New Year Goals for 2018

2017 was an amazing year for me; at the strike of midnight last new year, I wouldn't have dreamed that my life would be what it is now. 
I have grown in confidence, lost a tonne of weight that was making me unhappy, moved into my own place and started making plans for my future.
Of course 2017 had its tougher times. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, it was the 5 year anniversary of my moms death and all the other crap that comes along with every year to contend with.
But I survived and I'm sure 2018 will throw me in a million other new experiences and new directions!

 

Last New Year, I didn't make any resolutions or make goals to change my life in anyway. I have always felt that 'resolutions' were cliché, that we all make the same ones and that they're too out of depth for some of us to achieve.  

This year I wanted to start by setting myself some goals (keeping them realistic) to hopefully keep me focused and happy throughout 2018.

Personal Goals:

• Continue to lose weight. My goal is to reach 11 stone and then maintain my weight. I lost a massive 5 stone 1lbs in 2017. I now only have another 17lbs to lose to hit the 11 stone mark which would be my ultimate goal weight.

• Bag a new job; I've been at my workplace for almost 3 years now and it was only supposed to be a stop gap between leaving uni and going into a job that is more "up my street". Due to my Fibromyalgia, my current role hasn't been kind on my body.; I'm on my feet for most part of the day, I work in the dark which increases my fatigue and having to move heavy equipment around is wiping my body out. This year I'm hopefully going to pull my finger out and get myself a new (more suitable) job!

•  This year I want to play around with my 'style' more. Since losing weight, I have become more body confident. I want to swap my baggy black 'style' for a wardrobe that's more colourful and on trend.

• I want to do more good deeds. I love hearing about peoples 'good deeds' and I've done my fair share over my 25 years. This year I to aim to go out of my way to do more for other people. 

• Hopefully this year will enable me to be more creative. Art, textiles and photography are my thaaang but due to so much going on in 2017, my paintbrushes, sewing machine and camera have been heavily neglected. 

• I hope 2018 is the year we can adopt a dog!! Now that I've moved out of my parents house, I really miss having a dog. There's nothing better to come home to than a dog who loves you, they have their own little personalities and can be the best companions for people who are somewhat alone or struggling with mental health issues. We started to look during December 2017 (we may have already adopted a fluffy friend by the time this is published) and are adamant that we want to adopt a rescue dog rather than buy a puppy. Too many animals are bought for the wrong reasons and aren't treated how they deserved to be. It would make me incredibly happy to be the one to turn one of these dogs lives around and give it the life they deserve. 

• 2018 is going to be the year that I cut down on my plastic waste. I've always been a recycler however I only became aware of how much useless plastic waste I get through over the weeks after watching Blue Planet 2 late last year. Throughout 2018 I am going to become more aware of the plastic that I am buying, try to cut it down as much as possible and generally become more savvy when it comes to what plastic I bring into my home.

 

Blog goals:

• Post more often. At the end of 2017 I got back into blogging after some time off due to being incredibly ill and having writers block. I really enjoyed spending my spare time sat with a coffee whilst typing up a post. This year I'd like to post at least once a week if possible.

• Plan and become more organised. One of the reasons I was lagging in post numbers last year was because I ran out of things to write about. This year, with the use of my 2018 blog diary, I am determined to get more content written and posted.

• Write more about topics that I care about; This year I plan on joining in on Mental Health Awareness week amongst various other awareness days that I have a personal connection to and maybe even some information on charities that I feel deserve some limelight. My biggest topic to cover in 2018 is 'Blogmas' which is already bursting my diary to the seams with ideas!!

• I plan on getting back on contacting brands to do more reviews. I miss doing them and it was review posts that I originally started my blog with. I'll obviously continue to write about products I have purchased myself, letting you know what I love and what was a waste of my money, but it is an interest of mine to try new brands and products for review in 2018.

• Improve on my blog photography. I felt in 2017 that my photography was letting my blog down massively. My photography degree really hasn't been shown in my past work. Hopefully by planning my blog posts more carefully this year, I can also allow myself the time to get to grips with my camera once again.

• I also want to revamp of my blog at some point this year. I've got ideas to simplify the blog and possibly re-brand it entirely. Once I find a few spare days and the money to pay for Photoshop, I'll definitely be redesigning the look.

 

 

 

What are your resolutions and goals for 2018?