Make 2008 my best year yet

2008 BYY Goals

• Update Website at least once a week (on my half day).
  Did not do this every week as things went sort of quiet this year and there was not a lot to update
• Proactively contact re updates
  Yes!! And I must continue to do thiscounting this as a success this year in the face of adversity

• Take 30mins exercise every day – can be Qi Gong/ HP walking/ swimming. Plan every morning at FTFthis was a bit hit and miss, and I did not swim as much as I intended – but then getting the Lupus diagnosis and understanding that my body probably can’t do as much now as it used to was a major factor in this – however all the more reasons to keep my muscles strong so this is being carried forward into next year
• Plan all meals so that I eat well and keep hydrated
  did quite well at this although I could look after my diet better
• Plan weekly exercise schedule
  Yes – it got planned but the key thing is to action it not plan it
• Plan daily using FTF

ditto

• Practice regularly and frequently aim for daily at least 30 mins and catch up in the week if not achieved daily – with clear focus
  Hmmm I didn’t really do enough practice if I’m honest
• Determine a practice schedule for each week which is updated after each lesson, diarise it and stick to it
  Good intentions but it didn’t happen – carry this one forward into next year
• Go to at least one concert a month
  Major failure here but I put this down to feeling so crap and not feeling like travelling, it’s the first year in the last 10 or so that I didn’t get to the Proms – oh but I miss it so, maybe some live music will help me feel better
• Practice my orchestra music at least at one session per week so I make a valid contribution
  complete failure here and I am still faking it at concerts – Bad Silvie!!
• Pass Viola Grade 1 or 2 or
• Pass piano Grade 1
  YAY passed Piano Grade 1 and am now working on Grade 2sO success in my piano, but have nit been as active and focussed as I should be

• set up a Blog by 31 Dec 2007 to keep in touch with people. Update at least once a week
  I set this up – but it seemed to be just a tale of woe with my poor health, and a lot of people just never logged in that I abandoned it. A good idea but it didn’t work for me. I need to find a different solution to keeping in touch
• Email regularly – check daily and respond
  I was quite good at this and a lot better than 2007
• Set up a foolproof system to remember and acknowledge birthdays, and prep for Christmas – enter here when need to get presents and send cards.
  yes – success, and Christmas was a breeze this year instead of a millstone
• Be proactive about meeting and contacting – ensure meet at least one friend at least once a month to do something
  did quite well with this one and did quite a bit of social stuffsuccess in this goal on the whole

• Check conferences / dialogues at least every other day and respond immediately. If I am going to be away then post a message to say so
  yes I can safely say I am quite good at this, and I prioritise learner feedback over other work tasks
• Give meaningful and prompt feedback to assignments within 2 weeks of receipt
  Yes have kept within the 2 week turnaround
• Plan in advance and give meaningful tutorials to learners / students, by setting agreed agendas beforehand and giving prompt feedback after the event
  and yes success here too

• Plan for and have at least one new experience every month
  Hmmm – not every month, but there have been a few
• Travel abroad at least 3 times in the year to new places
  Twice, not three times, but for various reasons some plans were cancelled, I’m counting this a success under the circs

• Project manage repairs to home, have a workable plan, monitor and follow through on actions promptly
  Blimmin’ ‘eck, the builders are here again today, I am begining to think they have moved in – all things considered though this has been a ginormous project and a great success
• Keep home accounts up to date by updating at least once a week
  generally yes I have been good at this
• Practice Discardia by actively decluttering one area each Discardia season.
  Hmmm – have done some but not enough. But starting the New Year with determination now
• Back up computer at least once a month
  Yes I have a good backup procedure now that works

• Schedule some time each week to write and see what happens!!
  I started doing this but it fell by the wayside during the year. I think on reflection I’ve tried this now and it is not for me
• Decide by September whether to sign up for A215 – This depends on how my writing goes and how I feel about further study next year
  I did A174, and completed it successfully, but I think it showed me that my heart is not in this enough to pursue it further

• Keep accurate and up to date accounts
  Yes, I feel I have done a good job with this
• Generate new ideas at every meeting
  Yes I have instigated some new ideas for getting more funds
• Give quality Financial Info by being a Spreadsheet Wonk
  I actually managed to get us to break even this year (instead of losing 3k as happened last year before I was in control) and having got some tax refunded looks like we will be into profit next year

Goal 10 – Reserved for new goal emerging during the year

I-Ching Bracelets ‘R’ Us :)

All told a successful year in spite of continuing ill-health but at least now I know what it is, and as I sit here now I feel so much better than I did last year, and hopefully ready to take more on again – Wheel on 2009 I’m ready!!!!

this is the first year in ages that i haven’t entered with a ridiculous (in retrospect) list of resolutions: new me here, new me there. which is great: i just want to carry on as i have been. maybe it’s something i’ve learned from running. slow but steady progress will get you there eventually. i seem to be shedding the all-or-nothing mindset and developing confidence that i will achieve my goals, even if it takes a bit longer than planned. and that’s something to be proud of in itself.

1) run a 10k for amnesty international
yes! on the last day of the year, with a wonderful team and in great conditions. have just calculated that my km pace was only marginally (8 secs) slower for the 10k including hills than it was for the 9k on the flat, which seems to indicate that i’ve progressed in the last 2 months.
i can’t get over how happy i am to have discovered running in the last 15 months or so. and how proud of myself i am. was filing away my finishing certificate this morning—already have a little collection.
and, as a direct result, i have achieved one of my 2007 BYY goals, which was to get my BMI down to 24 or below. and i’ve got muscles—these huge hard things in my thighs that have come from nowhere. (there’s probably something to be learned here about product vs. process goals.)
now just have to do a bit more work on collecting sponsor money!

2) cycle a century
nearly, we did 135km around waren in september. that’s about 84 miles. physically, we could have done the whole century, but we left it too late in the year—it was already dark and starting to rain as we finished the 135km day. i’m really glad we discovered the mecklenburgische seenplatte as an ace place for cycling (oooh, and the hotel was fab!). i’m going to carry this goal over to next year. and definitely plan a cycling holiday for 2009, too!

3) buy a flat!
hmm, i’ve done nothing on this. and i don’t know if i really want to. maybe it’s just something i think i should be doing. then again, it’s surely better to have somewhere you can live when you’re old than to put your money in crappy investment funds and see it disappear (i speak from experience)... i really do need to get my blimming finances sorted.

4) take control of my home
hmmm. i don’t know. i think i’ve made incremental progress, but nothing spectacular to report.

5) become a gardening goddess
same as above, really. alb is definitely the constant gardener around here. but i would like to keep working on it.

6) nurture relationships with friends and family
yes, has gone generally well. i didn’t do any catching up with long losts, but have had lots of great times with friends and family. and that’s the most important thing in life, innit?

7) unleash my creativity
bought a new sewing machine and made a good start, but haven’t done much since. was discussing courses with Deb, should look into that again.

8) make my website somewhere people want to visit again and again
hmm, not really. i seem to have lost interest. i’m just about managing to keep the site updated, but am always reacting and making short-term changes rather than looking at the big picture. a relauch is needed, but i have neither the skills nor the energy. maybe i’ll feel a bit more motivated after our January meeting. need to read some of those books i’ve bought too.

9) knowledge/courses/books/museums goal
ha, this was a good one. have read loads of books, continued going to museums quite frequently, completed the short OU writing course, and am now working on the longer one (actually, i should be working on the longer one at this moment).

so i’d put 2008 down as a great year overall, especially the last day! as i said above, in many respects i’d like to just carry on making steady progress in 2009. at the same time, i’m noticing how important and satisfying it is to have specific goals to work towards that take you to new places and teach you new things (running a 10k!). so i’m going to have a think about my 2009 goals. some will carry on from the above list, but i’d also like to have something new, challenging and exciting. hmmmmm…

I have to be honest, I lost focus on this goal after about January, and my sub-goals shifted about all over the place.

Things that didn’t go so well…

• BMI goal: no progress achieved here. I made intermittent attempts to work on it and I did go to the gym a fair bit but too many holidays and boozy nights with G got in the way. The problem is I like enjoying myself too much to care about my BMI most of the time ;)
• being an armchair activist, daily clicks etc.: got off to a good start but then lapsed halfway through the year.

Things that went ok….

• improving my French: did the BBC online course back in January and enjoyed that, but did nothing for the rest of the year!
• meditation/relaxation: continued to attend meditation group on Mondays and tai chi class on Wednesdays throughout the year.

Things that went well…

• improving my wine knowledge: I did the WSET level 2 exam and got a distinction, and G and I are making excellent progress on the premier cru project.
• friends and family: stayed reasonably in touch with most of the people I wanted to, and had some lovely social occasions and some fantastic holidays – two trips to Burgundy, a trip to Venice with my dear mama, a trip to Southwold with my father, and a major highlight of the year was the Second International Gathering of the Breakfast Martini Gang in Oslo which was brilliant ;)

Unexpected things that happened…

• creative writing: inspired by Zanna I signed up for the OU introductory course which was very good, and then completed Nanowrimo!
• work: I got an unexpected promotion to begin on Monday – I’d resigned myself to chugging away as normal for another year but now I’m getting a lot more responsibility (and a pay rise, hurrah) so that was a big ego-boost.

And finally: guidelines…

• first things first: if there are points for turning up, then I can count this done. Whether I actually did the things on my lists is another matter… _{the bathroom hasn’t actually been cleaned since 2003 ;)}
• being fearless: achieved this precisely once, but it was a big deal for me – for the first time in my life I told someone that I think she’s fabulous, and I’m glad I did that. Even though it didn’t turn out the way I would have liked it to, the world didn’t end.
• being honest with myself: lately I seem to be doing this more and it even spilled into some midwinter madness on 43T with rather more disclosure about certain situations than previously (ahem). Right now I honestly think I’m in a much healthier place emotionally than I was this time last year.

Next year I’m going to be doing something similar to BYY but on my own goal, “Make 2009 as good as it can be”. All the best to everyone doing BYY 2009!

Edit: just realised I forgot to say was it my best year yet? Definitely!

I haven’t achieved all my goals this year but in many ways it was my Best Year Yet all the same. I became engaged to the man I love, I hit some important professional goals, and I was in a production of The Tempest.

1. Get engaged.
A+

2. Edit my novel.
D

3. Lay down the groundwork for a healthy future by exercising four times a week and following a healthy diet.
C+

4. Reach a healthy and attractive weight and body shape.
C-

5. Practise discardia – keep only those possessions that I know to be useful or believe to be beautiful and that fit in my small London flat!
C-

6. Reduce my carbon footprint by 10% in 2008.
C+

7. Do a cooking course at Leiths and develop my career as a food writer.
B+

8. Be in a play.
A+

9. Be professional and businesslike in my work to win new clients and retain existing ones. Find new regular, quality markets and increase my annual income by 10%.
B

10. Be a better friend and family member by staying in touch and showing I care.
A-

What I have loved about 2008

- Re-discovery of live shows – I’ve never been to so many live performances in my life. I’d forgotten how much fun they can be and somehow without much effort opportunities came up. Actually saw 8 this year.
- Continuation of doing lots of new things including; a girly holiday, day at a cookery school, spa, 3 day course etc
- The Part Time Job – my aim was to do 15 jobs in 2008 (2007 I did 10) I actually did 22!
- The Full Time Job – The best bit has to be claiming back my right to lunch breaks!
- Yoga – I feel the only reason I’ve been able to work this hard without collapsing is because of yoga. I have pretty much gone every week this year.
- Body – Well I’ve officially dropped a size.
- Cooking – Definitely the best year of trying new recipes (not as good as it could have been but pretty good)
- F&F – This has been really good this year, possibly the most effort, outings, meet ups
- M – We’ve had some lovely, lovely times this year, some new adventures and progress on a number of things
- Home & Money – Paid off the credit cards and actually have some savings.
- 43T – For when things have been great and the cheers that go with it and for when things haven’t been so great and the cheering up that I’ve received. It really does make a difference.

What I haven’t loved so much about 2008

Well there have been some downs, but I’m not going to dwell on them or rehash them, but I’ve read a lot and I also have spent a lot of time with my friend who just emits positivity and I’ve learned that it’s how you handle things. Yes I still get angry, cry and stamp my feet but I’m able to put things into perspective far more quickly and brush it off and move on to the more positive things. Sh*t will always happen. I believe now it’s how you deal with it that makes the difference.

The main thing I’ve realised about 2008 is just how hard I’ve worked. And whilst that is a good thing, I have (as per usual) neglected myself. I had just one week off i.e not taking days off from FT job to work on the PT job! So moving forward this is definitely going to be something I must focus on in 2009.

I think this was possibly my best year yet. I’ve worked hard but for once I’ve also played hard. I’m looking forward to 2009 and all the adventures, challenges and fabulous fun I am going to have!

Good luck to all those following this goal on in 2009!

I have not taken a single exam or test this year!! I’m sure that not trying to prove myself through exams or compare myself with others made it a lot better! The only thing I did that was even vaguely test-like was audition for the choir, and that’s completely different ;)

This is the first year of no testing since I was five. No wonder it felt good!

i wasn’t able to get a good photo of this, but it’s the inside of my old cycle helmet. and those two cracks running left and down from the air vent in the centre are not supposed to be there. it’s thanks to my helmet that my head is still in one piece. thank you helmet.

I haven’t been on here a great deal – Twitter is my current social media drug of choice. It’s addictive! (Are any of my 43T friends on Twitter – I’m niltiac on there?).

But I need some advice on how to reduce the number of things I am doing in my life in order to get the important things done. I’m realising that I can do anything, but not necessarily everything or at least not all at once. This blog post expands on my specific conundrums. Please help! http://tinyurl.com/5uowl7

November all ready! Not moving forward with leaps and bounds, but I’m still happy as I am moving forward

Art,music, fun stuff Guitar is going well and keeping busy with crafty projects for Christmas gifts. Went to a festival on the weekend and trying to do fun social things weekly

Finance Seeing financial adviser this week, and going well with my current savings plan. I feel like I’m moving forwards and have much more focus in this area now.

Travel I have the funds to go on another overseas trip next year, but working on the savings plan so I don’t return broke. Still unsure of the details, but at the moment Spain or Wales are my preferred destinations. Yay, it can happen!

Relationships An overseas relative is visiting this week:) Staying in touch with all my loved ones as much as I can, and on another relationship note, very happily single :) I was reminded by a couple of people that crossed my path this year, I much prefer to be alone that with someone who is not quite right for me, or worse still, does not treat me properly

Many wonderful experiences, lessons learned and exciting plans in the making. Life feels good :)

November 2008

No more dwelling and wasting time on October. November already has some exciting things planned and it’s going to be a giant step forward personally, professionally and mentally.

1. Time – 20 Lunch Breaks (16/20) – That’s 15 hours that I give away each month. I will leave my desk every single day. Things to occupy me, Ikea for Picture Frames, Xmas Shopping, Borders, Get on with my book, Read my photo stuff, Magazines, etc etc.

2. Mind – 5 mins meditation every morning (0/30)
- 5 Gratefuls everyday (0/30)

3. Gym x 10 (8/10)(there are five weekends this month!) 4 x Yoga. (2/4)
- On my week off exercise 5 days in a row. (did 4 days as only had two working days off)
- Hair Cut. done

4. Soul – I beg myself to please sort out the whole IPOD thing.

5. Photos – 1 job left to edit! Finish it by 7th November and then I am free for weeks and weeks! finished 8th November
- Send the Cameras for service and get them back asap! done
- Keep an eye out for a workshop announcement – be brave it was announced today but after my initial ‘Nike’ reaction I have decided that now is not the best time, the exchange rate is rubbish and I really need a break. The rush, the 23 hour trip as their are no direct flights there and 17 back I’m just going to be shattered I will do it but this time is not the right one

6. M – We have a theatre trip planned done 13.11.08 and lots of Sundays off together

7. F&F – See the parents, (done 9th November) meet up with SF (not done), meet with S (no but arranged for Dec), Concert with L. (the best!)

8. Travel. – Need to add the passport details to the B flights.
- Book Lille.
- Saturday to Borough.
- Sunday to Spitalfields.
- Week off one day drive to the coast for bracing walks to clear my head. done 22.11.08 – you know it made all the difference!

9. Cooking. 2 new recipes 1. Mango Salsa Chicken (Delia) 2. Rosemary Roast Pots (Jamie)

10. Sell stuff on ebay to raise some pennies. *1st item just sold for £200 not sure yet how much ebay and paypal will take, but not a bad start!

Have a big declutter had a massive clothing cull 14.11.08 and clean

So happy November is here!