Thursday 5 February 2015

New Year Resolutions: Going to Plan?


We're now a few days into the second month of 2015 and I have to admit the enthusiasm for the new year that I had just thirty odd days ago seems to have wandered. Rather that embracing the moment and looking for challenges in the everyday like I had planned, I seem instead to have got myself into a habit of counting down the hours until it's time to go to bed and the days to the increasingly shorter weekends. I'm hoping that this is mainly due to the cold weather and short days, and as the evening get lighter my motivation will increase!

That doesn't mean that I have not been working towards my new year resolutions in some ways though and I wanted to be able to record my progress so what better way to do so than sharing them with you?

My resolutions for this year fell in to three main areas:

A Healthier Me

I am overweight, I am unfit. I don't want to be anymore. Sounds simple, however it's going to take lot of hard work.

At the moment my long days in work and and busy evenings mean that I have limited time to fit in any exercise other than walking but I have started to plan my meals to be a lot healthier and have cut down on snacking, using smart swaps to have fruit to hand rather than chocolate when I do need a nibble.

Developing My Photography Skills

Over the last three and a half years since I started writing my blog I have developed a passion for photography and have progressed from a basic point and shoot camera to a bridge and then saving up for a much longed after DSLR. In the last week I have finally been able to purchase the fabulous Nikon 3300 and although I have so far only tried it out briefly, I am planning to book a photography course later in the year and will be paying particular attention in the photography sessions at Blog On and Britmums in the coming months. A work in progress but one I feel rather positive about! I can't wait to have another play with 

Save Smarter

I have always been a smart shopper and love to find great offers and discounts, this year however I want to pay more attention to what I do with the money that I save and make it work for me. By the end of this year I want to be in a position to have a deposit for our first home and I have already set up a savings account dedicated to just this. I will be sharing some of my saving planning with you in a separate post but so far I am on track with this one.

A Better Work / Life Balance


What is the secret to a good work / life balance? Does anyone actually know? All I know is at the moment I am not happy with mine. My day no longer makes me happy and I am doing everything I can to find something else that pays the bills. During the week I feel like I barely see my children and there are days that we don't actually get home until bedtime so the only time I see them is to walk home from nursery or after school club in the dark. I like to think that I make up for this at the weekends as we try to fit as much in as possible but this can mean that I fall behind on housework so end up doing that in the early hours... and then there is the blog. I love blogging and I am so grateful for the community that it has allowed me to be a part of and the friends I have made but sometimes it feels like more of a chore than a hobby especially when I am sitting with a cup of coffee at 2am trying to keep my eyes open just so I can update it for the first time in over a week!
I think this is the resolution that I am struggling the most with as it's the most important to me.

I'm hoping I find a solution soon enough, but if I don't discover one I can always check out The Circle Free Horoscopes to see if there is anything written in the stars that can help me!

I'd love to know how you are getting on with any resolutions you set for the New Year. Are you beginning to struggle to keep up the enthusiasm or are they still going strong?



*collaborative post*

1 comment:

  1. Pete made a resolution for me this year and it was to be more positive, I certainly feel more positive as I have taken on new things but long term illness is getting in the way a little and so I am trying to stick to it, I have been exercising more which has helped too.

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