18 Goals for 2018

Last week, I was tagged by the lovely Alex from Lamb & Bear to take part in the ‘18 Goals for 2018’ challenge. I don’t do new year resolutions as I find there’s too much pressure to complete them before you’ve even started – meaning they’re often a chore – and a bucket list is often associated with your dying wishes, and I don’t think one of those is required just yet (although I have written one in the past!).

So with this in mind, I thought I’d take part in a less pressured challenge to set myself 18 goals or ‘aims’ for me to complete or think about in 2018. The catch is, is that they don’t have to have an end if you don’t want them to, they can be a behaviour change or a change in your home, something personal to you or for someone else.

If you fancy joining in, please do, just let us know in the comments so we can see what your goals are!

1. Turning off is probably my biggest aim for 2018. I love technology and more precisely, social media. I love chatting to people who I’ve come to get to know and become friends with, as well as see photos and videos of friends who are thousands of miles away. That being said, I probably spend an unhealthy amount of time on social media, to a degree that I worry about what T thinks of me in the small amount of time I have to reply to an email when I’m with him. In addition, I know I need to make more of an effort when I’m alone in the evenings with Sharon. More often than not, whilst unwinding, we’re both catching up on social media as opposed to with each other (that took me a while to get that off my chest!).
2. Another big goal is taking more ‘Me Time’ out of the month (maybe even the week). Whether it’s a long bath at the end of the week, going for a walk on my own, or simply reserving some time to do some gaming, I’m very aware that self-care is just as important as household tasks and work.
3. Speaking of work (which seems to take up a HUGE amount of my life), I’ve come to realise that if I organise the night before it’ll help me the next day. I already get up early before the toddler wakes to make sure I’ve done the morning tasks like empty the dishwasher and feed the animals, but if I spent the 20 minutes it takes to make lunches at the end of the day rather than trying to squeeze it in in the mornings alongside cooking dinners – thus taking time away from T – the mornings will probably be a little less hectic and I might be able to squeeze in an episode of Hey Duggee!
4. Last year, I started back at the gym at my work after two years of not going and even after the first day I felt amazing and wish I had started it sooner. Therefore, one of my next goals is to push myself a little bit more in 2018. I don’t intend of working myself to the bone, but instead of running for 10 minutes, run for 12. Instead of parking closer to the shop, park a bit further for the walk.
5. Similar to point #2, I’m also conscious of making sure I do something without a reason, which is completely alien to me. I often need to feel fulfilled or like I’ve achieved something by doing something, and if I feel something is a waste of time then I don’t do it. But more often than not if I just did it in the first place it would have probably be a lot of fun. From little things like adding a new ingredient to a meal randomly, walking somewhere off the beaten track with the dog, to learning a new skill! Basically, I need to just think less and go with the flow a bit more.
6. Seeing more friends is still at the top of my list for 2018, but with the additional side tone of seeing friends we perhaps didn’t see quite as often as we did others and pushing the boat out a bit more.
7. Similarly, seeing more family is something else I need to concentrate on – maybe even try and visited extended family members on both our sides!
8. I am awful at drinking water and have been known to not drink a single glass all day. There’s absolutely no excuse whatsoever, and I know I’m going to do myself damage if I stick to the maximum that I drink at the moment (*cough* 2-3 pints *cough*).
9. To help with my water aversion, I clearly need to drink less coffee! I love the smell and the taste, but after realising the headaches I sometimes have is due to not having ENOUGH coffee that day alarm bells started ringing. I’ve already cut my intake down to 2-3 cups a day (from four) with my aim being 1-2 cups (two if I’m having a bad day).
10. Along with healthy drinking, I’m also now vigilant with what I eat. We’ve already put away all the unopened goodies form Christmas (there’s actually quite a bit left over!) and we’ve almost finished the other bits like cheeses, but after this we are going back to our usual regime. To be honest, we’re actually very good when it comes to food. We don’t have crisps and chocolate in the house (not even biscuits), veggies are a must with very meal, and cake only comes as a treat when we’ve been out. Our biggest downfall though is probably portion control and knowing how much to cook.We don’t eat mass loads, but we do find that we’re either finishing off T’s tiny left overs or having last night’s third portion for lunch!
11. I love my proper camera, but more often than not I can’t be bothered to charge it, to take it out, and then spend time downloading the photos, so it often gets left for special occasions and holidays. Therefore, a lot of my photos are taken on my phone, which isn’t too bad now I’ve bought the Google Pixel 2, but I know I’m sitting on a lot of wasted technology that should be being put to good use. Plus, I can actually take some good photos when I put my mind to it!
12. Living in rented accommodation means that we’re limited to what we can do decoration wise, so we don’t often have the chance to change the decor or the furniture as everything has to go with cream! But last year we thought the hell to that and started buying new furniture that looked NICE instead of practical and just bought for the future home(s). We bought new DVD cabinets from IKEA and got rid of our old scabby ones that just ‘made do’ as well as few bits for the kitchen. This year, we’re going to work on our home more and get artwork up on the walls that represents us, as well as bite the bullet and get rid of tired old items for new things. Maybe I need to plant that money tree first, though.
13. When we’re not at home, we’re out and about. I love travelling and seeing new places, which is why it comes as no surprise that I aim to keep visiting new places. Don’t get me wrong, I still love my favourites like National Trust locations and local farms, but I want to make sure I explore and visit more of the gorgeous county I’m in (maybe even further!).
14. I miss reading. Books, comics, (decent) newspapers, you name it. I love reading. Thankfully I was able to fill the void with blogs when we were trying to conceive T, but when he eventually arrived I didn’t have time to read anything. I tried, oh I tried. The good thing about blogs is that I can read them on my phone – so loo breaks were sometimes that bit longer – but when someone became a lot more mobile I had to cut out the phone time so reading took a pause again. Thankfully I now have a nice routine in the morning and I’m able to start reading again before the toddler wakes, so blogs are back on the cards!
15. Talk to my wife and the first thing that annoys the heck out of her is that I worry and get annoyed about the small things. Usually the things that have suddenly gone awry or things I can’t help. This in turn causes more unnecessary stress. So this year I’m going to make an effort to not sweat the little things. I don’t know how, mind you. I guess I’ll have to learn how to divert my energy elsewhere (see point #5?).
16. It’s hard not to compare yourself when you see people succeeding whilst doing the same things as you – whether it’s parenting or blogging. You wonder what you’re doing wrong because something at your end hasn’t worked out the same way. But over the past year I’ve learnt that there are so many factors to someone else’s success – even if it’s the wrong way in your eyes. Everyone has their own way of doing something and if it works for them then great – it doesn’t mean it’ll work for you.
17. On a similar note, getting rid of negativity in my life is going to be a huge factor to my overall mental health. Whether it’s a certain person or something that I do, I’m going to work hard to make sure that I priorities the people and things that make me happy!
18. Probably the biggest challenge is sticking to my goals. It’ll be very easy to fall back into my current ways, but the fact that I’ve managed to find 18 things I know I need to work on just goes to show that things need to change.

Goodness, that took me a while.

I guess rather than resolutions these are a few changes in habit or lifestyle. I’m really looking forward to seeing how these develop over 2018. Which ones will be the most challenging? How will I change? I’m not sure whether they’re quantifiable at the moment as they’re all dependent on my mood that day, but I think if I’m able to achieve at least half the above (and stick to it) I know I would have achieved something!

Do you do resolutions? If not, what do you do instead? Is there anything you can relate to from the above?