Goodbye 2024, Hello 2025
Well, another year has come and gone, Hello 2025! New year, new start. May all your dreams come true in 2025!
2024 Recap
My 25 of 2025
2024 was a rollercoaster year, as you can see in my IG post above, and it had a massive impact on my ’24 for 2024.’ Not achieving as much as I had hoped left me, a little, disappointed. Then I realised I accomplished more in what was needed for me.
Looking back at my ‘Goodbye 2023, Hello 2024’ post, I can confidently cross off five goals. Some wavered due to being unwell and undergoing surgery, but the experience has made me rethink the goals I want to set for 2025. In a similar way to my 25 for 2025 reading goals, I split them into 5 categories.
Personal
- Stop biting my nails – continued. I had my nails done for the first time in over a decade just before Christmas because I wanted to start the new year without biting them. So far, it’s going well, and I’m determined to keep it up in 2025.
- Take more pictures. I feel like I had periods in 2024 where I did this well, but it’s something I want to continue into 2025. Looking back to my teen years, when I always carried a compact camera with me, I realise how many memories I have to look back on. I want to keep that habit alive in my adult years too.
- Read 50-100 pages a night. I love to read and found myself binge-reading, especially towards the end of 2024. I’d take a weekend and get through a couple of books. In 2025, I want to read more consistently and swap some of my screen time for book time.
- Visit the archives. I love researching my ancestry and I want to go to a few different local archives to see what I can uncover.
- Reset every Sunday. I think trying to reset the way other content creators do became a bit overwhelming. So, alongside this goal, I’ll be discovering my own version of a Sunday reset.
Financial
- Create a financial spreadsheet. – I keep forgetting about some direct debits, and while I’ve never been in a tough spot because of it, I want to make sure it doesn’t keep happening.
- Spend less on books. I created some rules in my ‘Reading Plans for 2025‘ post that will help me with this.
- Try physical money-saving challenges. I’m the type of person who has an online savings account but keeps dipping into it. I saw some great TikTok savings videos, like the penny-saving challenge, and thought they might help me be more mindful.
- Trade takeaways for eating out. I’ve had some lovely meals out with friends recently, and it’s something I want to do more of this year. What struck me financially is how affordable it can be compared to takeaways—I get a great meal and quality time with friends, a win-win!
- Budget More. I’ve always tracked my finances roughly, but along with forgetting certain direct debits, I want to review other outgoings, such as subscription services, hobbies, self-care treatments, and books I buy, to help me save more effectively.
Health
- Eat better and move more. This is quite self-explanatory and I feel everyone sets a health or fitness goal in the new year.
- Meal Plan. I did this throughout December, and I feel I made better choices during that month, even with Christmas. It was also a great way to avoid wasting food and be financially conscious.
- Get signed off by the IBD department. After my proctectomy surgery this year, I’ve been having some issues with my stoma being very active. When I last saw my consultant, we agreed it would be best to wait 6 months before signing me off. Some people with Ulcerative Colitis either find out they had Crohn’s Disease all along or develop it. I don’t think I have, as there are no other symptoms, but with how the disease has behaved for me, I wanted that extra assurance.
- Continue to fight the anxiety. This includes doing more things on my own, getting out for more walks, visiting new places, and making sure I take more time for myself.
- Sleep better. I haven’t had the best sleeping routine due to having a stoma. I’ll be trying a few different things to see if they help me get more than 3 hours of sleep at a time!
Work-Life / Social Media
- Get a job. It’s pretty self-explanatory, but I’ve applied for one that closes this week, and I hope to hear back from them.
- Network. When I graduated from University, I was advised to use LinkedIn. All I got were creepy messages from middle aged men. I did rejoin again this year and my goal is to utilise it more effectively.
- Have a look at Skillshare. I’ve been on the fence about Skillshare for a while, but after seeing more positive reviews, I want to take a few classes to improve my career-related skills.
- Plan my blog and bookstagram better. I’ve already started this in two ways: using my planner and Notion. I may do a blog post on this later in the year. Ultimately, I want to be more consistent.
- Go back through my blog and revamp/republish old blog posts. I get a lot of broken link views after moving from Blogspot to WordPress. It’s lovely to see people still enjoying my content.
Fun
- Visit 66 books & do more Bookish things. This is on my goal list for the third year! Having a disability makes activities like visiting 66 Books difficult, but I’m determined. I attended a Book Extravaganza event this year, and I’d love to attend more book events in the future.
- Visit the National Portrait Gallery. I have an ancestor whose portrait hangs at The National Portrait Gallery. I also love how art makes me feel, and I want to visit more galleries in general.
- Take a weekend trip. I’m keeping this vague as I don’t know what is in store for 2025. But I have Edinburgh in mind…
- Have activity days. I’ve gotten back into a few at-home hobbies like gaming, ancestry research, and puzzles. I want to plan more “rainy day” activity days and maybe discover a new hobby I’ll love.
- See McFly vs Busted. I haven’t been to a concert in over a decade because of my health. I debated getting tickets to the McFly vs Busted tour after so many past disappointments where I couldn’t attend events due to health issues. But this is the year—it’s finally happening!
And that’s the first post of the year. Goodbye 2024 and Hello 2025.
What was your best moment of 2024? & What are your goals for 2025?
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As always, thanks for reading…