Hello! First I just want to say happy New Year! I can’t believe it’s the start of a new year again, and the start of a new decade. It is still taking me a little bite of time to get used to saying we are now in twenty twenty; it almost sounds like something said in a supernatural Sci-Fi film haha.
This year so far for me, I have to say has not been pleasant. I have spent the beginning of the year in bed with a nasty cold / flu virus. I have felt super weak and unmotivated and just not myself.
The start of the new year, I like to set my goals and start making changes straight away, but it just hasn’t been physically or mentally possible for me to do that this year, which is such a shame; but it just means things can only get better right?
I may still be in bed feeling unwell, coughing up nastiness and having a tissue permanently attached to my hand but you know what, I am going to set my goals and I am going to make sure that once I have fully recovered, I am going to kick them!
This year my goals aren’t the usual type of goals, their not monetary things and they aren’t really specific milestones that you can reach and then celebrate; well not all are. They are more like life goals and things I want to do throughout 2020 to make me a better person and to make my life in general much for fulfilling.
1. Make more time for books
I love reading; I love absorbing new knowledge because knowledge really is power. Sometimes I feel like reading a self help book, other time’s I fancy a novel, or an autobiography, and sometimes I simply fancy picking up a magazine to read about the latest trends in the world of fashion, beauty and blogging.
I have four books at home waiting to be read, and the worst thing is I have had them sat their for a few months now, I just can’t seem to find the time to sit down with a good book and that’s really sad.
This year I have made a bit of a promise to myself that at least once or twice a week, I will find the time to sit down for a few hours with no TV or phones and simply enjoy a good book.
Waiting to be read I have:
- 7 habits of highly effective people, which was a recommendation, I found from one of Tamara Kalinic’s YouTube videos.
- Twas the nightshift before Christmas which if you have read ‘this is going to hurt’ by Adam Kay then I’m sure this will be one for you too.
- Spiritual Queen by Emma Mumford – another YouTube I watch that’s full of positivity and inspiration.
- The power by Rhonda Byrne – I love the secret and learning about the law of attraction so I am making my way through the other books.
SHOP THE BOOKS
2. Get back into a workout routine
I can’t remember the last time I actually did a workout which is terrible! Last year I just fell out of love with fitness, the gym has never been a big part of my life due to anxiety getting the better of me, but I used to really enjoy home workouts, from HIIT workouts with Joe Wicks to Yoga and Pilates with Boho Beautiful.
Admittedly getting into a routine has never
been an easy job for me, I simply have to make myself do it, but then I feel so
good after it that I want to do it the next night and so on. I like to aim to
do a 40 min workout of some sort at a minimum of 3 times a week.
I also got really into doing weight training a few years back and I could
really tell a difference; not just in the appearance of my arms but in the
strength I had gained, I just felt overall much fitter, healthier and more
confident, so that is what I aim to get back this year.
I could also do with getting rid of the extra layers I have accumulated over the winter, chins included haha.
3. Eat clean and cut back on the takeaways
Now similarly to the above exercise goal, I also need to get back to clean eating. I have really enjoyed clean eating for the past however many years, and letting myself have a cheat day on a weekend was something to look forward to.
Since I have moved out, I haven’t been as good as I once was. Don’t get me wrong I haven’t gone mad eating takeaway mid week or anything like that but my meal prepping and planning has gone out of the window.
We have a super old gas cooker that means everything takes double the amount of time to cook and I simply can’t wait that long when I get home from work so I either opt for some sort of slimming ready meal, something out of a tin, or a jacket potato. Whilst these aren’t that bad in terms of weight gain, they are not really nutritional enough and I just miss my properly cooked health meals!
The cut back on takeaway bit was simply on weekends, I am not a big drinker anymore and I am rarely that party girl that I once was. My Friday and Saturday nights consist of Netflix and good food. The only issue is, I used to cook good food, I now have become too lazy that I just order ‘good’ food, which is OK in moderation but not twice a week.
I told myself that the money I would be spending if I was out for dinner and drinks, or a weekend away would be much more than a takeaway, and for some reason I talked myself into thinking it was OK to have one all weekend.
The worst part is I always have leftovers so I would end up eating takeaway for breakfast too, which is just too much. It left me feeling sluggish most of the weekend and it did not put me in a good mindset either.
Don’t get me wrong; I am not saying no more takeaways but just takeaways in moderation, twice a month if I don’t have any dinner plans for example.
4. Save, save, save
This year I want it to be about saving. I moved into rented accommodation last year and I thought I would struggle more than I have, instead of putting away my remaining salary into savings for my house; I went shopping.
I have done my splurging now; I want to get that dream house or maybe just a house until I can get my dream house. So this year I am going to make small changes to make this year a year for saving.
I have recently moved to an office space in the center of town which means I am back traveling on public transport as it’s way cheaper than parking, but… whilst I am saving on petrol, it does mean I have to carry a lot to work if I am taking a pack lunch, a protein shake, a reusable coffee cup; you get the idea.
So anyway, I became lazy and I decided I didn’t want to clart all this to and from work and I started buying a meal deal every day. Not only was this not helping my figure but also it wasn’t helping my bank balance, so I am taking it back to the old days and I am going back to taking a pack lunch to work and I will be saving myself a minimum of £10 per week by doing this.
5. Focus on what you want and make it happen
For me this is to do with my career and work goals. I have a new opportunity arising at work, which I am going to take with both hands. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time but I wasn’t sure if it was right for me, I have now been given the opportunity to find out and if it isn’t right, I have nothing to lose.
This goal also relates to my blog and where I want to be. I might have had my blog for years but it has kind of been an on – off process for me but this year I really want to put a lot more time into blogging because I have found my passion for it again.
I also want to open my self up to new channels a lot more, get more content out on my Instagram to continue to grow that organically and simply build the life that I want for myself. I have also just recently been accepted onto rewardStyle, so if you’d like to check me out on LIKEtoKNOW.it just search holajoanne or click the link here to follow my daily fashion looks.
6. I want to start and end my day with gratitude
If you know about the secret and the law of attraction then you will understand this one. If you haven’t I really recommend you buy the book ‘the secret’ or simply watch the documentary on Netflix.
I have bought myself a gratitude planner and I aim to fill this out each and every day. If you are thankful for the things you have in life, you are in a positive mindset and become open to attracting new things that you want in life; whatever they may be, no matter how big or how small.
7. Become more social doing alternative things
I haven’t put too much thought into this one, but I know I want to spend more time seeing my friends this year. It seems we only catch-up nowadays when it’s a special occasion and we are out for someone’s birthday etc.
I can’t drink much anymore, my tolerance to alcohol is limited and when I do go out, I simply don’t know my limit anymore so I either go home sick or manage to stay out somehow but suffer a horrendous hangover for days and it puts me in such a depressive mood, that feeling is never quite worth the actual night, no matter how fun it was; most of it ends up blank nowadays anyway so can’t have been that exciting.
But this year I’d like to do more social breakfasts and brunches. Activities such as bowling, or the cinema; assault courses or something active. As I said I haven’t really planned this yet in my brain, let alone mentioned it to anyone else, but this is what I would like to do more of this year.
8. Personal appearance
So I do currently look after myself; I haven’t let myself go too much but I have been slacking with the skincare routine and the oral care routine for example and I also haven’t been to the hairdressers in around 10 years.
I am getting older now, so skincare is much more important and I have recently become really interested in the science behind skincare and I am always up for trying new skincare products, but I feel like the winter time, is a time for bugs and viruses and stress, it’s just wiped me out and I’ve just been really lazy, so this year I want to make sure I am giving my skin the treatment it deserves, not just every other night, but every night!
The same with my oral care, don’t get me wrong I never miss a teeth brush, but I have been slack with my flossing, which is super important, more than you might think. Remember you only get one set off teeth and they need looking after.
I am also going to be going back to my electric toothbrush this year. I used to love how it made my teeth look and feel and the fact that it made me brush for the full 2 minutes, but when my anxiety was at it’s worst the vibrations of the toothbrush in my hand really affected me. I get a lot of pins and needles along with numbness when I am having an anxiety attack and for some reason the vibrations began to trigger this feeling for me so I had to stop using it.
I feel like my anxiety is much more under control now and I am determined to get back to my good old Oral B electric toothbrush.
With my hair, I have cut and coloured my hair myself for the longest time now, and whilst I don’t do too much of a bad job, I don’t think anyway ha. I have wanted to freshen up my style, get a good clean cut and get my hair coloured in a way I just can’t do myself. So this year my goal is to bite the bullet and do it.
I find going to the hairdressers terrifying, I have never come out of the hairdressers and actually liked what they have done, I feel like you explained what you wanted or took in a photo, and they just did what they could do, or what they thought would look best and it costs a bomb.
That was like ten years ago though, and I think things have changed a lot now, the way hairdressers train is completely different, they actually care about making you happy and you can see a stylists work on Instagram for example before you even make an appointment!
9. Do more things that make me happy
This is another goal I haven’t quite thought through yet, but I know I want to bring more happiness into my life this year, I feel like I am always stressed about something and I just don’t seem to find the time to do the things I love.
So to keep it simply, I am going to make time for all the little things in life that make me happy such as spending more time with family, reading a good book and having a relaxing bath once a week, whatever I decide they may be, I will find the time to do them!
10. To be continued
I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket so to speak, and i’d like my last goal to be continued, it’s a goal I will discover throughout the year, set myself and hopefully achieve it, by not setting an exact goal here, I can change it as the year goes on and do what’s right for me.
I know this blog post is a bit of a long one, but I really wanted to get my goals jotted down so I can look back at them next year and see what I have or haven’t achieved!
Have you set yourself any goals for 2020, I’d love to know what they are?
Wishing you all the best for the year!
