With everything that's going on in the world right now, I wasn't sure whether I should set myself any goals for the year ahead. It almost seemed pointless; we're on lockdown; we can't go anywhere; we can't do anything exciting, and everything is so uncertain right now. I wondered if maybe I should just be concentrating on surviving this awful pandemic, and not on achieving silly little goals.
Some time during the last few weeks, between the boredom and lack of motivation, painful flares and anxiously worrying about the world, I've realised, I need goals. I need to have some things to work towards to keep myself busy and give my life a sense of purpose. They help keep me focused and motivated, and give me something to do with my time while housebound. It's how I've gotten through the last nine and a half years. I need things to do to stop myself getting bored and depressed.
So, I decided to set myself some goals after all. I haven't set myself anything big or unattainable to work towards, because I'd just be setting myself up for failure. I'm not aiming to travel around the world, buy a house, or become rich and famous. I just plan to work towards lots of little achievements, like reading lots of books, trying some new crafts, and perhaps even taking a holiday in England, if things improve enough by the summer. I'm not going to put any pressure on myself, though; if I achieve them, great; if I don't, that's okay, too. This year's going to be hard enough as it is without pointlessly adding unnecessary pressure, or beating myself up for being a failure. I'm going to do my best, but at the end of the day, they're not important life goals I need to achieve, just small ones meant for a challenge and a bit of fun.
So, here are some of my goals for 2021:
Read 40 Books
My main goal for 2021 is to read as much as possible. I've set myself the goal of reading forty books this year but I hope to read even more. I'm already on my sixth book of the year so far, so I'm well on my way to achieving my reading goal ahead of time. It feels good to be making progress on something right now, and letting myself escape from reality for a while every day. Reading has really helped me get through this miserable first month of lockdown. If you want to keep up with what I'm reading, you can find me on Goodreads here.
Cross Stitch More
I also want to get back in to cross stitching regularly again this year, and try to finish at least a few projects- especially as I stitched so little last year. I've already finished a little gingerbread man hoop, and have added a good chunk to the Christmas wall hanging I've been working on this month, so I feel like I'm off to a good start.
Improve My Embroidery Skills
When it comes to needlework, I could cross stitch in my sleep, but I don't have a lot of experience with embroidery. I'd like to try more of it, and improve my skills, so I'm aiming to attempt more embroidery projects this year. I've just bought myself this embroidery kit from Cotton Clara (in pink) to start off with, and make myself a memento from the pandemic. Not that it's a time I'm ever going to forget, but I thought it looked cute. I'm going to give it my own spin and use different coloured threads, and fill in some of the picture with different stitches to keep things interesting.
Learn to Crochet
I know this has been added to my New Year's goals every year for years now, but I still haven't learned to crochet. I was given some crochet hooks for Christmas, so I really don't have an excuse not to try now, so I hope 2021 will be the year I finally learn how to crochet. I want to start with a cute, pastel-coloured granny square blanket.
Paint More
I want to find time to paint more often in 2021 because it's something I enjoy and find relaxing, but haven't done in ages. I'm not sure I even painted once in 2020. I won't pretend to be any good at it, but painting helps me destress and unwind, and anything that aids my mental health during Covid times deserves more dedication.
Shop For Presents Throughout the Year
My aim is to shop for presents for birthdays and Christmas etc. throughout the year again, to help spread the cost, and be organised ahead of time. I've already bought three presents since Christmas, so I'm off to a good start!
Participate in More Surveys
I want to get back in to participating in more online surveys again to make some extra pennies. I started off strong last year, but then Animal Crossing came out, and stole my attention span for the rest of the year. I've only been participating in short surveys on Prolific Academic since last April, but I'd like to make the effort to take part in a lot more on the other sites I used to frequent. The extra money would come in handy.
Get Out of the House More Often
I need to do my best to get out and about more regularly in 2021. Last year, I left the house less than ten times, and went seven months without stepping outside once. (Not even in to the garden). It's the longest I've ever spent at home in my nine and a half years with chronic illness, and I'd rather not repeat it. I need to escape captivity more often, get more fresh air, and more exercise, for my physical health, as well as my mental health. I just need to find a way to push through my pain more because it's really kicking my ass these days.
Blog More
Apart from in December, when I managed to unpack my blogging mojo with the Christmas decorations, I blogged very little in 2020. In fact, I blogged less than any year since I began blogging here in 2012. It wasn't for lack of trying, but I couldn't find the words or the energy very often. I'm hoping I can improve on that in the next eleven months, and blog more regularly again. I'm not off to a great start, with this being only my second post of the year so far, but I hope I can find my groove again soon.
Instagram more often
I also want to do my best to fill my Instagram grid with more photos. I barely shared any photos to it in 2020- mostly because I spent most of the year in bed ill, and didn't have anything interesting to post- but I enjoyed filling it with festive photos in December. I want to try to share more snippets from my life, so I have more memories to look back on, and more to share with you guys.
Grow Sunflowers From Seed
It's been years since I last grew some sunflowers from seed, but I really want to grow some this year so that the garden will be filled with happy yellow flowers by late summer. They're one of my favourite flowers.
There are also a few things I'd like to do which will be dependent on lockdown restrictions, and whether the virus improves or not. They might not be possible, but I'm going to be optimistic, and aim for them anyway because it's always nice to have hope.
Take a Holiday to Cornwall
One thing I'm desperate to do this summer is take a holiday to Cornwall. We chose to cancel our holiday there last year to keep ourselves safe, which was the right thing to do, but I was so disappointed as I'd been looking forward to returning to one of my favourite places for ages. Cornwall's like my second home. If restrictions ease (at the moment it feels like they never will), allowing us to travel longer distances again, and Covid infections and deaths reduce, my sister and I are hoping to get away for a week in June or September, either side of high-season when it should be quieter (and cheaper). (I'm not convinced it'll be possible in June, but maybe by September life will be a little better). We'd go self-catering, and stay in a static caravan, which makes it easy to stay away from other people, and we'd be able to disinfect everything, and use our own bedding and kitchenware for extra peace of mind. We might have to adapt some of our usual outings and avoid busier locations like St. Ives and Padstow to have a safe and socially distanced holiday, but I think it would be worth it for a week away. It could also give us a great opportunity to explore more of the quieter south coast, which we haven't visited as much as North Cornwall. To be honest, I'd just be happy to relax around the caravan with a book and some good food, listening to the sound of the sea in the background and seagulls crying overhead. I'd have to spend most of the time resting in the caravan anyway, as my pain quickly becomes overwhelming, so we wouldn't be spending all day out and about around people, putting ourselves at risk. Of course, if the virus doesn't improve or gets worse, we won't risk taking a holiday at all, but we're hoping to go if things get better.
Visit The Cotswold Wildlife Park
I want to pay my local zoo, The Cotswold Wildlife Park, more visits this year. It's only a few miles down the road from me, and we figure it would be the perfect place to visit regularly during Covid times to exercise and get some fresh air, while having cute animals and pretty plants to see along the way. The scenery is gorgeous in all seasons, and social-distancing is easy there, so we should take advantage of it and support a local business, when it reopens after lockdown. The visits always push my chronic pain to the limit, so it would challenge me to push through my pain threshold more, too.
Visit Whipsnade Wild Animal Park
Another zoo I'm hoping to visit this year is Whipsnade Wild Animal Park. (I love a good zoo). It's one of my favourites in the country, but it's been over a decade since my last visit. It's a huge zoo with an amazing collection of animals, including elephants, hippos, rare Indian rhinos, and various big cats, and they have loads of open space which would make social distancing a breeze. You can take your car in, too, which we would do, as it's the only way I'd be able to cover the vast terrain now. We're hoping to be able to go once the weather gets warmer, so hopefully zoos will have reopened and restrictions will have eased by the summer so we can go.
Visit Longleat Safari Park
We were hoping to go to Longleat to see the Christmas lights trail in December, but then Covid restrictions were tightened in my area, so it went out the window. I've always wanted to go to the safari park, and after learning they now have koalas, wombats, and aardvarks- three animals I've never seen in real life but have always wanted to- I want to go even more. Hopefully we'll be able to fit in a trip this year if restrictions ease again later in the year. Who knows, maybe we'll even be able to visit the Christmas lights trail there in December, too.
Visit Badbury Clump woods when the bluebells flower
There's a woods local to where I live that gets carpeted with bluebells in late spring. I'd really like to go see them at least once this year, because it's such a pretty sight, and I never made it last year. It would be great to get outside, explore nature, and take a few photos of a sea of violet flowers.
Visit a Lavender Farm
I'd also really like to visit a lavender farm this summer, mostly for the pretty photo opportunities. I've never seen lavender fields before. There's one within driving distance called Cotswold Lavender located near Broadway in Worcestershire that my sister and I have wanted to visit for years, and we're hopeful we'll be able to fit in a visit this summer. (They don't reopen until June). I'd also love to find some sunflower fields to visit, but I haven't managed to locate any in The Cotswolds yet. Does anyone know of any?
So, those are some of my goals for the year ahead.
What are your goals for 2021?
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