Hey guys! I’m back from my unannounced break! Sorry about that, I did announce it on my Instagram but didn’t say it on here or on my Youtube. Originally I was going to take a break between Christmas and New Year but pre-film and write to still have posts go up during that period. Since I got COVID-19 I was too tired to work ahead so I had to work during that week. I was just going to muscle my way through going back to work and making content but when Ontario announced another lockdown I knew I needed a break. I’m back now, but I think in the future I need to be better at planning and announcing my breaks. Something to add to the goal list.
Speaking of goals, the past couple of years I’ve shared my goals with you guys so I thought I would continue the tradition. I like to call them goals versus resolutions because these are things I’m planning to work on all year instead of an immediate change. Some of my goals directly impact my blog and Youtube and others are just about my life, but I like sharing them as an accountability thing but also to give you guys inspiration for your goals. Let’s get into it.
1. Pick a new healthy habit each month
In 2021, I had a goal to do some form of movement five times a week. This could include going to the gym, going to yoga or even walking my dog. And I have to say I did a pretty good job of accomplishing that! There were some weeks here and there but I would say I exercised pretty consistently, even during lockdowns, so I felt satisfied enough that it’s now a habit and doesn’t need to be a goal.
I want to continue improving my health but couldn’t figure out one area that I thought deserved my attention the whole year. So that’s why I came up with the idea of picking one healthy habit each month to focus on. If I’m successful, hopefully I gain 12 new healthy habits by the end of the year. For January, I’m trying to up my water intake since it’s pretty poor right now. The goal is a litre a day, which might not be a lot for some but it’s way more than I was drinking before. If I’m successful I’ll pick a new habit, if not I’ll carry it over to February.
2. Read 20 pages a day & 20 books this year
I was pretty ambitious last year with a goal of 50 books. Maybe if I was unemployed all year I could have hit that goal. But as soon as I got a job (which I am very thankful for and rather have than read more books), my reading rate when down. I ended the year with 36 books. So taking into consideration the rate I read while working, my goal for this year is 20 books.
Along with that goal, I want to read 20 pages each day. One of the things that affected my reading rate was that some nights I was too tired (or spent too much time on TikTok) and didn’t get the chance to read anything that day. By reading at least 20 pages a day, I’ll read around 600! I often find that once I get into the rhythm I often read more than the 20 which will just help me read more books!
3. Track my expenses
A big goal in 2021 for me was to get a job and have some money coming in. Once I accomplished that goal, I decided that I needed to be smart about my money and not spend it all at once. I created a budget for myself and was trying to take my expenses.
Like many people, I found that budget went out the window come the holiday season. I want to get back into the tracking and saving mode I had created last year. I don’t currently have any savings goals, but that might be something I add later in the year.
4. Do one big self-care moment a month
I got this idea for Sierra Schultzzie. She’s a new mom and one thing she’s doing is once a month she leaves the house and does something special for herself such as get her nails done, get her hair done or go to the spa. I’m not a new mom, but the idea of treating oneself to a big thing each month sounds pretty good to me.
I have a bad habit of spending on frivolous things in the name of self-care, such as getting a Starbucks drink or buying a new shirt. But I think it would be smarter to channel that money into one big thing that is more of an experience. I’m not going to remember when I bought a new eyeliner but I will remember when I treated myself to a spa day. I haven’t decided what I’ll be doing this month since I’m not sure what’s open with the lockdown restrictions but I am very excited to do something for myself.
5. Increase my income from my blog
If you guys are unaware, I do currently have it set up that I get some money from the ads on my blog. At this point it’s a pretty small amount – I make a few pennies each day – but I want to continue increasing that amount to where I can finally get paid out and earn some money from my blog.
I also want to start doing some sponsorships and partnerships as another way to increase my income from my blog. This is a goal that I’ll probably be working on later in the year, but I want to push myself to start pitching myself to brands instead of waiting around for opportunities to come to me. I have some specific goals and objectives around this, but I want to keep those to myself for now.
6. Increase my social followings
And finally, I want to increase my social followings. Obviously, numbers aren’t everything and it’s not something I follow on the day-to-day level. But I do like to track my followers month-to-month and also see how much I’ve grown over a year.
Instagram is where I’m currently struggling the most. My growth has really stagnated and I’m really unsure what direction I want to take my page on that app. I do have a goal but it’ll take some serious work to reach it. My TikTok page really grew last year but unfortunately also stalled because in the fall I really dropped off posting as much because I just wasn’t reading as much! I want to try and diversify my TikTok to help me have more content to continue to grow. Finally, for my Youtube, I think I did pretty well last year. I have two videos that got over 1000 views, and my overall average is going up. I think just being consistent with my Youtube channel will hopefully have the best impact.
And those are my goals for 2022 guys! I would love to know what some of your goals are for this year. And if you have any advice for me I’d be happy to hear it!
xoxo
Lea
Leave it to Lea 