My 18 goals for a happier and more fun life in 2018

We're well in 2018 and for the past couple of weeks I've been mulling over what I want to get from this year. There are quite a few things I've thought about, and pondered about. In the previous years I've often chosen a word for the year - it is meant to guide your actions towards the big goal you want. In 2017 I chose "me" and in many ways I did achieve more me-time, and more relaxing. 

This year however, rather than choosing a word, I want to choose a few things I want to do - things that will make my life more fun and just generally happier. And because it is 2018, why not make it into 18 things?

Do more fun stuff

1. Read more. It's one of the things I miss most from my pre-child, pre-husband, pre-blogging, pre-commitments life. I used to read voraciously, and while time-wise it is not quite possible to do that anymore, I could certainly carve some time out from commuting or late-night social media scrolling.  

2. Do my make-up. Looking at me, you wouldn't believe that I do actually love make-up. I'm just far too lazy and sleepy to ever bother in the morning before work, or before anything really. I'd love to start getting into it again, try new ideas, and getting some use out of my mahoosive (and rather expensive) make-up stash!

3. Learn new hair-dos. Currently my skills extend to a a) leave to dry naturally and brush, b) ponytail, c) blowdry. And because maintaining my long locks can be a drag, it sort of makes me wonder why do I even bother? So I'd love to learn new hair-dos, from braiding to bananas, and finally actually use my hair, of which there is a lot of.

4. Do something fun as a family every weekend. Recently we've been ridiculously busy with just life and and weekends have just been spent on doing important adult things. I've felt rather bad for our four year old, who must be very very bored of it... So more family activities! It doesn't need to be anything special. Maybe swimming, walking in the forest, doing some baking, just anything fun to do together.

5. Visit new places in the UK. There are so many gorgeous places to see here in UK - so many beautiful nature reserves, castles and historic towns, and London, oh London, just packed full with wonders. I've armed us with a English Heritage membership and plan to use it too!

Make life easier

6. Sleep more. I am one of those night owl that naturally falls asleep late, and would prefer to rise late too. Over the past year I've had some trouble falling asleep at a decent time o'clock, and have had some minor bouts of insomnia. So, this year, I should really start following my own tips around good sleep hygiene!

7. Implement a "Super-Sunday". It was an idea I've heard of ages back, and have occasionally dabbled at. It involves using your Sunday planning and prepping all kinds of things to make your coming week a bit smoother - such as planning your work wardrobe, or checking the priority tasks for the week, or any other type of prepping. And it does help, and I really want to start doing more of it.

8. Meal plan. I'm sick of spending a fortune at work for lunch, as I got into bad habits last year by not prepping my packed lunches ahead of time... I'd also like to do more prepping over the weekend and then less time in the kitchen over the week. OK, let's be honest here... I don't actually cook much, I mostly just bang frozen stuff in the oven when it is my turn to cook so it would be nice to have more variety. 

9. Buy less. I'm not a big shopper but for quite a while I've been intrigued by the stories of people embracing minimalism and buying nothing for a year and so on. With pregnancy and an ever-changing body and a baby that will need stuff, a whole year won't work, but a month here and there definitely. Less stuff, more time, is the idea.

10. Get rid of stuff. We've got a fair few bits and bobs that moved from our previous place to our current home, including some furniture that just doesn't fit us anymore. Charity and recycling donations, and getting acquainted with freecycle/Gumtree/FB selling groups will hopefully help us shift some of the stuff away and maybe get us a few bob or two!

Explore new things

11. Get rid of my "unflattering" colours. A while back I got my colours done - I'm a Summer, and on a neutral/soft side. I've instinctively often chosen "my colours" for a long time already, but I do still have some hard blacks and others unflattering colours mucking up my wardrobe chi, and it's time to say good bye.

12. Learn a new skill. How about a mouth harp or an ukulele? Or basket-weaving? It sounds good to learn something new! I'm not sure yet what - currently I'm most interested in trying crocheting.

13. Dabble in Youtube. Speaking of learning new skills, I've really enjoyed trying my hand at Youtube and I have my own channel now. I'd like to do more editing of my own videos and film myself doing stuff. It has been fun and perhaps on my maternity leave I will find some time to try this out.

14. Try new things in photography. I have a few photography books I bought meaning to learn from them, and huge and active Pinterest folders filled with photography tips I never read. I'm stuck in a photography rut of thirds and semi-auto so to speak, and this year I'd like to try new techniques, trick photography and maybe cinematographs too.

15. Try a capsule wardrobe. Realistically, I am probably already living in a capsule wardrobe as I use similar outfits most of the time. I've been looking at planning it a bit better, using my lifestyle and needs a bit more (cue need for casual office wear) to guide it. 

Live a better life

16. Go swimming and aqua aerobics. During my last pregnancy I really enjoyed swimming as a way to keep fit. And every-time I've managed to get to aqua aerobics I've really enjoyed it too. On maternity leave I am hoping to do a lot more of both!

17. Get back into yoga. I've done yoga on and off for over ten years. When I started doing weekly classes at the office I started to progress quite well and I was quite excited about learning new things (headstands, crows and all). I sort of lost it though when I moved to a new job, and would love to get back into doing regular yoga and also classes, which would push me more.

18. Do charitable giving. As my child is getting older, I have been wanting to teach her more about charity and the importance of it. I myself have lots of things I have wanted to do for ages, including getting a sponsored child, investing in micro-financing and swapping my birthday and Christmas gift lists for inspired gifts. I do, and have always done community work in some capacity, and have promoted charity here on my blog as well. This year I would like to up my game further.

So there. Things I want to do this year to have a happier and more fun life - do more fun stuff, make my life easier, explore new things and live a better life through sports and charitable giving.

What are you planning for 2018?

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