Well, happy new bloody year to ya! I hope you all stumbled into 2020 merry, bright and full of food with big exciting plans for the next decade of our lives. I think that’s the thing that’s REALLY messing with my brain – we’re in a new DECADE. Guess where I was when we last entered a new decade? Disneyland. My favourite place on Earth. So with that in mind, this decade is already down on the last.
I’m totally joking, the 2010’s might have started magically but they turned into an absolute nightmare. Although 2019 ended on a spectacular high, I’m so ready to put the last 10 years behind me and look forward to bigger and brighter things, with less fear and anxiety.
I said it last year and I’ll say it again this year: I don’t do New Years Resolutions anymore. I find them too overwhelming and unreachable and I think a lot of people feel the same. But you know me, I love a goal. Goals keep me striving for more and keep me on track. So although these goals are for the whole year, I’m not sticking them in a list with tick boxes.
I think the point of goals is to having something to work towards and something to keep us on the straight and narrow, so to speak. As long as I’m actively working forwards these throughout the year, I’ll consider it a job well done. My life got so busy towards the end of last year, a sign of what’s the come perhaps?
So I’ve categorized my goals into business, blogging and career and personal and well-being as those are the main areas of my life I’d like to move forward with. Here are my goals for 2020!
Blogging, business & career
Publish a book I’m proud of and a successful book release: This one is already halfway complete as in November last year, I signed a book contract to publish a book on mental health and well-being this September. Now I can say, I’M HAVING A BOOK PUBLISHED THIS YEAR. I’m working extremely hard and I hope I can have a successful book release and create a book that not only am I proud of but will also help other people. Pre-order here!
Improve my photography and grow my Instagram: I’ve never focused much on Instagram before because quite honestly, I despised taking photos. Even on my blog, you’ll have noticed I used a LOT of stock photos last year. And whilst there’s nothing wrong with that, I started experimenting with my photography style a bit back in September and found I was starting to enjoy it again! So I’d like to take that further and hit 2,000 Insta followers this year.
Consistently earn a full-time income from my blog / eBooks / business things: One of the proudest things I’ve managed to do this year is earn a consistently decent income from my blog each month. Of course some months are worse than others, that’s how it in freelancing but it’s steady and I’m so happy about that. I’m very close to earning a consistent full-time income from my blog and 2020 is the year for me to try and crack that!
Get invited on a press trip: In 2019 I was incredibly lucky to have been invited to Brooklands Hotel and Spa for a stay and also offered a free night at Pod Hollow in exchange for a review. These were 2 of my favourite places my boyfriend and I went in 2019 and it was a privilege and honor to be invited to them both. This year, I’d LOVE to be invited on a press trip somewhere and have the chance to work with a brand or tourism board on some travel content. Especially now my anxiety is better than ever and I’m keen to go out there and see things!
Get some professional photos taken: I suppose this one could be classed as both business and personal because although I’d be using them from a business point of view, it’s also a very personal goal as I’ve never been confident enough to do anything like that before. But I think it’s time to get some professional photos taken to use for my book and on my blog.
Personal & well-being
Go on holiday on my own: This has been a dream of mine for so long but due to how bad my anxiety has been over the last almost freaking DECADE, it’s not been doable. I feel like I’m in the position to maybe have a short trip away by myself. Not abroad but that’s okay. Perhaps somewhere like Norfolk or Great Yarmouth would be perfect.
Continue to push myself out of my comfort zone: I wrote a detailed post last year about comfort zones and how I’ve been pushing myself out of mine and 2020 is definitely the time to continue that. Although this isn’t easily measurable, I definitely want to experience more next year and continue pushing myself and making my world bigger.
Start driving properly again: My confidence to drive is something my anxiety ripped away from me quite dramatically over the last decade. And late last year, I started to get into driving again and regaining a level of confidence. My progress got a bit halted in December when I went for a routine eye test and was told my eye sight had got too bad to drive WITH my glasses (eek!) but now that’s sorted, I really want to knuckle down with driving.
Stop picking my bloody nails: This is a big one for me as it’s something I’ve NEVER been able to quit. I’ve picked my nails since I was a kid – I just love picking things. My nails are in the worst state of my life right now – I’d be embarrassed to even show you. So THIS IS THE YEAR I get nails back. Because literally, I don’t even have nail to paint right now. It’s just skin and finger.
So I’ve kept it pretty short and sweet for 2020 because if 2019 taught me anything, it’s that things can CHANGE and your life can take a different direction at the drop of a hat. But these are things which are incredibly important to me, which I want to work on in 2020 and beyond. What are your goals for 2020?
