My 2016 Goals!

I'm so happy to finally write this post. I've had it in my drafts for a few weeks whilst I've been toying around with ideas but I'm pleased with the goals I've set myself.

If you you haven't followed my blog very long, I usually set myself resolutions or 'goals' at the start of the year then review them quarterly to see what I'm achieving and what I need to work more on.
Here are 2015's posts: January, April, August, December
Here are 2014's posts: January, April, August, December

I've taken some time considering what I want to achieve this year and I've settled on the following 7 goals...

1. Write at least 8 posts a month on the blog

2015 started off well as far as my blog was concerned but as the months passed I blogged less and October is nowhere to be found which really disappoints me.

I was going to go for 10 posts a month but when I realised that would sometimes be more than 2 per week I knew at some point I wouldn't get there which would make me feel annoyed with myself and that's not what I'm trying to do.

With planning and inspiration I think 8 a month is totally do-able for me. Anything more is a bonus. I'm yet to organise a schedule for myself, at the moment I'm writing as and when I want to, but I'm going to work on a few things and see what I like best.

I really love reading old posts back so I'm desperate to get my blogging mojo back!

2. Open a Help To Buy ISA 

With my savings from last year (which was one of my 2015 goals) I'm hoping to open a Help To Buy ISA account with the Halifax. It's a saving scheme in the UK where the government give you 25% interest on everything you save up to £12,000 if you're going to buy a house.

So, for every £200 I save, they give me £50. It's a really good saving scheme for first time buyers and while I'm still living at home I may as well save some of my wages whilst I can afford to.

3. Say 'yes' more

Last year, I had quite a lot of plans. I visited lots of places and went on days out but I still found myself turning down some plans. Sometimes it was because I really needed a weekend to myself and others it was simply because I couldn't be bothered.

This year, I'm going to say 'yes' more because of all the trips I went on, weekends away and nights out I enjoyed them all so I have no reason to say no.

4. Visit interesting places and collect souvenirs 

This picture makes me want to quit my job and travel the Earth even if it means by foot because I have no job

I know this was one of my 2015 goals but I want to make a conscious effort to visit even more places this year. I'll keep you posted. And I've always thought souvenirs were either tacky or over priced but I quite like the idea of having a little travel diary on my fridge or a shoe box of treasures. I wish I'd started this sooner because I'd have quite the collection by now but it's better late then never, hey?

5. Read more

I've talked about this in my 2016 Reading Challenge post but I've been too busy watching TV to read this past year and I really want to get back into it. I'm currently 100 pages into a gothic novel called The Loney and I'm hoping to check at least 6 of the categories off from the challenge list come December.

Anyone want to join me? Any lovers of horror out there? We could have a little book club.

6. Scrapbook 2016

I really enjoy this feather

I have spent a bloody fortune on stickers and craft supplies for my planner so I'll be damn well ashamed of myself come April if I've given up. And I will tell myself off if this is the case.

7. Think about a plan

The top and tail of it is, I still don't have the foggiest what I want to do, career wise. I'm a bit dubious about putting this 'goal' in because finding a solution seems about as easy as catching a fart in the wind. I just don't know what I want do. So I'm challenging myself to seriously weigh up the options and consider what I want to do. Learn to teach? or try something completely different. I need to think about it rather than ignore it.

So they are my goals for this year. Some of them will be easier than others to achieve. I've tried to keep them less personal this year because in the past I've set goals to 'be more confident' or ' be a better person' and when it comes to review them it just depresses me. So I'm setting goals that I know I'll enjoy working towards. Except maybe no.7 but we'll see.

If you're still here, thank you for reading!
Leave me comments below about what you're hoping to achieve this year!

See you next time,
Leanne x



P.S. The next post from me may very well be my Erin Condren Planner unboxing!! YAY!