Five goals for 2016

So, I’ve reviewed how my 2015 goals went. I think it’s fair to say the results were mixed. Some, I did really well on, others I literally didn’t even get started on. In fact, one or two of them I actually forgot about. But I do still think it’s a good idea to set some intentions for the year, even if they don’t always get fulfilled. At the risk of sounding like Peggy from Fargo (“I’m gonna actualise, ya know?”), setting some goals just helps you focus the mind a bit and reflect about the things in your life you think you want to work on.

So, with that in mind, here are some of things I’m working on…

1. My number one goal this year is to add a bit more fitness into my life. I know, I know. TYPICAL NEW YEAR RESOLUTION. But really. My back is totally messed up. It wasn’t great before I got pregnant (I have scoliosis), but I’d been seeing a chiropractor, who was making a huge difference. Then in the third trimester I was basically in constant pain (Pregnancy is so glam – between back pain and the heartburn, I spent a lot of time groaning!).I saw my chiropractor, then I got referred to a physio as well, and they both said “You just need to have this baby”. And I did! And my back was so much better. For a little while. Now it’s painful all the time again, and I can’t really seem to find time to go to the physio or chiropractor or osteopath (although I AM going to try to find a new chiropractor, if I can get it covered by work insurance). All this means that I think I’m just going to have to start managing it a bit better myself. I’ve been very slack at exercising recently beyond doing long, long walks, which are apparently good for my back, but generally leave me hunched over at the end. I need to build up strength in my arms, shoulders and core, because lifting up Theo is only going to get harder as he gets bigger! Yoga, although brilliant for all sorts of things, is not cutting it right now. I’m going to make myself a little programme of short workouts I can do 3-4 times a week and see what happens.Any recommendations?
2. Find time to cook. I love cooking, and I love taking photographs of food, but somewhere along the way I’ve lost my inspiration. It’s been very hard to take photos because of the light situation (our kitchen is so, so dark at the minute. This isn’t going to improve – next year, as the light finally gets better, I think we’re going to be redoing our kitchen, so that’s not ideal for taking photos.But there are options! I can cook during Theo’s naptimes on Mondays and Fridays, or Peter can take him during the day at the weekend. I need to sit down and do a big brainstorm of recipes I want to cook. I can make salads while the kitchen is being done up, as we’ll still have somewhere to at least chop vegetables (I hope!). It might not happen straight away, but as we head out of winter, this is something that is very much on my mind.
3. Breathe. This is my word of the year. Since going back to work, I find a have a lot less patience with Theo on the days I’m not in the office. I think it’s a combination of a few things. Theo is becoming way more inquisitive, which also translates into being quite demanding. If I have something he wants, and I don’t give it to him, he shouts very loudly in my face. That’s not fun. I’m torn between just giving him what he wants (because he shuts up very quickly), removing the offending article from sight (but seriously, I can’t do this with every single thing it happens with – sometimes a girl’s gotta eat a slice of toast, you know?), or just saying ‘No’ firmly and not allowing him to have it. I’m pretty sure option three is the thing I should be doing.
4. On the other side of the coin (and again, I know this is a massive cliche of a resolution), I want to try to be a bit more present. I feel like half the time I’m with Theo I’m thinking about when he’ll next be asleep so that I can check my email. How sad is that? He’s at the absolute best age right now, and is so much fun to hang out with, but I’m spending time thinking about what random bit of spam might have hit my inbox? That’s not okay. I can’t pretend I’m never going to wish for naptime, but I’m definitely going to focus more on the good times and try to freeze frame them in my mind. He’s getting big so quickly – I need every minute I can get!
5. Read one book a month that isn’t on the work reading list. I’m incredibly lucky in my work that I get to read all sorts of early manuscripts that come in. Some of them I love, some of them… not so much, but I’m always happy to give a book a go and see how I get on with it. But the reading list is actually never ending, meaning that I usually end up prioritising my work reading and ignoring the books I’ve heard loads about from friends or family. While I was on maternity leave, I read a huge amount from my TBR pile, and it was wonderful – not reading something with thoughts on copy lines and what the author is like and what marketing plans we could pull out is really so much more relaxing an experience. So what I’d like to do is to commit to doing it more regularly. Once a month, I’ll read something just because I fancy it, rather than because I need to have an opinion on it in our next strategy meeting! I’ll share what I read on here and on Instagram using the #theyearinbooks hashtag.Have you got anything you think I should add to the reading list?

So, that’s my list. What’s on yours?