“Let’s wait and see, it may just be the perfect year”

Image by Pink Sherbert Photography

2008 has been a very mixed year. It started off difficult, but with great potential – I had fallen behind a little with my degree but was determined to do better this year and pull up my grades. I did, but at the expense of quite a few other parts of my life which needn’t have been sacrificed if only I had been a little better organised. Some of my personal relationships improved, others less so, financially I’m far worse off than I was at the beginning of the year, but it’s been for a great cause (my law conversion) which ultimately has made me feel far better about myself and my future as the year draws to a close. This has definitely been a year of personal development and discovering what I really want from life.

Starting this blog and watching it go from strength to strength in the last couple of months has inspired me, and I’m determined to make 2009 the perfect year. To that end, I have decided to make a promise to myself:

I promise to do everything in my power to make 2009 the best year ever!

By this I don’t just mean instant-gratification things such as accepting more invitations out and taking more time to do things I enjoy, I include working towards the long-term, e.g. working harder on my course, trying to get writing work, etc. Things which may not seem enjoyable at the time, but will be a huge benefit later on. Here then, are my goals for 2009. Not resolutions, those are far too easy to slip up on once then forget about. These are ongoing goals that will hopefully make 2009 a year to sparkle.

Financial:

* Save up some money as an emergency fund.

* Pay off as many of my debts as possible.

Career and Education:

* Really concentrate on my course work and create a proper plan for getting it all done without panicking at the last minute.

* Get some work experience in law

* Apply for some paid writing jobs and build up a portfolio (maybe even try my hand at writing a Mills and Boon or something of that nature!)

* Get either a better job or a second stream of income

* Start applying for training contracts

Personal

* Keep in touch with old friends and see them more often

* Make an effort to leave the house a bit more, even if it’s cold outside and I’d rather just relax with a hot chocolate – I do that a little bit too often!

* Lose about 15lbs and keep it off

* Take pride in my personal appearance every day, not just on occasion, and this includes re-dying my hair when the roots start showing badly, not waiting until they’re about 2 inches long!

* Stop impulse-buying and put more thought into it!

* Pare down my personal belongings – get rid of lots of stuff I never use and give it away / sell it. I need the space, I’m a terrible hoarder!

I may find other goals as I go, but for the start of the year, I think these are pretty good aims. I am also planning on creating a 101 Things in 1001 Days list, which I will post here once I’ve created it.

What do you want to get out of 2009, and will you join me in pledging to make it the greatest year of your life so far?

Scribbles

December 28th, 2008 at 8:58 pm

I’ve so been where you are with regards to taking care of myself… it seems like it is something really easy to let go. Weight loss is one of my goals for 2009, but I think I should also work on taking more pride in my physical appearance too… it’s just too easy to run out of the house looking like you backed through a hedge when all you are going is going to uni.

Werther

December 28th, 2008 at 10:37 pm

Excellent goals… we’ll be cheering you all the way… and a boot should you fall by the wayside

Kelly

December 29th, 2008 at 5:08 am

Ahhh yes the eternal wish of every woman: to lose that last 15 lb that never seems to be anywhere near those anorexic supermodels

Being a ski instructor and having to deal with kids who don’t like to A) make a pizza wedge and B) suck it up when they fall has done wonders for at least 1/3 of mine haha.

Leaving the house is balm for my soul, and I usually have about four inches (sometimes five… I’m terribly lazy) of blonde-ness peeking cheerfully over my temples before my boyfriend starts teasing me about going grey… I like to have a dark brown much better than my original color, which is closer to wallpaper paste and honey mixed together into not so lovely stickiness.

Julie

December 29th, 2008 at 8:18 am

These are really good goals!

For me, topping 2008 it’s going to be very difficult. I did some very amazing things this year n_n. Still for 2009 I want:

+ to keep my academic streak up and running.
+ get advertisers for Hot Mess (which also means starting writing some actual useful content)
+ go shopping to McAllen, Texas (great malls + discounts *swoons*)
+ drop some weight (already working on this one)
+ improve my driving skills (ditto)

I think that’s it for now. I did a 101 things in 1001 days list last year and so far I’ve gotten a lot of things done! I suggest getting a lot of “easy” things in it, instead of a lot of “hard things” that way when you get frustrated at getting the “hard thing” done you can just do an “easy thing” and feel motivated. Another suggestion I have is to not include a lot of items that have very long time frames such as “stop biting my nails for six months”.

Kisses!