Well, hello, 2021!
And goodbye 2020…
There have been several funny memes circulating on Facebook in the lead up to 2021. And who can blame them, 2020 was definitely an experience. Here are a couple I particularly liked.
Reveiwing my 2020 goals
Before I look forward, I thought I’d check-in and see how I did against my goals from January 2020.
Goal 1 – Read 120 books
Each year I set a goal on Goodreads as to how many books I aim to read. I didn’t quite make it to the 120 mark and read 97 instead. I read many articles and journals though for uni, so still, a lot of reading happened during the year.
I definitely increased my ‘to be read’ pile this year. I wonder if I can count those? My father-in-law has been borrowing books now that he is retired. So, to make sure he had an excellent range to select from, I kept buying new books. My Dad also shared a new book he read with me, and it was a Fiona McIntosh’s latest novel, The Champagne War. It turns out Dad likes the same books as my father-in-law and me. Now I get free range to buy as many books as 3 people will be reading them.
Goal 2 – Write 1 blog post per month
Hmmm, this didn’t quite happen either. I wrote a whole 4 posts, whoops. But it’s still 4 more than I wrote in 2019. Therefore I’m taking that as a win.
On another positive note, I started a new blog to track my International Relations and Gender studies. You can check it out at Narelle Wilson.
Goal 3 – Complete 4 units at uni
Another one I didn’t quite meet. I ended up completing 3 units during the year. I enrolled in a new course at Monash Uni – Gender, Peace, and Security (it was a last-minute decision when they offered it online for the first time, thank you COVID). I completed 1 unit at Murdoch and then decided to transfer to the Master of International Relations at Monash Uni for 2021.
I thoroughly enjoyed my studies this year. I met some interesting people, my teachers were amazing and inspiring, and I expanded my knowledge in a new field.
Goal 4 – Redesign my made up of moments website
Tick – this one was completed!
Goal 5 – Increase my weekly exercise regime
Moving right along.
Unfortunately, I didn’t stick to this goal. When COVID hit, hubby and I did get into a routine as we were working from home. Once we headed back to the office, the regime seemed to go out the window.
Goal 6 – Leave work at work
I’m going to give myself a tick for this one too. While there were times work did invade my personal life, I have gotten infinitely better at keeping in separated. I no longer have work emails on my phone, and if work calls on a Friday, I try hard to answer it. I have found 99% of things can wait to Monday.
2020 Wrap-Up
Who would have thought 2020 would go downhill so fast.
Hubby and I started January with our US plans in place and was just beginning to book flights. Fortunately, most of our expenses were reimbursed during the year.
Once the US trip plan was thrown out the window, we looked to travel to Adelaide to celebrate my 40th. Sadly, this too, did not occur. Though we did still go on holiday. We ended up heading down south for a little over a week (note to self – need to write a blog post on these!).
Hubby and I also celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in December – it was a significant milestone year for me. Again, we headed down south to where it all started. These last 10 years have flown by.
With our travel plans suspended, we also committed to building a new home. We signed the contract with our builder last month and are now looking forward to laying the slab in July. The building industry has gone gangbusters in WA, so there is a bit of a queue for building contractors. It will be sad to see our home go, but I am looking forward to this journey.
Looking forward
I wasn’t planning on making any new goals for 2021. But I have decided I should make a couple. Even if just to keep me on track.
So, my goals for this year are:
? Read 100 Books ?
Reading is a given, so I doubt aiming to read books will be a hardship
✏️ Write more ✏️
Rather than giving myself a specific number of posts to write; I’m going to encourage myself to write a little more. Even if it’s a few sentences a day.
I have been my own worst enemy this year when it comes to writing. I work myself into a tizz, thinking what I write will not be good enough, or no one will read it. But you know what, it doesn’t matter if it is. And, hopefully writing more will give me more confidence and will become more comfortable with time.
? Enjoy the house building process ?
So far, I have enjoyed the house journey. Hubby and I have poured over our plans to the nth degree and tried to consider it from all angles. My Pinterest board has gone nuts with flooring ideas, design ideas, colour choices, and lighting, to name just a few.
I’m looking forward to watching the house build progress and hopefully learning more about the process.
? Leave work at work ?
This deserves another mention this year. I want to keep working on my life/work balance. After all, all work and no play leads to a very dull Narelle.
Well, that’s it from me.
Now it’s your turn.
How was 2020 for you? Did you have any resolutions or goals for 2021? I’d love for you to share them.
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