My goals for 2014! JANBLOG #1

2014 bbloggers beauty blogging

Happy New Year Beautiful People!
I truly hope 2014 brings you all happiness, success, good health and endless laughter.

I think one of the great things about blogging, or writing in general is being able to look back, reflect and hopefully improve. Whenever I stumble across an old diary I find myself in hysterics at some of the woes of that particular date back in 2008 and how much those tiny things impacted me! Although I don’t write in a journal anymore, I do want to try and set myself some little targets for the new year and Insha’Allah (which means God Willing) be able to review them when we reach the end of 2014!

1. Plan all assignments the same week they are set
I’m a first year uni student and boy has semester one taught me I need to put a lot more time and planning into my essays than what was needed at A-level!
2. Take more photos of general day-to-day life
I’m quick to bring my camera out when going on a daytrip, but whenever I’m looking through photo albums, I find the nicest photos are those random snapshots of life as it was. You know the random pictures of your brother feeding your little sister yoghurt, or PJ Sundays watching Harry Potter and eating dry cereal…and just the fact that we will never get that age back again makes being able to preserve a single moment, priceless. I think taking photos makes you appreciate life and time that little bit more too. I also want to invest in a better camera in 2014, I’m talking DSLR because I genuinely love and appreciate photography and have quickly outgrown my bridge camera. Though I know it’s not necessary to have a DSLR for your blog, I think investing in one leads to priceless memories and so I will be saving towards that ^.^
3. Pass my driving test and commute with confidence
I hope to be able to do this as soon as possible! I’ve had enough of spending multiple hours a week sitting on a bus/waiting for a bus when I could have been at my destination a whole hour earlier!
4. Start a monthly update post on my blog
In all honesty I don’t know how successful this will be, but I really do want to keep a little note of the good stuff from each month. It’ll also encourage me with #2! Let me know if you guys think this is a good idea 🙂
5. Post at least 3X a week on my blog
I’m a fairly new blogger, so this is something that I’m still getting used to. But I love seeing my archive at more than 10 posts that month, I know it’s not about the numbers but to me that show’s I’ve put in a lot of effort that month, used my time up somewhat productively and hopefully helped at least one person out there! I also need to stop writing loads on every post and remind myself that it’s OK to have shorter posts!
6. SAVE!
I think this one is a given really, as learning to drive and then maintaining a car is NOT CHEAP, so I’ll probably be forced to do this. But I want to become more disciplined with my money, and 2014 looks like a good year to start.
7. Stick to my ‘to-do’ lists
I feel so great when I make these, and then a couple of weeks later I sheepishly rub them out from my whiteboard, knowing I’ve not done half the things I stated I would. Part of this is because currently I have nowhere accessible to put my whiteboard, but in a couple of weeks that issue will have been resolved and hopefully I’ll be able to follow through with the lists!
8. Donate to a different charity every month
This one is a little more personal than the others, but I thought I would include it as this’ll be mentioned in my monthly updates. For me charity is extremely important and although I’m not earning a tonne of money, I still have enough money to treat myself so in turn I should be able to give some of that wealth I’ve been blessed with back. Life is too short, and if we can give a few pounds a month and go without indulgent coffee from starbucks, or that nail polish from topshop so another human can benefit then why not donate? I feel like people always think they need to give a large amount of money for it to count – not at all! A little goes A LONG WAY especially in the third world. I know that  stating it in a monthly update post will not only remind me to donate but will also give me the chance to do a bit of research into a new charity.
9. Stick to my skincare routine
Whenever I’m asked to do a skincare post I squirm, because honestly my ‘skincare routine’ is rubbish and a huge goal for the next year is to be kinder to my skin! I don’t think I’m exactly planning to ‘stick’ to a specific routine, but at least HAVE a routine. (Yes I know. Bad beauty blogger.)
10. Develop a ‘healthy’ routine
This is probably on EVERYONE’s list but I really want this year to be filled with more healthy food, a lot more water and a proper fitness routine. Earlier on twitter Life Of A Perfume Bottle tweeted about doing her first workout of the year and kidnly shared the app with me called ‘Nike Training’ and its so brilliant! Free from the app store, and you get a personalised workout routine made for you which are all under an hour (so far). You can also choose to be toned up lean or strength so it caters to everyone’s needs! You can listen to music from your library and still hear the instructions which make it seem like you have your own personal trainer. I’ve only started a workout so far and had to put it on hold because we have family plans, but I’m SO pleased and would recommend you check it out if you’re looking for something to help get you fit without going to the gym.

..And that concludes my goals for the new year! I’ve made them realistic so finger’s crossed I can keep up with them and I shall hopefully review this list in a year and see how far I’ve come! This is a great little list for everyone to make, and rather than call them ‘resolutions’ personally goals is just more motivating. (Though whether they end up being more motivating is yet to be seen!)

P.S I’ll be doing #JANBLOG this month! Blogging every single day for the month of January, do let me know if you’d like to see anything in particular ^_^