My New Year’s Resolutions

If you read my blog post from last week then you will already know that I start my new year’s resolutions on the first day of February rather than the first day of January. I am definitely someone who likes to set resolutions at the start of the year to declare my intentions for the year and reflect upon these throughout the year in order to keep myself accountable. I am hopeful that the year ahead will be a more positive and productive year than the previous one and I am excited to see all that this year yields.

Something I have previously learnt about resolution setting is to follow the SMART method – making sure that all of the resolutions that I set are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely – which will assist in keeping me accountable to the resolutions I set. Since I am setting new year’s resolutions, I am hoping to keep myself accountable until the end of the year when the resolutions shall be reviewed and adapted accordingly.

This year I want to focus on my physical and mental health.

I want to complete a work-out three times a week. I already have a Shreddy subscription, however, I have been inconsistent with completing the work-outs ever since I first purchased a subscription in late 2020. In order to prevent this, I have decided that I am going to set a day and time to work-out each week: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm. I am hopeful that by setting a day and time to work-out each week, this will help in keeping me accountable.

I want to learn how to cook a new dish every fortnight. I am definitely someone who is guilty of making the same five dishes on rotation because I am confident making them, however, this year I want to push myself out of my comfort zone and learn how to make new healthy dishes. I have seen advertisements for both Hello Fresh and Gousto online and so, at some point this year, I would like to trial a meal subscription service as a way of discovering new dishes.

I want to have a social media free day every month. This resolution is inspired by Jess Conte who also has a social media free day every month. On these days I want to take the time to focus on my both my relationships and hobbies offline.

I want to read fifteen books over the year. When I was younger, I used to love reading but unfortunately this is something that was forgotten as my workload increased. I want to take this year to rediscover some of my previous favourite books and to learn how to prioritise reading again. My best friend Grace and I have decided to start a book club where we will take it in turns to pick a book to read together every month so I am hopeful that this will help to re-ignite my love of reading.

This year I want to focus on my relationships. This past year has been isolating for obvious reasons and I definitely have not spent as much time with my friends and family as I have wanted to. Therefore I want to take the time this year to plan ‘date nights’ every month with my friends and family, either via Zoom or in person as able. Something this past year has taught me is the importance of relationships – whether that be romantic or platonic – and I want to take time to prioritise those who have supported me over the past year.

This year I want to increase my knowledge.

I want to attend a course on photography every month. Photography has been a hobby of mine for the past several years, however, I have never taken the time to properly learn about it and develop my photography style.

I want to attend a course every month that will further my career in healthcare. Something I love about working in healthcare is that it is always changing, there is always more to learn in order to become a better practitioner. There are so many resources available online and I want to take advantage of that this year.

What were your new year’s resolutions this year?