Tag Archives: resolutions

The Start of 2019

10 Jan

It’s been a busy start to the New Year. It’s only the 10th January but I have the feeling that I have done more in the last 10 days than I did in the whole of December. Which is hardly surprising because my main activities last month were eating and drinking.

Although we had a few smatterings of snow in December, the snow is finally coming down. Perhaps my increased productivity is due to this weather. I don’t feel like going outside so I have been busy doing activities indoors.

Here is a list of what I have done in the past 10 days.

  • Stopped eating and drinking as much as I was doing over Christmas in an attempt to lose the weight that I’ve put on;
  • Read 5 books (and I’ve almost finished number 6);
  • Collected and built a wardrobe that I had ordered;
  • Tried some new recipes in the kitchen;
  • Had a haircut;
  • Packed away all of the Christmas decorations and the Christmas tree – and the corner in the living room still looks empty without it;
  • Bought a new TV – our old one decided to give up the ghost on the 5th;
  • Started work for preparations for lauching my own travel website later in the year;
  • Started learning some coding in Excel;
  • Sorted out some clothes and other things to be taken to the recycling centre or to donate;
  • Went swimming for the first time in as long as I can remember;
  • Had a couple of lunch dates with friends;
  • Begun editing a short story that I wrote last year.

Bearing in mind that we were on holiday in Belgium until 3rd January I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself.

If the snow keeps falling and I remain inside, I think this month could be the most productive one on record! I hope you’ve also had a good and productive start to 2019.

Tags: , , , , , ,

A Time to Reflect

1 Jan

People always reflect on their lives at this time of year and look forward to the oncoming new year and the possibilities that may lie ahead.

Collectively, people say that 2016 was a bad year. Of course, there were horrible things happening all throughout the year from celebrities dropping left, right and centre and horrendous terrorist attacks. For me personally, my year was ok.

I say ok because nothing completely out of the ordinary and utterly amazing happened (like a lottery win*) but it wasn’t a disaster either. I moved apartments, I travelled to some fantastic places and ticked some more things off my bucket list but 2016 was business as usual.

For me, I hope that 2017 brings more of the same. Of course, there are things that I want to do and achieve during the new year but it is impossible to tell what life would will throw at you. This year could be exactly the same as last year: not so much stress, no disasters, just trundling along. However, I know from experience that life doesn’t always end up how you plan it to. I don’t want to ride my luck too much.

A friend of mine creates a MindMap of a One Year Plan every year which documents what he will do in all sorts of areas of his life from professional, to holidays, to charity donations and things that need to be done around the house. The idea is that you periodically review what you have done so far and then at the end of the year you should have ticked everything off.

I thought it was a good idea and tried it out one year. It turns out it wasn’t for me. I didn’t get to finish all of the documenting of what I wanted to do. I completely forgot about it and discovered it a few years later when I was preparing to move to Switzerland. And, before you ask, no, moving to Switzerland was not on the One Year Plan.

Next year I hope to improve some things that are on most people’s list: lose weight, eat healthier, read more. I already have some holidays planned and some more bucket list items are all ready to be ticked off. But more importantly, I hope for nothing more than health and happiness for me and my family and for the whole world to live in harmony and people. That’s not too much to ask for, is it?new-1872736__340

*The lottery win would be even more remarkable because I can’t remember the last time I bought a ticket. “You’ve got to be in it to win it!”

Tags: , , , , , ,