Happy New Year everyone!
I have to say, at the risk of sounding like a complete killjoy, I am glad it's all over.
I am not going to write about the things I thought I was going to write about, such as how I have gone from being Mrs Christmas to Scrooge, or how I keep having very bizarre, vivid dreams. Nope, I am going to wipe the slate clean and look forward, instead of back.
So I admit it, I am one of those New Year, New Me people this year. I have set my goals for the year so I thought I would share them with you.
Lose weight. Oh yes, everybodys favourite! Since meeting my boyfriend I have put on over 2 stone and it really gets to me. This year however, I have a huge incentive. I'm getting married!! Although I have ordered my dress and it looks lovely as I am now, I am not happy with the way I am. I don't want to go out as much anymore as I never feel nice in my clothes and I hate shopping as it is but the awful feeling of trying stuff on and it's too tight or just looks horrible does not help my mental state at all. I have been doing slimming world, where I lost 8lb but then have put half back on after having a few weeks off at Christmas, but I am confident that I can shift some serious weight, without starving myself, in fact I eat more now than ever!
Get Fit. This actually has nothing to do with weight loss, this has more to do with my general health. My joints are aching and I don't seem to bounce back from illnesses like I used to and once again exercise is good for the mind. The plan is to try to exercise 3 times a week and I would like to mix it up a bit by doing some running, HIIT sessions and even giving yoga a go. This is all in my diary to start next week, I prefer exercising in the mornings as if I wait until I come home I wont do it! If I feel like starting this week I will, I just didn't want to put any pressure on myself to do everything New Years Day.
Write more. I really do enjoy writing, often I will be somewhere and have the urge to write but am not always able to so I want to try to make more time for this as I find it really therapeutic. Again I have scheduled some time in my diary for this, I am starting with one lunch time per week and can build it from there, so you should expect to see more of me.
Have more me time. I learned a really good word last year. That word is "NO" It took me a long time to get used to saying that to people, I would feel guilty and end up spending time and money I didn't have to spend. This year is going to be more about doing the things I want to do and less of the things I don't want. It's certainly not going to be easy but I know it will be worth it. I noticed that when I had a lot of things going on, my stress levels would go up and I would be a mess, then once it was all over the anxiety would arrive. More diary time, I've scheduled every other Wednesday as my boyfriend plays football on Wednesday nights and every other Sunday when he takes the kids to his parents for the afternoon. This gives me time alone to do whatever I want to.
Be less anxious/stressed. I am hoping that the combination of all of these goals will really help with this one. I am finding that if I get stressed it goes from 0-100 it affects my sleep, my relationships, everything. The same with the anxiety. For this my plan is to do all of the above plus perhaps slip a bit of meditation into my routine, this can easily be done on my commute to work
I know it seems like I have put a lot of things on my to do list and in my diary but I am very much a routine person and once its in there I don't even think about it. I have told myself I am not going to be too rigid, there are going to be occasions when I simply cannot do it all, but the aim of the game is small baby steps, if I find that something isn't working, I'll change it, just as long as I try.
I like to use tools and apps for everything too. For the weight loss I am a member Slimming World and got a lovely organiser for Christmas to help with this from Princess Planning I also set up my own Instagram account purely for my weight loss and that really helps, plus I don't bore all my friends with my food pics as they go on there.
I downloaded the You App to my phone which gives you little daily tasks to do, I love stuff like this and there is no pressure to do them it's just a nice idea.
I also downloaded an app called reflectly which is like a micro journal, it asks you a couple of questions at the end of each day, such as things you are grateful for and how you rate the day.
I also have a couple of books to fill in. I bought 52 lists last year and kept forgetting to do it so now I have a reminder for Sunday morning to take some time each week to complete my list.
And finally, the last thing I do before I go to bed each night is to complete my one line a day diary which my life coach friend bought for Xmas. I love it and already started it last night.
So those are my goals for the coming year, what are yours?
