It's Been A While
and
Hello to 2020

Sunday, December 29, 2019

DSC_7062_Colour

I only posted once in 2019. I'm not surprised.

A lot of really good things happened. A lot of good life changes. But for me, change always comes with a long adjustment period, and usually a lot of depression. But I think I am reaching the tail end of that, and it feels amazing. Winter has helped, as it is the time I thrive the most.

I feel like I want to share a lot of the things that happened in 2019, and share lots of photos, but I don't know when I'll get to that, and really, my Instagram serves as a good summary for that. So check it out!

The main point of this post is a starting point. It's (almost) a new year, I'm in a new place, in a new mindset. And I think it's time to bring back goals. In 2019 I struggled a lot because of the changes, and in some ways I lost a bit of self, so it's time to get all that back this new year, and make some improvements and changes. In addition, I have three words for the year, so I'll get into those, too!


------ Goals for 2020 ------

1. Go on 25 hikes
It's one of my favourite things to do and I barely did any of it this year. And I'm basically sick of not getting out in nature!

2. Never miss an Impact Day
I love doing this with Keep Nature Wild, and when they brought the program back, I was so excited. I did one Impact Day, and then I forgot about it. Partially because we use Slack for communication and I had a lot of issues with it functioning, and partially because life and me struggling. So, I don't want to miss these anymore, and it should be easy if I am completing the above goal anyways!

3. Less of my day job
I don't want to list the company here, but I've been with them too long, management is horrible to say the least, and it's causing too much stress in my everyday life at this point. So I need the income...but I need to take it down a bit. So the plan is to go off having a set schedule, and only sign up for hours when they're available and I want to work. More freedom, and more accessibility to breaks from them when I can't take anymore.

4. More Punkpost
I'm a handwriting artist for Punkpost, and I also help with customer service emails and handle some corporate accounts, and I love it. It's not quite enough hours to allow me to quit my day job, but it's close, and if I had more time for more work there, I could work less at my day job and maintain my income.

5. Weekly running goals
I don't really aspire to run marathons or anything, but I love getting out and moving, and getting some exercise. I also have a husky that needs regular exercise, so it's even more important we get out. I don't know where I will start my goals, but I think they will differ weekly according to my workload, the weather, how I'm feeling, and probably what I did the week before! I may also sign up for a 10K just as some motivation!

6. Strict budget
I started a budget in November, and It was so helpful! I knew I needed one, just didn't put the time into it (which was dumb...so dumb). It was a little rough to start, trying to figure it out and get it all organised, but now I want to set some clear financial goals and limits and stick to them throughout this year!

7. Pay monthly on student loans
I don't currently have payments, so I just want to start budgeting something for it every month. Seriously, if I can only do $5 that month, so be it. They will be receiving $5.

8. House goals
We have repairs, organizational things, cosmetic things, every kind of thing we need to do with this house. I want to start setting some goals for it, prioritising things, and coming up with an action plan for certain things so we can stay organized and on track, and get things done to make this place work better for us.

9. Schedule
I basically have no schedule right now. So I need to change that in basically every way.

10. Stick to the bullet journal
This is my first year doing a bullet journal. I had a Passion Planner for a few years, and I loved it, but when life changed, it just didn't fit anymore, and I haven't found a planner that fits in. So I'm going to try the bullet journal, which will also give me a chance to make some personal art! I have some ideas, and I think this year there will be a lot of copying other things I find, but I'll figure out what works as I go!

11. Focus on my health
Basically, I haven't taken care of myself in a year. I haven't eaten well, I don't drink enough water, I'm not exercising, I'm not getting out enough, I'm not caring for my face or hair right, I'm not taking care of my mental health. So changes on all fronts there.

12. Blog
I really miss writing here, even though it's all just random stuff. So I want to try to do it more, and maybe it'll build into something less random! I have some hopes, but we'll just see how they turn out.



------ Words for 2020 ------

I decided to use a word generator. The button was weird. I thought it wasn't working and I tapped it three times. On the third time, I guess all three taps registered. Two words flashed quickly, and then I had just on word on the page. Strangely, they all fit things I were feeling and was thinking about it. So I have three words.

SEE
I feel I have not been observant enough. I had a hard time this year, and I think I did a lot of things that if I had thought about a little more, I would have seen more of how they could affect those close to me: my husband and daughter. So I need to be looking and seeing how things will affect everything around me, and how I can adjust for a better outcome.

SMILE
I haven't done a lot of this throughout 2019. As soon as spring hit, I went downhill hard. I usually struggle with depression in spring and summer, so it's kind of no surprise, but it seemed rougher than it has been at times, and I think it was mostly due to the changes that occurred near the end of winter. It's strange, so many times I want to smile, but it's almost like my face literally won't. Like, why do I insist on not smiling? It's so weird, and I don't like it, so I'm trying to smile more, when I feel like it, because I actually like smiling.

RISK
I won't write much about this one, partially because I don't have any sort of plan, but this relates to my photography, and how I feel like I don't take enough risks. So...it felt like something was telling me to ignore everything people have told me or advised when they started out, and do it my own way.



It feels like a lot, but honestly, at the same time, it feels like a lot of things that will fall into place once I get going. And I'm truly hoping that will be the case!

What do you think? Any advice or input on any of these things? Would you like to see updates here on the blog?

I would also love to hear what your plans for 2020 are!