Choosing Goals over Resolutions this year

Like most people when it comes to the New Year its a chance to make a fresh start, to try new things and leave any negativity from the previous year behind and usually this is done with making new resolutions which I have done for the past few years. Something however changed in my outlook going into 2019 with my main priority to drop the guilt! I found last year I succumbed to stress for a variety of reasons and a lot of the time I would beat myself up about not doing a good enough job, being a present parent, eating healthy enough etc and I started to wonder why that was? Why was I always aiming for this weird idea of what perfection was and should look like than rather enjoying all that I had and giving myself a break when simply trying to do the best I can.

Most mothers will be aware of "mum guilt" which is sort of thrust onto us whether we like it or not as the media simply backs up the perfection we are meant to achieve - this applies not only to mothers but all woman as society lays out what it is we should look like, earn etc to obtain happiness but this just isn't realistic or particularly healthy.

Saying that I am all about trying new things, about making improvements, tackling areas of your life you are unhappy and using the New Year to put things into perspective and learn from any mistake you made the previous year. However I don't feel strict and unrealistic resolutions is the way forward and can often set ourselves up for failure right at the start of the year which is why longer term goals is something I am more interested because as they say slow and steady wins the race. If you are looking to lose weight or eat better then avoid any crash diets or major restrictions which are not sustainable and make a long term doable goal and don't beat yourself up if you slip up every now and then - it's called being human!

When it comes to my own goals what I would like to achieve this year is

1. Being more organised! I know that organising key parts of my life will free up a lot of space. Last year I felt at times that both the house, work, lack of childcare and personal relationships where in chaos simple because I was trying to do it all without enough hours in the day. This year I am putting things in place such as regular childcare, reducing clutter and having a better work station and working hours to make things clearer and cleaner and easier to deal wth. I know this won't happen over night but I have already started to put together daily doable lists to ensure things get done.

2. Continue to Minimise
Last year I set myself a minimalist challenge - it doesn't have a time limit and is pretty open ended and something I am still working on and I have learnt it's pretty hard to minimise a home with kids but I am getting there slowly and feeling the benefits of less clutter in my house and this is something I want to continue doing.

3. Celebrating good food
When you have kids cooking can go a little out the window at times and despite the fact I love to cook and enjoy it, it comes down once again to being organised and good time keeping skills. When your doing school runs, swimming lessons, gymnastics etc things like pesto pasta can be the quickest option but this year I want to make sure that at least a couple of nights a week we try something a little different and celebrate fresh food that is fun and interesting. It doesn't need to be complicated, expensive or take a long time but looking into quick, fresh and colourful food to also inspire the kids to have a passion in eating well.

4. Make time to have fun

I think that its really important to prioritise time for fun and self care and there really does have to be a balance between work, parenting and down time, including screen-free time that allows you to be more present in the activity.

This year is all about making small improvements, taking my time and not feeling guilting when things go wrong and most of all to laugh, have fun and enjoy 2019 to the full.