I’m not usually one to make New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve tried it a few times but always seem to find that by the end of January (if not before!) I’ve pretty much broken all of them. I tend to be more the kind of person to set myself little, more regular, goals throughout the year, as they seem more realistic and more achievable. But for some reason this year, I have ended up accidentally setting myself some resolutions! I’m not quite sure how it happened, as I haven’t gone out of my way to come up with goals for myself for the year ahead. But I noticed that as January was approaching, I just seemed to have a few ideas in mind of things I would quite like to work on this year. So I thought I would hold myself accountable and share my goals/resolutions with you. That way, if I don’t stick to them, then I will have to explain myself at the end of the year – talk about peer pressure! I will continue to make smaller goals throughout the year, but these resolutions are things I can continue to follow over the whole year and beyond.
Prioritise sleep
This is probably my most important goal, but also one that may sound a bit odd to some people considering I do actually sleep quite a lot due to chronic illness. But this is more about prioritising sleep at the right time, rather than sleeping all morning or napping during the day. I’ve always been a night owl and cope much better with late nights than I do with early mornings. But because of this, I find it very easy to slip into the habit of staying up really late doing unnecessary things and then feeling even worse the following day. So this year I want to get back into a bit of a better routine with my sleeping. It would be unrealistic of me to aim to get to bed by 9.30pm every night because it’s simply not how my body works best. But aiming to get to bed before midnight is something I know I can do, so certainly to start with, that’s what I will be trying to do. I’m not going to say that I won’t still sleep late or nap during the day, because it all depends on my health, but I think I will feel better mentally for going to bed before midnight and not staying up flicking through Instagram gone 2am.
Read more
I have always been a huge bookworm. Ever since my Dad started reading me Peter Rabbit when I was a baby, I have loved a good book. When I was growing up, I would often spend my pocket money on the latest Animal Ark or Harry Potter novel, and would spend hours devouring each and every word. I guess that’s why I enjoy writing so much as well. This love of books has never really gone away, but my ability to make time to read definitely has. Certainly over the last year or so, I have found that it has been taking me a few months just to get through one book, and I just seemed to have lost my motivation to put reading first. But I miss it so much – that feeling of finding a new book, opening the first page and becoming invested in a storyline, feeling sad when you reach the last few pages. So this is my year to get back into reading again! It actually fits quite well with my first goal of going to bed earlier, as I tend to read most just before bed. So by getting myself to bed before midnight, it means I still have a bit of time and energy to snuggle up and read a chapter or two. It’s going well so far and I’m really excited to start getting through my huge ‘to be read’ pile!
Swim once a week
If you follow me on YouTube, especially my Weekly Vlogs, you will probably already know that I signed up to a local pool last summer. Having various chronic illnesses can make any kind of exercise pretty difficult, but swimming/hydrotherapy is something that I can do in small doses. My problem has always been finding a suitable space that meets my needs though. Most public swimming pools just haven’t worked for me – they’re either too cold, too busy, only offer lane swimming, are only open early mornings and late evenings or cost loads for a subscription to all sorts of things I can’t use. So when I was told about a fairly new pool in my town at a local retirement village, I was intrigued to see what they could offer. The pool is mainly for those living in the retirement homes, but they also allow guests over 60 and those with disabilities. The cost is reasonable, the pool is lovely and warm (but not too warm!), changing rooms are accessible (as is the pool), it’s really quiet and is just down the road from where I live. So since last summer I have been going down there roughly once a week to do a few hydrotherapy exercises I’ve learnt from my various physio sessions. And it’s something I want to make sure I continue this year.
Get on with my Project Life album
Project Life, if you’ve never heard of it, is a super easy way of creating a scrapbook, pioneered by a lady called Becky Higgins. Instead of having to cut, stick and buy loads of supplies, with Project Life you simply have an album with lots of plastic pockets, which you can then slip cards and photos into. You can be as creative or simple as you like, which I think is what attracted me to the idea. I’d seen quite a few people on YouTube creating Project Life albums, so quite a while ago now I bought myself a few supplies to get me started. I love the idea of getting my photos off my computer or phone and having physical copies that I can flick through when I want to reminisce. So last year I decided that I would create an album for each year of my life, starting with 2018. However, so far I think I’m still trying to finish January of last year, so I’m not getting on too well! Which is why I thought I would set myself the goal this year of trying to update my scrapbook more often – otherwise there’s no way I will manage to do one every year! Right now, I need to focus on catching up with last year. I’ve printed out most of the photos, so it’s just a case of getting them laid out in the album. Hopefully I can get that finished and get 2019 on the go before next Christmas comes around!
Be more organised with my blog and YouTube
Since leaving university last summer, I’ve been trying to put a lot more time, energy and work into my blog and YouTube channel. I’m really enjoying being able to do that and love creating content for both outlets. But I’ve noticed that, while I’m not doing too badly with my YouTube uploads, I’m really slacking when it comes to my blog. And I’ve really missed writing posts regularly, so it’s something I need to change. The only way I think I’m going to manage to upload regularly on both channels is by getting myself more organised and really start planning everything I need to do. I have all these ideas for blog posts and videos floating round in my head, but I actually need to get them down on paper and then make a plan for how to transfer that into the finished articles. I bought myself a planner towards the end of last year, so my goal this year is to actually use it properly! That will include planning in advance what posts and videos I want to upload, and then working backwards by planning the things I need to do to make that happen. I have never really had a proper uploading schedule, and it can be quite difficult to stick to a plan when you have unpredictable health, but I think having even a rough idea of a plan to stick to might help. So I’m hoping to try and upload two videos (a Weekly Vlog and another video) and one blog post every week. If I manage more, then that’s great. But if I don’t manage to do that every week then that’s also fine. It’s just a guide to help me stay motivated at the moment.
Use things up!
My last goal for 2019 is possibly the one that sounds most obscure! But this goal came from the fact I have drawers overflowing with various things (toiletries, make-up, stationery etc.…) and thought it was about time I did some serious tidying and clearing. It’s silly really, buying more stuff when you haven’t used up what you’ve got first. I wouldn’t say I’m a hoarder necessarily – just that I’ve ended up collecting things over the years then forgetting what I’ve got and therefore buying more! So this year, I want to try and go through all my drawers, wardrobes, cupboards and boxes to work out what I already have. At the same time, I want to try and organise things so I actually know where to look if, say, I’m looking for a new moisturiser. The idea is that I will actually start using up all those skincare samples I’ve received in beauty boxes and those notebooks I’ve bought in the Paperchase sale. So by this time next year, the hope is that my bedroom and office will be looking a lot more tidy and organised (well, a girl can dream can’t she?!) But I’m going to give it a good try!
And there you have it – my goals for 2019. I feel quite happy with them for once, and actually feel like I have a good chance of sticking to them over the next twelve months. I’m not naïve though – I know there will be times when I’m likely to slip and end up going to bed at 2am or going a bit mad on an online shopping spree. But I guess my overriding goal for this year is going to be to try and be kind to myself – not give myself a hard time if I go wrong and not write myself off after one slip up. So, if there’s a night when I’m not in bed before midnight, instead of giving up altogether, I plan to just start again the next night. And it doesn’t matter how many times I have to start again – as long as I keep trying that’s all that’s important.
Have you made any goals or resolutions for 2019?
