Hey 2017!
In true Georgie style, I thought it was time to change my Hello [year] posts that I had started from 2010 to something more fitting. Hey 2017 feels a little too excited for my liking but it only fits with this whole Hey Georgie sort of thing. Remember my Hey World! post from when I renamed my blog? 💁🏻
Hey, goals (or #goals), we need to talk
While the rest of the world writes resolutions and goals, similar to last year, I don’t feel like writing any hard-and-fast goals. Liz wrote recently about not creating goals anymore because it’s boring and time-consuming, and she wants to spend more time living her life and doing things she enjoys. It’s true that goals can be more restraining and chore-like rather than motivating. Back in 2012 I actually wrote about how goals are overrated, and how my goal that week was to not make any goals. Last week I read an article that sums up both Liz’s and my feelings exactly. James Clear outlines three problems with goals, as well as their solutions:
- Goals reduce your current happiness.
- Goals are strangely at odds with long-term progress.
- Goals suggest that you can control things that you have no control over.
I found the article resounded greatly with me. He suggested enjoying systems rather than goals, and committing to a process rather than a goal. He gave an example of going to the gym and feeling pain before completing a set, but realising that it didn’t matter about actually completing the set when he was planning to go to the gym or exercise for the rest of his life.
I highly recommend reading the article if you’re also rethinking the idea of goals or finding them more stressing than motivating. 👍
What I said last year, what I’ll do this year
Last year, I wrote that I wanted to go back to the gym, which I did. I have been going regularly, and it’s been going well! I have a post planned about my fitness journey that you should see this month or next month. In the meantime, you can see my final Instagram photo from 2016 was a gym selfie that I was finally brave enough to share. 💪
I also wrote about cleaning my wardrobe and stopping buying too much jewellery. I wasn’t able to completely resist buying jewellery, but I got rid of so much by donating it to the charity store! The amount of clothing I have has decreased, too (losing weight from the gym has helped, haha), and I am going to give more detailed updates about those soon.
Last year I said I wanted to handle my negative emotions better, have patience, and take my time. I think I did alright, but I want to continue trying to do that this year. But new focuses are good, so my new personal focus will be to eat healthier and sleep better. I want to make sure I get my intake of vegetables and fruit and avoid eating junk. I’m going to sleep at a reasonable time (by 11pm) every day unless I’m out for an event or on special occasions. I guess weekends can be a little more flexible too.
Oh my goodness, 2017
It’s literally the year I’ll get married, and move out. It’s the year I expect many exciting things to happen, beyond that. The year I will (probably) decide to be a full-stack developer instead of a half-stack developer – just kidding, I mean, front-end developer… I am hoping to gain more skills in programming, and it’s going to be hard work. Just last week, in the last days of 2016, I was working from home but trudging through writing JavaScript that, only a year ago, I would just push away and not even try. So, baby steps.
There is also an exciting new segment coming to my blog, so look out for that. I’m hoping to be able to launch it this month. Fingers crossed. 🤞 I am also thinking of changing my URL permanently to heygeorgie.co – I think some of you will miss the dot separator, but I believe it’ll be easier to remember and you’ll get used to it pretty quickly anyway.
My blogging was a bit erratic during 2016 and I liked planning upcoming blog posts but I need to do that more actively. I found myself still writing posts last-minute and I want to have a general plan for when to publish the next post every time I publish one.
Many people think exciting things come in the form of changes, but, exciting things don’t really have to change. I am certain of two things: 2017 marks another year I’ll be working for the best email company in the world, and another year with the person I love the most. ❤️
