Create the life I want to live

Areas of my life that are going well

Work
I love my job. It’s interesting and challenging, and I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing. At last everything is going well in this area of my life! All it took was downgrading a little, and that’s fine with me:)

Money
I’m on track to pay off my floating mortgage as planned. The next stage is to start putting money aside so that I can pay a chunk of my mortgage when it comes up for re-fixing next year.

Reading
This is something I’d been neglecting and have been doing a lot more of lately thanks to thesegoals. I’ve been enjoying most of my reading choices immensely.

Areas of my life that need work

Travel
I really miss travel. Even if you try to do it on the cheap, it does seem to add up before you know it. In the short term I’m prioritising security over leisure, although I’m going to plan some domestic travel throughout the year so my wanderlust is satisfied somehow.

Home
No major overhauls required here but I’m not entirely happy with how space is utilised in my apartment. I don’t have a lot of storage space, so this probably means another battle with the dreaded walk-in wardrobe/black hole. Also I want to make it a bit homier than it is now.

Health
My enduring and biggest challenge. Food and exercise are at an all-time low. Just about to start reading The 4 Day Win which I’m hoping will motivate me on the food front, and am considering training for a 10k walk. But I still find it hard to move ideals into actions in this area, and that pisses me off. Why am I being so obstructive?!

Creative Pursuits
Because I’m doing creative things all day long, this doesn’t feel like as big a priority. It’s still something I’ve been neglecting for a while and should pay more attention to. I’m going to a lot of exhibitions and looking at other people’s art (which I’m enjoying a lot) but personal writing, art and photography should be factored into my life as well.

The first three days of my new job will be spent on Great Barrier Island. I’m going over on the Sunday before with my team to go snorkelling. Pinch me.

I got an email from my soon-to-be boss about work that I’m going to be involved in when I start my new job – a project on historic cemeteries. This is exactly the sort of thing that will make me want to jump out of bed each day. I can’t wait to uncover some of the untold stories that will be a part of my new life. Bursting with excitement!!

Now that my job is sorted I’m ready to tackle stage 2 which is largely around health and fitness. I’m feeling increasingly committed to this in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. I think the best gift I can give myself over the next 4 weeks until I start my new job is to start transitioning towards better eating habits and to up-the-ante on the exercise. Let’s see what happens…

I really believe that in a few weeks time I’ll be well on the way towards the type of life I want to be living. I’m going to have a job with the word ‘writer’ in my job title. Awesome!! As part of my responsibilities I’ll be learning about and working with photoshop. I’m going to be working in a field I’ve been wanting to get involved in for a long time. I’ll be working with people who work in this organisation because they are passionate about the type of work they do, not because it pays the bills. There’s no money in it so they’ve consciously chosen this work/organisation. I’ve known the person who’ll be my manager for a few years and he’s a good person. That’s important to me. The one thing that will be really funny is that I’ll be surrounded by excessively outdoorsy types (see previous statement about passion). My work is slightly different. I mean, I like the outdoors and all…and I like relaxing/recovering indoors afterwards. Isn’t it nice that people are different?

Whenever I get down in the dumps, it’s always related to being unhappy at work. I recognise that part of this is about how I manage my stress but I think it’s time to accept that I’m not picking the right jobs for me. Certainly with the current one, I should’ve followed my instincts but I was desperate and I thought it would be an opportunity to learn new skills. What a mistake that was. The only thing it has done is re-position what had been a tough year into one of my worst years. It’s been the worst possible work environment for someone like me (who already suffers from self-doubt) to go into after being made redundant.

If I’m going to apply for less senior jobs, I’m going to have to get used to living on less money. My biggest dilemma in this regard is that would be paying a big mortgage if my salary was a lot less. At the moment I’ve decided to not to sell and to get a second job if things get tight. I even looked at trying to sell some of my things but people don’t seem to be buying. The other thing I’m trying to decide is whether or not to sell my car. I don’t use it a lot except on weekends. Like all cars it’s an expense to maintain but I also feel like I need it just as a form of independence. It’s not necessary though.

These are all secondary considerations though. The biggest priority is to find a job I really like – if there is such a thing.