Hello!

It’s that time of year again and honestly, I’m not as excited for setting my 2023 goals as I usually would be – looking back on my goals for last year is actually pretty depressing, with 2 of my professional goals being flat out fails and the third being maybe 75% successful (and it was only to update my portfolio instagram account once a week so it wasn’t a tricky one anyway).

My personal goals were another mixed batch – I managed all but 10 days of Duolingo (so 355 days in total!) so I’d call that a 97.2% success rate (yes I did the maths), I changed my mind about wanting to make cosplay costumes so that was a fail and blogging once a week I managed 41 posts (42 including this one!) so an 80.7% success rate on that one.

Do percentages make me sound more like I know what I’m doing?

My ‘home’ goals were much more successful – I finished planning my wedding and got married! I also did a weekly savings challenge where I managed to save £1379 over the year despite losing my job – I’m so proud of myself and very, very grateful for the support network I have around me that made it possible. We didn’t manage a summer holiday, but it was all in favour of saving for the wedding which I think was completely worth it.

Of my 10 other random goals, I have hit my reading goal, I only bought a few books so my book buying ban went pretty well, I went to a museum, I went to a concert (with my mum to of one of her favourite bands, which in turn led me to include one of their songs in our wedding which meant a lot to both of us), I went to a new place on our mini-moon, I updated my wardrobe seasonally, I did pretty appallingly on my four warm-up writing challenges but then managed to write 50k for NaNoWriMo in November, we managed monthly date nights every month but one, I barely did any crafting in the first three quarters of the year then did basically nothing but crafting in the last quarter and I have not missed a single day of my 1 Second Everyday video (I’ll share that on January 1st!).

So all in all, a very mixed bag – but thinking about it now, I definitely prioritised the things that mean the most to me and I have used what wasn’t so successful in this year’s goals to plan my 2023 ones.

A brief explanation of how I plan my goals – I have three goals in each category of Professional, Personal and Home (and five years on from my first yearly goals, I’m still figuring out what those things mean!) and then I have 10 ‘aims’ (I used to call them bucket list goals but that felt a bit morbid).

To try and prevent this blog post from being longer than my dissertation, here’s what I will be working on in 2023:

P R O F E S S I O N A L :

1. I got myself a new iPad this year (it turns out my old one doesn’t work as well after 10 years) and I want to learn to use ProCreate – I’ve had an itch to practice drawing for a while and I think digital art will really suit me and go well with my other crafty hobbies. I’ve found a few YouTube videos and I’m tempted to try a SkillShare course if I need more guidance. I’m sure I’ll have an art Instagram in no time!
2. I want to take a website design course – having been blogging for approximately nine years (😱) I should really know how to make my blog look prettier, but I have no idea. I’m thinking of starting a separate creative writing blog to go alongside this one and that might be a good project for me to learn with.
3. A repeat from last year – I want to update my portfolio instagram once a week. What I want to start including more of is stuff from my personal life (reading, crafting, life events etc) to show more of my soft skills and what I can bring to a working environment.

P E R S O N A L :

1. Blog every week – I managed 42 this year, I want to get to the full 52. I need to start planning further in advance, writing earlier in the week – I don’t have to write a post the day before/the day of posting! I can get ahead! So achieving this one is going to be more about time management than anything else.
2. Creative Writing – rather than doing intense monthly challenges, I want to do 1000 words a week. This much slower pace might help me maintain feeling creative over a whole year, rather than in highs and lows. I will probably still want to at least try to win NaNoWriMo again though, because I know what I’m like.
3. Read 42 books – I’ve moved my reading goal into a different category this year, mostly before I think it makes more sense here. For the past three years, I’ve set my goal in increments of 12 so I can easily tell how many books I’m meant to read a month – but I only just made it past my goal of 36, so reaching for the next step of 48 felt too much. So going halfway in between feels like a good step for me and I’m really happy with it.

H O M E :

1. I’d like to go on two holidays this year – this sounds so bougie of me, I know, but we’ve just booked our honeymoon to go to Greece in May and I’d love to do another break around September, whether it’s a UK break or exploring more of the world, I think we’ll be able to do it.
2. Savings – now the wedding is done (though still being paid for lol), I need to up my game with my savings. Although I’m still currently unemployed, I want to be far more regimented with my finances this year because I got too lazy too many times in 2022.
3. And another return goal – I want to continue my Seasonal Wardrobe updates – in switching my clothes around regularly, it forces me to think about what I actually wear and what I’m consistently avoiding. I donated five carrier bags of clothes just before Christmas and I’m hoping that by this time next year, my wardrobe will be a bit less stuffed and have a few more investment pieces.

1 0 A I M S :

Some quick fire ones to end with!

1. See a musical I haven’t seen before (I’m seeing Once in March!)
2. Take Lucas to see Les Miserables (my all-time favourite musical)
3. Go to a ballet
4. Go to a play
5. Go to a new place (already booked – bring on Greece!)
6. Go to a museum
7. Learn a new piece on the piano
8. Duolingo every day
9. Monthly Roberts’ Book Club with Lucas and the books we received as our wedding gifts
10. 1 Second Everyday 2023!

And that’s it! I think these are really achievable goals and I think they’re setting me up to have a much better 2023!

This year has felt so mixed – it’s been the most turbulent of my life and arguably one of the worst, but it is the year I got married so I feel like I should be nicer about it.

One thing that is wholeheartedly true, is that it is now behind us!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas if you celebrate, a lovely Sunday if you didn’t and hoping you have a Happy New Year! All the best for 2023!

Thank you for reading,

Sophie xx