Want to hear something terrifying?
There are only 41 days left in 2017.
I know, right? This time last year I couldn’t wait for the year to end, 2016 being what it was. I guess none of us expected 2017 to be worse but here we are. This year I’m a little more cautious but, to be fair, I figure regression to the mean has to take care of things eventually and, honestly, basically 99% of my favourite celebrities are already dead or have been discovered to be awful, so how much worse can it get? Don’t answer that.
Personally, this has actually not been that bad of a year for me. I handed in my thesis corrections, graduated with my PhD and swapped the academic job that had started to sap all my joy (nevermind that it included Zero job security) for a new job that I still totally love every single day of.
I decided to look back at the goals I set at the start of the year, just to check up on how I was doing. It turns out in January I said I wanted to do three things:
- Build more of a fitness routine
- Travel more
- Get my routine back
That’s two routines! What was I thinking?
Ok, so the first item has been kind of hit and miss. I did get to AG Fitness training once a week, almost every week, for the first 7 months of the year. Then I stopped working in Glasgow (where AG Fitness is based) and started working in Edinburgh. That meant my railcard took me to Edinburgh instead of Glasgow. In the end, I couldn’t justify the expense of a train ticket and a subway ticket and the class, plus the two-hour round trip time, if I wasn’t already paying for a monthly train ticket to be in Glasgow.
For the following month I did yoga at home every day, but then that kind of fell down. I find I’m much more likely to work out if I’m signed up for a class and people expect to see my face there. It’s more fun and I’m less likely to skip it if I’m expected. I’ve yet to find a class in Edinburgh or Falkirk and while I guess there’s still time this year, I’m realistically not going to do it. I guess I’ll put this on the list of Things To Get Sorted in 2018.
Item number 2 then. Have I travelled more? Well, actually, yes. I said that I wanted to get to at least two countries and I visited Croatia, Germany and The Netherlands. Ok, so I’ve been to Germany and The Netherlands before, but in the end, I actually got two short visits to Munich, so I think that counts for something. Oh, and I went to Arran which obviously isn’t a different country but still counts as travel and was a really fun trip. That’s a winner!
Finally item number 3. I can confirm that it took a while, but since starting my new job I have indeed got my routine back. My main focus here was to get to bed at a reasonable time and then get up early enough to take my time over a cup of coffee before I had to leave for work. I have absolutely done that and it makes me so happy to have that bit of time in the morning that’s just for me before anything is expected of me.
That said, the routine could still use some work elsewhere. I get home a bit later than I’m used to and I want to get my evenings into a better state because at the moment they just vanish before I know it. That’s something that I’d like to have more settled before 2017 is done.
How about other stuff? What else do I want from the rest of this year? Well, when I set my goals I also mentioned that I’d like to read at least 40 books. I’m currently on 53. I reckon I’ll set a stretch goal for 60. That’s tough going but I am already half-way through four.
I said I’d like to learn to do some gardening, which I did. I won’t be adding to that until the new year but maybe I should plan what I’d like to grow and make a schedule for when I need to get started.
I thought learning to drive would be possible which is hilarious. However, I have downloaded an app for my phone to learn the theory side. How about I promise to update my provisional driving license details before 1st January 2018 so that learning to drive actually could be possible next year. You never know.
Finally, I want to get a bit of a study plan sorted for my professional exams. See a band (Mogwai), see as many friends and family as I can, try to get another chunk of The Witcher III finished, watch Stranger Things and The Handmaid’s Tale and learn to cook one new recipe. I reckon that’s all doable. It might make it a busy 41 days, but I kind of like being busy.
How about you? How has your year gone so far? Is there anything else you still want to do before 2018 rolls around?
In Becky's Head 