Showing posts with label goal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goal. Show all posts

My 2016 Resolutions


Happy New Year lovely people! I found myself in two minds about whether to write this post or not. Maybe it's because every man and their dog blog writes a resolution post, or maybe it's because there's so much cynicism surrounding the whole idea of new years resolutions. However, when I thought back to my 2015 resolutions post, I realised that the very act of publishing my intentions for the year ahead for all to see was the thing that motivated me the most to complete them. In committing my goals to (virtual) paper, I managed to successfully achieve 5 of the 6 goals I set myself last January (sorry art skills - drawing more fell by the wayside a bit!).  So with that in mind, I've decided to go ahead and set myself some new goals for 2016, these will be my personal resolutions and blogging based ones will come in the next post...

New Years Resolutions Update : 1 Month On


So today is the very last day of January and for what seems like the first time ever, I am NOT saying it flew by. In honesty, time seemed to be in slow motion this month and I for one won't be sad to see the back of January. However, as I mentioned my original new years resolutions post, this year is pretty much the first time I've ever set a list of serious resolutions, so I'm quite eager to make them happen. So, before we wave the most hated month out for another year, I thought I'd review my 2015 goals and resolutions list and see how I'm getting on with them so far as a way of (fingers crossed) motivating myself to keep going!

1. Draw LOTS more (starting with a drawing a day in January)
Ah.. so...hopefully I can start on a low here and work my way upwards. The good news is, I did draw a fair bit this month. The not so good news is that I didn't stick to my drawing a day. I made it 2 weeks in and after one long, busy day I forgot to draw and it all went downhill from there. So we'll call this one a half success, after all, new years resolutions aren't supposed to be fully achieved within the first month.


2. Learn how to better deal with anxiety and depression 
This is a big one and I know this will take time, most likely longer than the year ahead but I'm hoping to have a good crack at it in the coming months. I chose to research into mental health issues for my current art project which has opened me up to a wealth of information which I think is a good start but I still have a way to go with dealing with my personal issues. 

3. Stop wasting time by worrying about time all the time
Ok, so this is a big personal problem of mine and it stems back to my issues with anxiety. I panic about wasting time to the degree that if I've wasted 10 minutes of time, I will waste a further 2 or 3 hours panicking about those lost 10 minutes. I don't exactly know how I'm going to solve this yet and I have had a few episodes this month, but I've found that simply having this in my conscious mind as one of my resolutions has at least helped me to accept that this is an issue. 

4. Update my wardrobe 
This was my superficial resolution for 2015. I seem to have landed myself with a wardrobe that's stuffed full of clothes I don't wear. I've half-heartedly cleared it out several times over the past few years and now I think enough is really enough. This month I found Unfancy, a minimalist fashion blog and I fell in love with the idea of a 'capsule wardrobe'. Now, I haven't completely overhauled my wardrobe yet but I did make one small step - I was given a jumper for christmas which just didn't fit right, so instead of doing what I would usually do and keep it out of guilt, I exchanged it for something I really love. Feeling guilty about returning a gift that you won't use just doesn't make sense - my mum was much happier knowing I'd swapped it for something that won't end up gathering dust. 

5. Shoot in film
As you can see from this blog post's image, I got a long way with this resolution in just one month. I will probably do a separate post about my experience shooting in film but it was just by chance there was an opportunity to be induced into the dark room at my art school mid way through January and I grabbed it with both hands!

6. Blog (just do it!)
Hurrah! I think I can call this one a triumph so far. This post will be the 6th this month which I am more than happy with considering how on/off I have been in the past. I've decided to really have a good go at blogging and so far I am loving it! I'd like to say thank you to anybody who has looked at/followed/commented/supported my blog so far this year and I can't wait to see what the future brings.

How have your new years resolutions been going? Have you stuck to them so far?

x

2015 Goals and Resolutions


Wishing everybody a very Happy New Year! Hope you had a wonderful festive period. 

To me it feels very strange that it isn't 2012 anymore, let alone 2015. 2014 has been a mixture of ups and downs for me but I've spent it with people I love and care about so I'm still very lucky and have some great memories from the past 12 months. 

In the past I have never really made proper goals for the year ahead. But last year I made just one - to read more. I still may not be a massive book worm and I still have a problem with being ridiculously slow at finishing any book, but the bottom line is I HAVE read more this year than the previous 5 years combined. I've gotten through a handful of great books in 2014 and I hope to continue this into the new year. I feel like there is so much negativity and pessimism surrounding new years resolutions, but in my opinion it can work! Just one tip from me though if you want to make it happen: try to be somewhat specific with your goals. Nothing too broad if you  can help it. For example, if you want to get fit, try not to write "1. Get Fit" on your 2015 resolutions list. Swap it for something like "1. Do at least one run a week". If you achieve this easily, then great! Keep the original ones up, set some new ones and keep going. 

I really want to start the blogging year ahead by sharing the goals I have set myself for 2015. I've actaully ended up with a few more than I had planned to but I still think they're easily manageable for me (some being harder than others!) Hopefully I'll be able to look back on this post at the end of the year and at least say I've had a real good go at all of these.

So, here are my six goals/resolutions for 2015:

  • Draw LOTS more (starting with a drawing a day in January)
  • Stop wasting time by worrying about time all the time
  • Blog (just do it!)
  • Update my wardrobe 
  • Shoot in film
  • Learn how to better deal with anxiety and depression 


Wish me luck! I hope this year is a safe, happy and exciting one for you.

x