So 2018 is upon us and I can’t believe we are nearly at the end of January already. I always find turning the corner into a new year exciting but equally daunting. I’m a big believer in the saying “tomorrow is a new day” so it’s always exciting when the clock strikes midnight and you’ve got a whole year to plan. I always start the year by making goals, I gave up on resolutions a long while ago (after I found I broke all of them by the first week of January)!
For me setting goals gives me a kick up the butt to get cracking and get out of that January slump. Working from home can be tricky at the best of times (too many distractions in the form of my sausage dog, the TV etc), so having some goals stuck up in front of me make me focus and definitely drives me. You don’t necessarily need to hit your targets to learn something from it, and I find it gives you something to look back on at the end of the year to re evaluate and maybe set more realistic goals for the future.
I’ve even started a visual board this year- something I’ve never tried before so I’ll have to report back later this year to let you know how that’s planned out! Lots of people I know are adamant believers in the thought process that if you visualise it it will come true, so I’m hoping it’ll work for me.
My goals this year are the pretty standard bog standard ones, mixed in with a few more (hopefully) achievable ones;
Improve my surfing
This is a constant goal for me and one that I think I will never have fully ticked off my list. I don’t think anybody is truly happy with the way they surf and every surfer I know feels they have room for improvement. I know for me I’m always wanted to perfect little kooks and improve this and that. This year for me it’s about confidence. In 2017 I felt that I had finally mastered my pop up and that improved my confidence massively. In 2018 I wanted to overcome my fears and stop them from holding me back, one of which is reef breaks or going out back when it’s more than over head. It’s baby steps but I feel like each time you get a little bit closer it’s a step in the right direction.
Spend more time in the water
This may sound like an obvious one but being a city based girl this has always been tricky as it’s a constant balance between pursuing a passion and having to work. We gotta pay those damn bills! So, in 2018 one of my key goals is purely spending more time in the water- be it more road trips down to my favourite place, Hossegor or Biarritz or down to the UK’s coast line.
Get into a routine!
This is a big one for me and I’m sure for most people. The power of sitting in your PJS all morning can be great when you work for yourself as can be the dangerous but alluring world of daytime TV. This year I’m trying to stick to more of a “structured” day, or as structured as it can be when you might dive out the office for a 3 hour surf in the middle day. As boring as I always thought having structured days are, I do find I go a bit stir crazy when I don’t work to a routine, so for me 2018 is going to be more focused on time management, replying to those emails and getting that admin done in the hours I set aside to work, so that evenings and weekends can be focused on my first two gaols – surfing and time in the water!
Shop less and save more
SNOOZE. However I definitely want to cut down my consumerism habits. I’m a sucker for a sale but after years of being a stylist I actually find shopping a bit of a bore as subconsciously I link it to work. However this doesn’t seem to stop me dropping the odd £30 here and there online (why doesn’t it feel like you’r spending real money!?) so this year I’ve planned to cut back and open an ISA. I feel very grown up, now let’s see if I stick to it…
Hit the road
This is linked to the shop less goal, and is a reoccurring one for me. You can’t travel too much right? I’m looking forward to saving my pennies so that I can spend more time travelling. I’m counting down the days till spring so that I can dust off my camper van Burt and hit the road.
Build my businesses
Another reoccurring one for me but an important one. When you work for yourself it’s hard to stay focused. A problem I have is setting slightly unrealistic goals for myself when it comes to work, but in a way these are good as they do make your work harder to achieve them. Everybody I know who is a self employed creative, or a sole trader genius puts them self under so much pressure, so for me 2018 is the year of staying focused and getting things done without worrying too much about
what everybody else is up to.
Take more photos, real photos
I love digital cameras and the immediacy of an image appearing, but for me nothing beats film pictures. The excitement of getting them printed and having a real life image you can hold. I always treasure these more and definitely pay more attention to the moments I’m capturing.
What are you goals and ambitions for 2018? I’ll be slowly aiming to tick all these off through the year and can’t wait to get cracking.
