Happy 2018 everyone!  Just typing that feels weird – like I’d only just come round to 2017 after the train wreck that was 2016 and suddenly it’s already 2018?!

Since it’s the New Year, it’s time to reflect back on the year just gone and to look forward to the future.  Making goals is the first step to getting where you want to go!

Let’s see how well I did last month.

December 2017

Personal Goals

Be able to do 30 push-ups by the end of the month

I can do 20 good push-ups but I run out of steam…  I haven’t worked on this as much as I should have, but I still have a week before I need to get my fitness back for karate!  I think the best way for me to do that is to develop a habit of doing push-ups.

Declutter my desk and paperwork

If anything, as the month went on, my desk got more and more cluttered!  I just didn’t realise how much stuff I have to do so I just leave it to do later and everything slowly piles up…  I keep clearing it intermittently but then stuff builds up again.

Write more!

I certainly did this – I had so much to write!  I have scheduled a lot for the weeks when I am away at uni because I will not have time to write well.  You have great things to look forward to!

Uni Goals

Apply for summer internships

Done – a lot of them had deadlines in December but quite a few are only just opening up in January!  Unfortunately, I have had a few rejections but that is to be expected – as a first year, my application isn’t as attractive as a second- or third-year’s.  It is excellent practice for my future applications as well!

Practice psychometric tests

I actually found these really difficult to do at the start – I found myself quite rusty on anything that wasn’t matrices or calculus because I haven’t done very much simple maths recently!  I managed to get the hang of the wording of the percentage questions so they got better, but we’ll see if I’ve improved enough…

If you want a list of resources for psychometric tests, let me know!

Do revision of this term’s work

This isn’t going as well as I’d originally planned – but I am doing ok!  I need to practice more past papers, but it’s difficult to know which questions I should be able to do and which ones I haven’t learnt about yet.  I have made a start on the holiday work, but I should be able to finish everything in time for when term starts.

Relationship Goals

Help my brother out

I have been available for him as much as I can, even when I’m not in the mood.  Sometimes I don’t think he realises that I am happy to help him so I will let him know!

Meet up with school friends

Met up with my friend Jaz (who also happens to have a blog!) to go to a Hogwarts Curriculum lecture on Alchemy as part of the Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibition at the British Library.

 

It was a lot of fun and has inspired me to write something, which may or may not happen depending on how inspired I stay and how much time I have!

Help out my mum and spend more time with her

I have made an effort to go down before every mealtime so that we can cook together, and it has been really fun!  I really should have helped out more often when I was at school, I could always make time for YouTube so I should have been able to make time for family.

Bonus!  2018 Goals (i.e. my New Year’s Resolutions)

For 2018, I’m going to try and break down my goals into 4-month periods.  It will hopefully get me to focus on only a few things instead of being tempted in a million directions!

Personal Goals

• Try out a paper strategy for staying organised instead of relying on my phone (as much as I love Google calendar)
• Pass my driving test
• Develop good morning and night habits/routines

Uni/Professional Goals

• Do well in Collections
• Keep on top of work
• Be selected for an internship over summer (a little bit out of my control but I’ll do what I can)

Relationship Goals

• Get close to my friends at uni
• Be more forgiving
• Be more vulnerable

Now that I have goals for the next 4 months, I can certainly break them down into monthly goals!  Choosing goals and narrowing down your focus is really important if you’re serious about achieving them.

January

Personal Goals

• Create a paper system with my planner and calendar and stick to it
• Clean up my desk at 10pm for 15 minutes before I go to bed every night
• Stick to my morning routine (post on this later perhaps?)

Uni/Professional Goals

• Finish holiday homework
• Finish making notes on last term’s work
• Practice past papers

Relationship Goals

• Spend more time with mum and my brother
• Open up more about my hopes, fears, aspirations
• Be more considerate and forgiving of other people

What are your goals for 2018?  What are you going to do this month to achieve them?  Let me know in the comments below!