 |
| Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash |
I love the chance for a clean slate and the turn of a new year always provides the perfect opportunity to create some resolutions and goals for the year ahead. Whether you are for or against the idea, for the last couple of years I’ve be publishing my goals in a blogpost in hope that I will keep tabs on my objectives for the year and will be more likely to stick to them (a girl can dream!)
We’ve all heard the cliché resolutions; lose weight, go to the gym, drink less etc… but I’ve tried to break my goals for 2019 down into more manageable and measurable chunks this year in hope that I can at least achieve some of them and feel fulfilled with my year. If not, there's always next year!
Hopefully my 2019 goals will inspire some of you to set your own for the new year...
Health and Fitness
Running: At the end of last year I started to slack on my running routine - mostly due to the fact it was dark when I got home and that I was doing weight based workouts at the gym instead. This year I want to refocus my time to allow running (outside of the gym) to become a more regular occurrence, even if its just once a week. Distance wise, I would love to be able to run 4 miles (Aspiration: 10km)without stopping and running the parkrun as often as I can (I did my first recently and hope to do 10 before I move back home in July) will hopefully help make running at least 5km more comfortable.
Walking: Since I started my office-based placement, my daily steps have been averaging at around 7,300 per day. I would love to be able to walk 10,000 steps a day as the nights stay lighter and get back into the routine of going for a half hour walk before work to get my day off to a good start. efforts.
The Gym: Back at the start of September (after running in the dark alone became a no-no), I joined PureGym in hope that I could continue running but on the treadmill instead. In actuality, I hardly use the treadmill while at the gym but, instead, found myself braving the gym equipment, cable machines and most recently, braving some of the classes by myself. Having never joined a gym previously, I found it surprisingly easy to slot 2-3 sessions per week into my working routine. Now 5 months in, I would love to set myself some targets, such as being able to leg press 62 kg and do more classes at the gym - at least one a fortnight. These weights may seem unattainable / easy for some people but in general I would just love to be able to up my weights sustainably and overall improve my fitness.
Diet: When I got on the scales recently I realised that, despite being more active, that I’ve managed to gain a stone in 6 months. I’m not one to get hung up on the numbers on a scale, but if I am truly honest with myself, I need to become more conscious of the foods I'm eating, cut down on the office impulse foods (think donuts, cookies, samosas you name it) and trying to realign the meals I eat to feature more vegetables and smaller portions. I hope that proper meal planning, trying new foods and experimenting with different recipes will be able to assist with this.
Drink: I’m quite good at this already, but since getting my new water bottle for Christmas, I am looking to up my water intake to 2 litres a day to help me snack less and improve my skin.
Sleep: For the last year of using my FitBit, I've obsessively checked my daily sleep. This year I want to continue to sustain a regular sleeping schedule while at work and once i’m back to uni in September to allow me to feel as well rested and productive as I can be.
Personal
Live in the present: I set myself this resolution last year and really want to reset my bad habits. I’m guilty of sitting among people scrolling endlessly through social media feeds when I could be engaging in conversation with the people around me. It’s easily done when the people around you are also scrolling on their phones but I really would like to take in what is happening around me, without living everything through a lens or missing it while being on my phone. Perfectly acceptable if I’m alone, but if i”m with others, my phone should be firmly out of site.
Save: Since starting my placement I’ve got into the habit of transferring money away into my savings account and was able to save a good chunk aware. This year I would like to continue doing this until I finish my placement in July and if I’m able to secure a part time job, put away at least 1/3 of my wages when I’m back at uni towards my house deposit fund and for my city breaks in the summer.
Minimalise my Life: I’ve been watching a lot of minimalism channels on YouTube lately and they’ve really inspired me to streamline the belongings in my life along with simplifying the day to day. I’ve recently downsized my wardrobe and make-up collection and am in the process of cutting down some of my 94.77GB of photos on my laptop that have got out of hand.
In 2019 I want to be more intentional with how I spend my time and money and free my life of the items that, in the words of Marie Kondo, do not ‘spark joy’ and do not add value to my life. I hope to continue my one in one out policy with my beauty and make-up stash and continue to regularly switch up my makeup bag in order to make the most out of my make-up collection.
Utilise my Commute: My placement involves a 50 mile round trip to and from work which means 2 hours of driving every day, 10 hours a week and far too many in a year. 6 months into my drive and I can’t help but feel like I’m wasting valuable learning time. For the remaining 6 months of my placement I hope to better utilise the free time I have to listen to educational podcasts and broaden my knowledge. I’m also tempted by the idea of getting an audible account so that I can listen to books while on my drive.
Travel
Visit 3 New Places: Last year I set myself a goal of visiting 3 new places and I would love to do this again this year. I’m hoping Budapest, Bath and the Lake District can be among these.
So those are my resolutions/goals for the year. What goals have you set yourself for 2019?
Previous New Year Goals: (2018 Resolutions and 2017 Resolutions).
