Here we go! Another year, another set of goals.
But before I get on with all of this, Happy New Year!! Bonne année!
Thank you once again dear readers for following along in 2017. It always means the world knowing Crème de Citron is read in a lot of places and I love reading your comments here and there. It is a real motivation to keep writing stories about lifestyle, food and travels.
So, goals.
But before I get on with all of this, Happy New Year!! Bonne année!
Thank you once again dear readers for following along in 2017. It always means the world knowing Crème de Citron is read in a lot of places and I love reading your comments here and there. It is a real motivation to keep writing stories about lifestyle, food and travels.
So, goals.
As I mentioned last year, I am a big fan of goals rather than resolutions as I feel less pressure achieving something. And somehow, I feel like I did lots more than I would have any other year when I used to set resolutions.
I am setting up my goals for 2018 but they are an ongoing thing so rather than divulging those, let me tell you about the ones I attained in 2017, in no particular order:
- I continued reading a lot. I had set a goal of 35 books to read over the course of the year and went well beyond it. And for those wondering, I do not read at a competitive rate, I just set time aside exclusively for it. This means turning off the wifi on my phone the moment I go into the bedroom and diving straight into whatever story I am currently reading. Here is a list of what I read (I keep it on Goodreads). As you can see there is a good mix!
- I finally went and donated blood. I do not even know what took me so long, probably a lack of courage. It turns out I have to limit it to once a year but I wish I could do more. If you are able to donate your blood (I know it is not possible for all of us), it is really important to do so as supplies can run low quite often (I often receive reminder text messages here in Ireland).
- I studied Data Science, passed exams and got two certificates. I am still amazed this happened to be honest.
- I made a point of not buying a single cookbook all year as I have plenty of them and rarely cook or bake the recipes in it. So I opened them more often and actually tried a lot of delicious things I had been missing on and also made a bigger effort at trying the various recipes I collect on my Pinterest boards. So many delicious things happened in the kitchen! Definitely something I will keep doing. Plus, I was gifted a dream cookbook at Christmas as a surprise and cannot wait to try those sweet recipes.
- I pushed myself to go to Pilates classes on a weekly basis. I have known for a long time now that I absolutely need to reinforce my back (it was injured in a car crash many many years ago). A bout of crippling pain while living in Australia prompted my doctor to advise Pilates as a solution. I went to a few classes while there and it worked wonders. But when we moved back to Ireland, I never motivated myself hard enough to register for classes. Last Summer, I just registered to a nearby class on a whim and I keep going, which in itself is a bit of a big deal in my book, especially when I head there in the cold wind and rain when I would rather be staying cosily at home. I feel strengthened not only physically but mentally too.
- I took on The Minimalists challenge and decluttered a whole lot. This is also an ongoing goal because the more I get rid of things, the more I can find other things I don't need in my life. Our house is not a void now, far from that, but I get more a sense of what is really essential and what is not and can focus my energy on other more important things (and p.s. less clutter also means less tidying, cleaning and dusting, just thought I would put this out there...).
There were plenty of other goals but more professional and personal so I will keep those privately.
I am setting up my goals for 2018 but they are an ongoing thing so rather than divulging those, let me tell you about the ones I attained in 2017, in no particular order:
- I continued reading a lot. I had set a goal of 35 books to read over the course of the year and went well beyond it. And for those wondering, I do not read at a competitive rate, I just set time aside exclusively for it. This means turning off the wifi on my phone the moment I go into the bedroom and diving straight into whatever story I am currently reading. Here is a list of what I read (I keep it on Goodreads). As you can see there is a good mix!
- I finally went and donated blood. I do not even know what took me so long, probably a lack of courage. It turns out I have to limit it to once a year but I wish I could do more. If you are able to donate your blood (I know it is not possible for all of us), it is really important to do so as supplies can run low quite often (I often receive reminder text messages here in Ireland).
- I studied Data Science, passed exams and got two certificates. I am still amazed this happened to be honest.
- I made a point of not buying a single cookbook all year as I have plenty of them and rarely cook or bake the recipes in it. So I opened them more often and actually tried a lot of delicious things I had been missing on and also made a bigger effort at trying the various recipes I collect on my Pinterest boards. So many delicious things happened in the kitchen! Definitely something I will keep doing. Plus, I was gifted a dream cookbook at Christmas as a surprise and cannot wait to try those sweet recipes.
- I pushed myself to go to Pilates classes on a weekly basis. I have known for a long time now that I absolutely need to reinforce my back (it was injured in a car crash many many years ago). A bout of crippling pain while living in Australia prompted my doctor to advise Pilates as a solution. I went to a few classes while there and it worked wonders. But when we moved back to Ireland, I never motivated myself hard enough to register for classes. Last Summer, I just registered to a nearby class on a whim and I keep going, which in itself is a bit of a big deal in my book, especially when I head there in the cold wind and rain when I would rather be staying cosily at home. I feel strengthened not only physically but mentally too.
- I took on The Minimalists challenge and decluttered a whole lot. This is also an ongoing goal because the more I get rid of things, the more I can find other things I don't need in my life. Our house is not a void now, far from that, but I get more a sense of what is really essential and what is not and can focus my energy on other more important things (and p.s. less clutter also means less tidying, cleaning and dusting, just thought I would put this out there...).
There were plenty of other goals but more professional and personal so I will keep those privately.
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What about you? Do you set goals/intentions/resolutions when you start the year? What is your best achievement in 2017?
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What about you? Do you set goals/intentions/resolutions when you start the year? What is your best achievement in 2017?
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