Hello 2017! | Hopes & Goals

Happy New Year! I hope you had a lovely time celebrating being shot of 2016, if indeed you celebrated, and that no-one is suffering too bad of a hangover today! I spent my evening on my own, cleaning my room... Rock'n'roll!
As is somewhat traditional, I'm celebrating the New Year with some goals; I'm not really one for "resolutions", because I'm of the opinion that they do, sadly, tend to fall by the wayside and never see it through to completion. Goals, however, I can get on board with! So, here's what I'm hoping to achieve in 2017...

[Photo Credit: Wonderfelle Media.]

Goals.

01. Read 12 new books. I set myself a reading goal for 2016 and failed abysmally (I'll be sharing how I got on with my 2016 goals in a few days, so keep an eye out for that post if you're interested!) so I've reduced my goal this year - I think one book a month should be more than achievable, and I'd like to read a variety of genres! I'm currently reading three books, but if you have any recommendations for me to add to my list, let me know...
02. Move out. I moved back in with my parents "temporarily" in August 2014 after breaking up with my then-boyfriend, who I'd lived with. I've been here ever since and it's driving me slowly mad - I need my own space! I'm hoping that 2017 will be the year I can afford to get a little place of my own (rent, not buy! Let's not get silly now!) and finally re-gain some independence.
03. Save money. I've got quite good at putting aside a little bit of cash each month, and I want to stick with this in 2017; I need to remember that every little helps, and as I would like to be in a position to buy a house in the next few years, I need to get building a deposit!

A photo posted by Jess ▪ The Indigo Hours (@theindigohours) on Dec 31, 2016 at 8:20am PST

04. Learn to use my new camera. I treated myself to an Olympus Pen camera after Christmas (despite it not being in the sales as I'd hoped...) and whilst I've had a good play around, I've yet to properly get to grips with it - but I'm looking forward to learning and, hopefully, improving my photography!
05. Get away. It's been years since I've had a "proper" holiday, and, aside from a couple of weekends away (Nice with my Mum in 2014, Milan with my best friend in 2015, an overnight stay near Oxford in 2016 to meet my penfriend for the first time) I've not had chance to get away and explore somewhere new lately. I hope to change this in 2017; I'd love to visit my penfriend in Sweden, and my cousin on the Isle of Man; I'm hoping to take myself up to Scotland for a few days' camping, and I'd like a few days somewhere sunny as well. Fingers crossed for some good deals so I can afford to do them all!
06. Take better care of myself. This is something I've been getting better at in 2016 but I know it still needs work. I've learnt the importance of saying, "no" when I need to, but there are still times when I don't put it into practice. I know how important routine is to me, yet that's still something I struggle with. I know how much better I feel when I eat properly, but I still "come to" to find I've eaten a whole packet of biscuits. I'm going to work on this!
07. Run Total Warrior inside 90 minutes. I set this goal last year, too, and sadly fell short - I ended up feeling bloody awful for half the run and, ultimately, I think I just wasn't fit enough. I was half-tempted to have another go later in the season but I decided against it due to shin splints. I really hope 2017 will be my year for this one! I honestly thought it was achievable last year, so I know I'll need to work on this.
08. Hit 5000 Twitter followers. Having grown by almost 1700 followers on Twitter in 2016, I like to think this is quite achievable! Twitter is one of my favourite social media platforms and, whilst I've not been using it as frequently since starting my new job, I'd like to start putting a bit more effort in - taking part in more chats and just generally interacting more. You can follow me here if you like!
09. Hit 2000 Instagram followers. Instagram, on the other hand, has been stagnating a little in the last couple of months; whilst this would represent a similar number of new followers as I gained in 2016, I have found it increasingly tricky to build growth on Instagram lately. I'm hoping to start posting more regularly, as well as improve the quality of my images, which in turn with hopefully help my little account grow. You can follow me here if you like!
10. See more live music. I think the only gigs I went to in 2016 were Busted and McFly - which is fine, as they're definitely two of my favourite bands, but I'd really love to see more bands live in the coming months. Ideally I'd love to go to Download but I'll have to see how the year pans out before making plans for that.

[Photo Credit: Wonderfelle Media.]

Hopes.
These are less things I can work towards, and more just things I'd like to see happen over the coming months. I really, really hope I get a place on a training course to work towards becoming a Clinical Psychologist this year; it's my first application so statistically, my chances aren't great (it takes an average of three applications...) but even so, I feel I'm ready and I'm really excited at the prospect of starting training, so I'd love to be on a course come September. Either way, I hope I'm able to keep doing a job I love and keep working towards the career I want. I hope to figure myself out mentally/emotionally a bit more - I've really struggled with mood and motivation towards the end of 2016 and I'm really not sure why. I hope to be able to get a bit more of a handle on that, and be happier and healthier in 2017.

Are you setting yourself any goals for 2017? What's the number one thing you're hoping to achieve this year?

xo
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