Browsing Tag

goals

New Year, New You…yeah, right.

It’s taken ages to unwind and relax. I knew it would, you can’t work all year without much of a proper holiday, have a crazy December and end the year feeling burnt out then miraculously expect instant relaxation the minute you finish work. But I’m still surprised how long it’s taking and I’m not sure I’m fully refreshed yet.

I’m loathe to make resolutions as they just get broken and I’ve never been much good with sticking to rules, even ones I make for myself. The whole ‘New Year, New You’ stuff is largely unachievable as I don’t think you can’t change yourself overnight; it’s much more subtle than that, much more about evolution and tweaking and gradual improvements – and not losing the awesome bits of you in the process or becoming a change/diet/fitness bore. I’m going to think much more in terms of goals and things to achieve this year, but for them to be foundations to be built on in years to come. The fact I’m about to tip over ‘mid-forties’ in 2016 isn’t entirely lost on me and it might be time to start thinking about a bit of ‘mind, body and soul’ long-term attention.

I definitely want to lose weight, and I know I should drink less and move more. But I’m going to focus on the ‘moving’ bit, rather than the ‘weight’ bit and hope one follows the other. I’ve set a goal to buy a pushbike around Easter-time and I’m going to learn to cycle. I mean, I can ride a bike, but haven’t done so since I was a child and not properly on a road. Seeing as how I’m so hideously unfit that will be quite a challenge, but I think getting out and about in the fresh air at the weekend will be good. Until then, it’s going to be about finding a rhythm and routine around going to the gym.

I am really interested in some of the School of Life classes and events and I might book myself into a couple of the shorter ones as a taster to see what they are like. I’m curious as I’ve never done anything like that before and there’s a wide range of topics. They are short enough to be doable and not too long to sit through if they are dull.

I’m also intending to plan my holidays and time off work better, making more of my weekend and evenings, rather than being so washed out by the week that it just becomes recovery time. I might even try and get a hobby or volunteer. I’d quite like to do something around mentoring, but don’t really know where to start, so might look into that. I want to focus on some key things at work and I also need to have a big clear out of stuff I don’t need at home – downsizing an office leaves you with lots of surplus furniture and it’s cluttering up the house, along with my mind.

I signed up to this fun website called Only Do 1 Thing, which sends you ‘nudges’ – something different to do every day. Not sure I’ll do them all (pretty certain I won’t) but it’s fun and might be an inspiration to do something I wouldn’t normally do.

I can’t really put much of this into action until I get back from holiday, so I’ll spend the last few days continuing to relax and thinking about how to achieve these goals and coming up with some more…and of course researching online where I can buy a nice wallchart and a paper diary 🙂

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4th January 2016

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Small goals, small wins

Lovely animation about resolutions, personal change and goals.

It’s all about the small stuff. Who knew?

25th August 2014

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Bucket list

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. What’s their plan? Not much.”- Jim Rohn

I came across this free tool online called Bucket List recently. I haven’t signed up, but by the looks of it you can log your life goals or ‘bucket list’ items and then tick things off the list, share them with friends and get inspired by over 2 million ideas. It’s a lovely idea.

The idea of ‘things you must do before you die’ is nice, but I think it’s almost too big. It also has a sense of racing against time about it, which I’m not sure I like so much. I’m not very good at setting personal goals, in fact, I don’t think I ever really have. I’ve set loads of professional goals, knowing what I wanted out of my business and my career, and at points I’ve been very driven about those things, but in doing so I’ve neglected to think about the ‘me’ stuff. When you put so much of your time into your work it’s difficult to think about life outside of that.

Also, achieving big goals can tend to cost lots of money and take lots of time, and that can make them feel unachievable when you don’t have much of either. Trouble is, if you don’t make plans and goals, you get caught up in the day-to-day and life passes by in a flash. Not so much of a big deal when you’re younger, but heading rapidly into my mid-forties it’s starting to feel like I should have some sort of plan.

So I’ve been thinking about things I’d like to do, at home at work and at play. Not so much a bucket list but at least a set of personal goals. I’ve been inspired by my weight loss this year, although it’s only partly about the weight loss itself and actually as much about my ability to decide to do something for me and stick to it. It’s given me a confidence that I can achieve a personal goal, and importantly, not self-sabotage when I’ve been stressed or tired or fed up.

I think some of my aversion to ‘planning’ things for my personal life comes from the fact I plan things for my professional life. My whole work-life is about lists and plans and goals and stuff that needs to happen in the future. Perhaps doing that for myself feels a bit too much like work? But that said, I do enjoy ticking things off of lists, that sense of satisfaction of completion and achievement. So, I think I will have a go at compiling some goals, ones that aren’t based around work – some near and some far – and resist the urge to make it read like a to-do list!

The first things I’ve come up with are:

1. Learn Spanish (no, not buy a boat!)

There’s nothing really stopping me from doing this one, other than time and determination, but I’d love to learn Spanish! I love Spain and I would love to live there for a while, so being able to speak the language would be essential for that. Baby steps – learn the language first!

2. The Edinburgh Festival

I’d love to visit the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Not just for a weekend or a few days, but actually rent an apartment and stay for the full 3 weeks one August, and really get into it. I think the hardest thing would be deciding which shows to go to.

3. The Isle of Man TT

There is nothing quite like the Isle of Man TT Races. It’s held in May every year and is the premier motorcycle road race in the world. The 37-mile Mountain Course is totally unique and I’d love to spend the full 14 days there, soaking up the atmosphere. Ideally I’d love to go as part of a race team – I did that for the NW200 last year and it was amazing. I’m lucky enough to know someone who raced last year and this year and I’ve met a few of the riders, so even listening to it on Manx Radio makes it feel more special.

4. Get more exercise

Constantly on my list of things to do, though it might be easier now I’ve lost some weight. It’s more about finding space in my life to fit exercise in. I’ve never really enjoyed going to the gym – I used to love martial arts and team games like Netball. Maybe I need to find something I like, rather than just trying to plod on with the gym?

5. Make a money plan

Financial planning is not exactly my strong point. But I would like to buy a house in Summer 2016 so time to make busy with a financial plan! The trouble with a plan that basically involves saving more, is how to fit in the things like 2 + 3 which involve spending money… 🙂

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25th August 2014