean I’d love a Porsche but that’s not going to happen! Not just yet, anyway 😉 So, this year I want to get better with money. My new work situation is kind of enforcing that #freelancerlife, but it’s a good thing. There are so many past purchases of things that we really didn’t need and just wasted money on. We’re also extending this rule in order to make more of a conscious effort to stick to a more sensible budget on our food/grocery shop too. I know, yawn, but honestly, you should see the crap we buy in Tesco! A handy gadget to remove cherry stones, anyone?
8. Drink less
If you know me in real life, you’ll know I like a drink! Drink, however, doesn’t like me quite in the same way. Or any of us, if we’re being honest. It’s high calorie, wrecks your liver and we’re hit constantly with an influx of news on why it’s so bad for you (this week). For example, I just Googled, ‘why is alcohol bad for you?’, and came across this rather scary diagram. That being said, I’m a firm believer that everything in moderation does you good. I won’t be completely giving up the hard stuff this year, not even in January, it’s just too depressing! Instead, my aim is to just drink a lot less. As a guide, no alcohol Sunday to Thursday (on an average week) and a sensible measure at the weekends. Let’s see how long that lasts! Oooh gin…
9. Complete our ‘100 Movies Bucket List’ poster
If you watch my weekly vlogs or follow me on the ‘gram, you’ll know all about this. It’s essentially a poster with 100 squares, each representing a film. You just pick a film to watch, or use an unnecessarily complex online dice rolling system, like us. Then, once it’s been watched, you scratch off the square to reveal the artwork, which is usually related to the movie in some way. I’ve never really been a ‘film person’, so I’m loving the fact I’m getting to watch a varied mix of some very famous and extremely brilliant films which I wouldn’t normally choose (or agree to). Alongside that, the husband is relishing the chance to watch a bunch of his favourites. Win win!
10. Believe in myself
A bit ‘cheese-tastic’, I know, but I’ve had a bit of a confidence knock in my professional life (for various reasons), over the last couple of years. Towards the end of last year, I really started to believe in my abilities again and get my mojo back. I know I’m good at what I do and have a vast amount of experience and skills to offer. However, I can also be the ‘Queen of Self-Doubt’, if I dwell too much on my recent past. I can wear my ‘positive pants’ with the best of them, but I am human, after all. That being said, I really do feel like 2019 is going to be a good’n. I’m finally doing something (many things) that I really love and getting to work with some really inspirational people, who equally appreciate my efforts. The element that makes it even more exciting for me, due to the nature of my business being so varied, is that things can change direction at any time. So, who knows what kind of random achievements I will have accomplished by this time next year!
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