My 2022 Goals

I sat down and thought about the New Year goals I’ve set over the years, and decided I wanted to make some of them a bit more specific. I learned last year to break seemingly insurmountable goals into smaller, more manageable stages – it seems super obvious, I know, but it’s taken so long for that to sink in properly for me. 

A lot of these goals are going to be longer-term than a year, but they’re all things I want to work hard on this year and move forward with. As always I want to make a list of them here to hold myself accountable.

Do Red January 

Before Christmas, I saw banners in my gym about Red January. The point of it is to exercise every day of the month, to help your physical and mental health after the Christmas indulgence and inevitable comedown. You don’t have to do any particular type of exercise, and it’s up to you how much you do daily. 

I decided to challenge myself to at least 30 minutes of exercise, of any kind, per day. CFS might throw a spanner in the works, but the hope is that I can kick-start my motivation with getting back to looking after my body and mind. When you sign up, you’re automatically given a fundraising page. All the money raised goes to Sport in Mind, a mental health charity that focuses on the benefits of sport and exercise. I know January is a skint month for everyone, but here’s my page if you want to follow my progress and consider donating – I win a Red January 2022 pin badge if I get to £31 (a pound for every day of the month). 

Exercise at least 3x/week 

Once January is over, I will strive to get as much exercise as I can. However, I’ll be a bit easier on myself. Exercising every single day, long-term, won’t be sustainable and my perfectionism will bully me for not meeting such a lofty goal. So instead, I’ll set my exercise goal at 3 times a week – if I do more, that’s great. If I do less, I want to try not to beat myself up about it. Overall, I just want to get stronger and fitter. 

A sub-goal here is that I want to be able to do one unassisted pull-up by the end of the year. We’ll see how that goes! 

Continue to build freelancing work & looking for a job

This is super important to me. I really need to keep working on getting my career on track so I can actually live my life independently and feel like I actually have a purpose. At the time of posting this, I have already had two queries and completed one freelance job. I'm hoping this is setting a good precedent for the year.

Read at least 15 books 

I can’t believe I failed this goal in 2021 – I’ve consistently read at least 15 books every year for a long time now. I want to make sure I make time for reading because I really enjoy it and find it mindful/calming. 

Save money 

This is always going to be a goal. I need to save as much as I can for big future things like getting my car and moving into my own place. I would also like to save money for travel and experiences. 

Write in diary every day 

I successfully did this last year and found it really helpful to keep a record of everything, so I’m doing it again this year. I got this cute af bee design diary from Paperchase – there’s nothing better than having a gorgeous book to write in every day. 

Go on at least one trip 

Another goal that I always strive for, and hopefully it won’t be all the way at the end of the year this time! I still don’t think I’m ready to go abroad, with the Covid situation continuing to be a pain, but there’s plenty of places here in the UK I’d like to visit. 

Finish getting driving licence 

As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m going to start taking automatic lessons instead of manual as my clutch leg is too temperamental. I already know how to drive, I just need to learn all of my manoeuvres and get as good as possible before taking my test. 

A secondary goal to this, depending on passing the test/my finances, is to get my first car! 

Write at least 500 words a day 

A few weeks ago, Will gave me a challenge. I’m always moaning to him about what a crap writer I am and how I never manage to get any of my personal writing projects done (see my utter failure at last year’s blog backlog goal for reference). I always have writer’s block, or just can’t find the motivation to want to write for myself. Will said I ought to try to write 500 words every day this year, of anything, as long as it’s readable and coherent. Because it was framed as a challenge, I of course had to do it. I’m hoping it’ll be a helpful exercise and get me actually producing content that has sat stagnant for years. I’ve made a spreadsheet and everything, that’s how serious I am. As of today, I’ve already done 6600 words since January 1, which averages out at about 660 a day. Killing it!

~

I hope I’m able to stick to my goals, but not obsess over them and berate myself for perceived ‘failures’ (part of practicing being less of a perfectionist). What sort of goals have you set for yourselves? As always, I’d love to know. Of course, because I care – but mostly because I want to nick your good ideas.