18 Goals For 2018 – Life, Family, Work, Me.

I’ve mentioned before hope I don’t make new year resolutions, but give myself goals to aim for. Something that isn’t set in stone, but that I can reflect on and use for motivation.

When I reflect back on the last year I’ll be honest, I feel like the year was tough. My mental health has been rocky. Something I dreaded would happen after having a second baby. This time though I’ve been suffering with anxiety. I have my good days, I have my bad days, but I’m learning to see the signals and make small changes to improve my day.

I’ve worked my socks off (around the kids) on my brand and blog and although they are both ticking along, I’m a little disappointed with the growth. Having said that November was my best month for blog income and I really feel confident I can start the year with a bang.

Although personally my year felt tough, watching my 2 boys grow and develop into even more lovely little lads than they already were, has kept me smiling daily. Bloody hell I sound like I had the year from hell. I really didn’t, but I’ve definitely felt stressed at times.

Lamb started school, Bear’s first birthday. The laughs and giggles out weigh the tears for sure, I just think my toughest months happen to be at the end of the year, so they are still a little fresh.

I’ve started the year on a high. I have spent New Years Day tucked away in my cellar organising my stock and clearing my work space. A clear space equals a clear mind. Or so they say…

I’ve set up a new VIP CLUB for my clothing brand on Facebook, and have spent this evening talking to customers and feeling proud of my little business.

So tonight I’m sitting here feeling ready to write down my 18 goals for 2018. I’m not giving anything up, I’m not setting resolutions, but simply something to aim for.

1. Breathe. When my anxiety creeps up on me I can begin to feel breathless and it can last for a couple of days. In stressful situations (like when Lamb refuses to get dressed and we are SO late for school) I need to stop, remove myself from the situation and count to 10. Breathe for a moment and relax.
2. Use my diary/planner. I am the most unorganised person ever. Late last year I bought myself a new diary (which is awesome by the way – it’s this one). Using it throughout November and December meant I kept up to date with blog work and life. The only problem is I was filling the days really quickly and running out of space. So I’ve bought myself a planner (this one) so I can separate life and work.
3. Get up early. I really must start setting an alarm and getting up early. Ideally before the kids! If I can be dressed and full of coffee before the boys aka tornados get up, then I’m winning.
4. Do my make up each morning. As well as getting up early I need to make sure I do my make up before we leave for school. I promised myself I wouldn’t go on the school run without a bit of coverage, but by the end of the year I was slacking. This. Must. Stop.
5. Organise clothes the night before. I know I should already be doing this. You don’t know how many mornings I’ve been running around looking for Lamb school shirt, or a clean vest for Bear.
6. Stay on top of laundry. Following on from the above goal, I really must stay on top on laundry! With my new planner I’ve bought some fab stickers for household chores, including washing and ironing. I’m hoping by using these stickers I’ll be reminded to empty the tumble dryer, or put away the clean clothes more often and I won’t have days where I can’t find what I need.
7. Have a weekly bath. Having a bath used to be something I did a few times a week. I love baths. When I was pregnant I had one every night to help with back pain. But I just don’t have time to relax in the bath these days. Any spare time I have I’m working. But I need time to switch off. And I’ve decided this will be in the form of a weekly bath, with a G&T and a good book.
8. Try to go on a daily walk. Monday to Friday I walk Lamb to school, and walk to pick him up. Actually Wednesdays we drive in the morning because I take Bear to nursery first. If the weather is awful I am guilty of jumping in the car. If this is the case I need to make sure I’m getting out and having a walk around the block. Take myself away from technology and Gert some fresh air. It’s important for Bear too.
9. Introduce light exercise into my day. I hate exercise, I’m happy to admit that. Well, that’s not entirely true. I like swimming, going on long walks, and in the summer enjoy a friendly game of rounders (when I say friendly, I mean highly competitive!) Now I’m losing weight I need to work on toning my body a little. I’m going to start doing daily squats and lunges to tone up my bum and thighs as that’s where I hold the most weight. I’m a bit of a Kardashian.
10. Learn to use my new camera. Inspired by Pondering Parenthood’s post (thank you for tagging me Jules) I really must learn to use my new SONY A5000. I love the camera but have spent the last 3 months using the auto settings. It’s a lot of money to spend and not use to it’s full potential.
11. Improve my blog and brand photography. I stared doing this at the end of last year and have had a few comments from close friends and family who are loving my photos. I need to keep this up and continue improving.
12. Take a day off. Working from home around kids pretty much means you’re trying to grab every spare 5 minutes you can to get something done. It’s not easy. This is why I MUST take a day off each week. A day where I don’t pick up my laptop, and where I only update social media or reply to emails when Bear is napping. A day about being a mum, a wife, a woman. ME.
13. Take some evenings off. Rather than sitting on my laptop until gone midnight (like I am tonight) I’m hoping this new organise system of mine will mean I can take a couple of evenings off a week and go back to doing what I used to love doing pre-kids… laying in bed binge watching Friends! I rarely watch Friends anymore and it just doesn’t feel right. I miss those guys. 🙂
14. Read more with Lamb. I’ve been so bad at sitting and reading with Lamb since he started school. I ask him regularly and he almost always says no. But it’s important and I’m going to enforce a reading schedule with him. We don’t read to him in bed as Bear is a really light sleeper, so we need to make sure we do it earlier in the evening.
15. Believe in myself. I am so guilty of questioning every little thing I do. I’m so passionate and ambitious but I struggle to trust my instincts and ideas. I need to believe in myself more, because with that will come success.
16. Drink less coffee. I don’t know if I will manage this, but when I find myself creeping to the kettle for my third coffee of the day, I’ll try my very hardest to detour to the tap instead.
17. Try to find natural ways of improving my health. Taking vitamins or something like turmeric which can help improve things like joint health, digestive health and even mood.
18. Enjoy Bear. I hate that I’m constantly wishing Bear would go down for a nap, or counting down the hours to bedtime. All because I’ve got a million things to do. He is an incredible little boy and has SO much love for me. He gives me a cuddle and says “ahhhhhhh” several times a day. I’d hate for him to realise I crave time away to work. I need to embrace this time I have with him and soak him/ up. Yes, he’s a handful, but he’s also full of fun and laughter and his giggle is infectious.
19. Finally, remember my goals. 

I’m hoping by writing these goals down it will give me a place to come when I’m feeling overwhelmed, lost or uninspired. I’m feeling excited about 2018. The first day of the year hasn’t been so bad, so fingers crossed the rest is great!

~A~

I tag Sabrina https://themummystylist.com, Emily http://www.babiesandbeauty.com, Kate https://lesbemums.com, Hannah http://www.whathannahdidnext.co.uk, Nadia https://scandimummy.com, Lucy https://hellobeautifulbear.com and Paige http://www.paigespreferences.com – make sure you head over and read their goals too!

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* Collaborative post