I feel a bit weird about 2020. For years the start of a new year meant me writing a list of all the places I wanted to visit in that year. I usually already had one or two trips planned and I would start making some loose plans for more travels. I’d look at the calendar to see where pockets of time looked good for a city break and I’d aimlessly search SkyScanner for deals.
Then the last couple of years, my priorities shifted a little. Sure I was still planning travels but I had big milestones that factored massively into how my year was going to pan out. In 2018 I had my 30th birthday, then got engaged and got pregnant. So my year was all about preparing for a baby, moving in with my parents and planning a babymoon. In 2019, I knew the year would be all about that new mum life, coming to terms with motherhood, navigating mat leave, saving for a house and throwing in a bit of family travel.
But now we’re jumping into 2020, I’m not entirely sure what my goals are. I’ve ticked off some huge LIFE things the last couple years and I’m not really sure where I go from here, y’know?
It doesn’t help that it’s not only a new year but also a brand new DECADE. Me and Josh were talking the other day about how Indi is going to be a child of the TWENTIES. How weird is that?
But anyway, I’ve had a little think about my goals and intentions for the year ahead. Instead of specific goals that make you feel like shit when you don’t achieve them, I like to set themes for the year. Last year they were motherhood, family travel, saving money and rest. And actually, other than saving money (lol I bought a house), that perfectly describes my year.
So I think this exercise is really important for me planning the year ahead and checking in with myself throughout, y’know?
Goals & Themes For 2020
Budgeting
Ah money, money, money, you ol’ bastard. The good news is that I made it through maternity leave (where you get paid practically nothing), and managed to get on the property ladder. Which is awesome. *Pats self on back*
But when we moved in we didn’t have a lot of furniture, which has lead to a little bit of debt on the ol’ credit card. And before we can even think of starting to save for our eventual wedding (it’s going to be a while, lads), I want to pay off our debts.
So in 2020, I’m creating a budget, I’m stripping back on luxuries and I’m going to chip away at the credit card. I don’t like the feeling of being in debt so it’s important to me to get it paid off asap.
Making A House A Home
We moved into our house at the end of August and we hastily filled it with furniture (see above) and prioritised getting the living room and kitchen liveable and making sure Indi’s room was ready. But with Christmas and life in general taking over, I’ve not done much since then. Our bedroom still has IKEA bags full of shoes, we don’t have any ceiling lights, there’s nothing on the walls in either of the bedrooms and I’d really like to make the bathrooms a bit nicer.
We also want to do some tiling in the kitchen at some point. The priority is definitely to save money, so I don’t want to do major decorating, but I’d love to make our house feel more like us in 2020. I want to Marie Kondo more of our stuff too, I hate having so much stuff cluttering up the house.
Prioritise Relationships
People are what matter most in life, right? But in the whirlwind of everyday life and trying to juggle so many different things, I’ve noticed that I’ve not done a great job at maintaining my relationships lately. So in 2020 I want to make sure I’m spending quality time with the people that matter and have been there for me during those tough moments over the last few years.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to stretch myself to thin and see everyone. I’m not going to be polite and invest in toxic relationships. But I want to make sure that those top 5 people get my time and attention and friendship.
This includes spending more time with Josh as a couple. I think we already make sure we have baby-free date nights, I don’t know how other couples operate as parents without that down-time. But after having a baby, your relationship changes and I want to make sure we’re making time for each other in the Twenties.
Write More
My blog took a hit in 2019. I still wrote as much as I could, took on a couple of collabs and I’m proud of the content I produced (not gonna lie, I think my starsign post was some of my best work yet lol). But I wrote considerably less than previous years. And I missed it.
Obviously my life is busier now with a 1 year old to run after, but writing makes me happy and I want to try and remember to do it more in 2020. It doesn’t have to be blog posts, I experimented a bit with journalling last year and I think getting my thoughts down on paper, virtual or actual, is good for my soul.
Ok, they’re my plans for the year ahead. They’re quite vague, but like I said, I like having general themes I want to bring to my year rather than specific goals. It means I can shape my year as I go, depending on what’s thrown at me in 2020.
Oh and I mean, I’d also like to keep some house plants alive, but that might be a little too ambitious…
Happy New Year everyone!
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