A New Year, New Beginnings
2023 is upon us. Before we delve into the new year, let’s start with a recap of 2022. I cannot wait to see what new beginnings the year will bring.
2022 Recap
2022 didn’t go how I expected it to. Don’t get me wrong, I achieved more than I ever could have thought. I have more memories from this year than I had from the previous 4 years combined. It just wasn’t the year I had in mind or the year I had planned.
New Beginnings
As you can see, I leapt, and moved from Blogger to WordPress! You may be wondering where all my content has gone. I’ve popped it on draft for now as with the new hosting site and layout, I have to configure each post and that will take some time!
New Journals, New Planning System
I decided to change my planning system for a few reasons. Trying to organise my job, blog, and small business, plus wanting somewhere to write for my health and achieve some personal goals. Yeah, I needed more space.
This Wellness Journal is from Papier and it’s one of those brands I’ve always heard great things about.
I decided to go with the purple like in the picture.
I’m excited about getting stuck in. I’m hoping it will help me with my mental health.
Would you like to see a look-through?
This is a dot grid journal from Tom & Yop and I brought the forest green, with gold moon and stars accent like in the picture.
I tried bullet journaling a few years ago and hated it. What I came to realise is that I was competing with those who create these really amazing, artistic layouts. If you haven’t seen those talented people, Pinterest has a whole load of pins about it.
I think, not having the “perfection” mindset, it’ll really benefit me. I’m excited about giving this another go. After seeing many in the ‘Bujo” community create collection journals. I love the idea of having a specific journal for lists like ‘to read’ or ‘to watch’ lists, trackers and long-term goal setting. I think keeping them in one place will be better for me.
Can I Be “That Girl”
The “New Year, New Me” or “That Girl” mentality, is a trend I’ve seen more of on YouTube. I was recommended many videos for this trend. It’s essentially about becoming your best self, being ‘That Girl’. The one who gets up at 5 am, goes to the gym every day, eats clean and is big on self-care. With wanting new beginnings this year, it sounded appealing. I watched a couple of videos and came away feeling motivated and apprehensive.
I’ve seen comments from those who found it unrealistic with a full working week. Some have said that the fitness and eating side of the trend has been triggering. Then there’s the other side. For those who feel very motivated by the structural aspects, I need that reminder to focus on their mental health. It’s very much a catch 22 and it made me wonder, do I want to do this for myself or because of all the YouTube recommendations?
I think that by taking a softer approach to this trend, I could see the benefits of the structure. Hopefully, I’ll develop some better habits but, time will tell.
As always, thanks for reading…