Why hello there. Happy New Year. I trust you had a splendid time cursing the year that was 2020 and waiting in anticipation for that year to be over. I know I was.
I also trust that you didn’t attend any house parties or illegal raves to welcome in the year and were socially distanced and avoiding COVID-19, as nine months later we find ourselves in the same predicament as March of 2020.
Writing out my goals for 2021 didn’t feel appropriate or clever, but it’s something I’ve done for the last three years and who am I to stop a tradition in its tracks?
I also think that among all of this negative news and lack of hope for the future, we do need some inspiration and some motivation. We need to try and see the good side of what the new year can bring and what we can hope to achieve even with the current state of things.
Looking back on 2020
Every goals blog post that I’ve written has started reflecting on the previous year’s goals, since there’s no point in repeating the same mistakes every year now, is there? You can see my old goals blog posts below.
A recurring theme with each new year is that I seem to be starting each year in a new location. 2018 was London, 2019 in Liverpool and 2020 in New York. Even though I’m headed back to Liverpool in January, it’s only for a few months before moving on to somewhere new.
But let’s hope I’ll be bringing in 2022 in a brand new location, preferably somewhere warm.
Yes, I’m adding travel to my new year goals and yes I’m going to manifest them into fruition. Positive vibes people.
I’ve dedicated a separate blog post to reflecting on my 2020 goals as I think this year really calls for it and what we can learn going forward – you can read that here.
TRAVEL PLANS
Yep, I’m putting it out there. With the rollout of vaccines across the world, I hope it opens us up to safe travel again. Currently, I’m planning on spending the year AirBnBing after our lease in Liverpool is up in April.
It’s going to be slow travel, spending weeks at a time in one place while working from home. By this I don’t mean travelling across the world; even moving to Scotland for a few weeks is counting as travel for us.
A few weeks in a new part of England, a few weeks on the west coast of Ireland, maybe some time in Europe, who knows? We’re giving up renting and having a single home for the majority of the year because we’ve realised we want to take advantage of the ability to work remotely while we can and if it’s safe to do so.
So I’m going to try and manifest into existence the possibility of me visiting a new part of Europe, a new part of the UK, the potential return to America for a holiday and who knows, maybe another continent?
‘I will travel in 2021,’ if we say it enough times in the dark with candles lit around us, maybe it will happen.
KEEP GOING
Other than travel, there’s not many other big things on my list of goals for 2021. I had a looong list in 2020, but a lot of it involved figuring out what I was going to do after New York, about work etc. which I’ve got figured out for the moment.
My work contract only lasts until September 2021, and I have no idea if it will be extended, but I’ll cross that bridge when it comes. I’m not worrying about something nine months away because we have no idea what could happen by that time so there’s really no point getting anxious or worrying about it.
What will be, will be.
Related: How My Work Goals Have Made a Complete U-Turn
BLOG PLANS
We be making some moves in 2021 folks.
2021 is going to be the year, let me tell you. We’ve got some big things in the pipeline coming up this year, and I can’t wait to share!
By ‘we’ I mean me, because we’re a one-woman team over here at OC.
I’ve been passively blogging as a hobby for a number of years now but I think it’s about time I actually made something out of this little website that I’ve created and start turning it into something real.
You’ll find me browsing the web, watching all the webinars, buying the courses, you name it. Big things to come for OC this year!
Related: My Blogging Story
BOOK PLANS
I may have made it to 78 books this year, but I really hope I don’t reach anywhere near that number in 2021. I started 2020 with the ambition of 52 books in 52 weeks, thinking there was no way on earth that I was going to meet it.
Please welcome to the stage, COVID-19.
I’m hoping that 2021 will be full of travel, social events, seeing the world and being too busy with blogging, other projects and more. I want to keep reading of course, just not as much.
As always, you can follow every book I read at @ocbookshelf which I hope to keep posting on in 2021 and growing with different resources.
Related: Every Book I Read in 2020
MAKE HABITS STICK
2020 is the year that I realised the importance of habits. I read Atomic Habits by James Clear and haven’t looked back since.
Everything we do revolves around habits and making them stick. If we have a habit of getting up late, we’ll keep doing that. If we have a habit of eating chocolate every day, we’ll keep doing it. It’s all about introducing good habits.
For me, the game-changer was a habit tracker. The mr bought me a bullet journal (and another one for Christmas since one can’t track enough things) and I created a little habit tracker table for the month of November, and then again for December.
I set myself a goal of walking 10k steps every day, drinking 1L of water, waking up at 7.30am and reading every day. Using the habit tracker allowed me to see how often I was sticking to my habits and acted as an accountability partner.
So in the new year, I’ll be keeping a habit tracker every month of the year, adding things that I want to stick to and track. I track my no spend days, the days I don’t drink Diet Coke, the days I don’t eat out in a restaurant and the days I don’t eat chocolate.
My habits for January include: Wake up at 7am, Read, 10,000 steps, No Diet Coke, No alcohol and more.
Habits are so, so important in reaching your goals. Never skip a habit twice.
EXPERIENCES OVER MATERIAL THINGS
2020 really became the year that I saved a lot of money. Gone were the days of commuting to and from work, grabbing lunch on the go and taking coffee breaks to Starbucks every half hour.
All of this was setting me back so much, as well as the cost of a social life in New York. Then COVID-19 hit and up went my bank account.
Since I’ve come back to Ireland and Liverpool, I haven’t been buying many clothes. I’ve realised that since I’m not actually going anywhere, not going out or dressing up, there’s no point in ordering outfits that I’m not going to wear.
Going into 2021 I’m going to be consciously thinking about what I’m spending as the money I spend on getting my nails and lashes done every three weeks, and buying new clothes for going out for our tier 2 brunch, can be spent on more important things.
The only things I’m really buying for myself are second-hand books, which I find in charity shops or on World of Books. I’d rather spend my money on going out for food with my boyfriend, saving for travel plans, or paying for experiences.
£1,000 pair of designer boots or 50 brunches with friends? The answer is obvious for me.
MONTHLY CHALLENGES
I added this to my list of goals last year but didn’t really do anything with it. However, I will be setting myself monthly goals thanks to my habit tracker. In January I’m aiming for 10,000 steps every day – no less. I’m also giving up Diet Coke for the month which is something I do every year.
To keep me motivated with these monthly goals and to incorporate another goal of mine, I’ll be donating to a charity at the end of each month, giving me another incentive to complete the challenges.
I’ll be carrying out research into charities I want to donate to, and changing it up every month. I’m hoping to donate to local charities around where I live in Lurgan/Northern Ireland and also in Liverpool. Charity starts at home after all.
This January I’m taking part in the 5k a day challenge in aid of Mind Your Mate and Yourself, a charity that offers support to young people with depression and mental health battles such as dealing with grief and sudden loss.
So there you have it. My grand list of goals for 2021. Before you go, just a tip – there’s no point in writing out goals for the year and then revisiting them again on the 31st of December. You need to plan your goals out for the year ahead and break them down month by month and then week by week. More on habits coming soon, as always.
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