2017 Goals

First of all, Happy New Year to you and your family!

How is it 2017 already? I know we’re all saying this but really, what happened to 2016? I spent 9 of those months growing a little human and 2 of them trying to figure out how to look after her and then the year was suddenly over.

I know we all make these grand statements at the start of the year about how we’re going to give this up or start doing this, lose so much weight we get scouted for Victoria Secret, start a new job or whatever it is that we tell ourselves we want to achieve in the coming 12 months. So why should 2017 be any different? I’ve decided that rather than set myself resolutions I know I won’t fulfil I’ll just give myself some goals, things I would like to work on this year and I thought I would share them with you.

Find some balance

I don’t mean this is a yoga headstand kind of way, I can’t do headstands. I mean this in relation to my time, since being a mum everything is about our baby, she takes priority over everything and this is exactly the way it should be but it is also important to find some time for myself. So that’s my goal, find a little bit of time for me; for a hot shower, to watch a movie, to put my make up on properly. We all need to remember to keep a bit of ourselves when the baby takes so much.

Follow the rota

We have started making meal plans, knowing what we’re eating for dinner that night helps me prepare in advance so that when Amelia goes to bed I can get cracking with a proper home cooked meal. Additionally to the food rota I want to create a housework rota for myself. It’s so easy for the house to fall apart around you when you have a new baby but by setting myself one room or task each day I should be able to keep on top of the house and not end up with a huge amount of housework to do when I should be playing and spending time with Amelia.

Get my weight loss and exercise mojo back

Now I am the first to admit that I have absolutely zero will power or motivation when it comes to exercise, I never have. I’ve successfully lost weight in the past following slimming world but I threw myself from that band wagon whilst pregnant and I haven’t flagged it down again yet. I had originally set myself a goal of getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight by Christmas, that hasn’t happened but I have lost a total of 23lbs so far which is a good start.

I’ve worked out the pounds I need to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight – 18lbs! So I’m over half way, I just need to give myself a new year kick up the butt to get things moving again. I’m going to make a conscious effort to walk everywhere I can as pushing the pram is great exercise, it’s amazing how heavy those things are and you sure notice slight inclines you never knew where there on paths you have walked for years.

So there it is in black and white, 71lbs needed to get to my original Slimming World target that I set myself before falling pregnant. I’m not going lie, that is a terrifying number so in order to make it achievable I’m going to have to break it down into smaller chunks. Starting with the last 18lbs of baby weight gain.

Focus on my blog

I’m still new to the blogging game but I am loving it, there’s something so therapeutic about putting my thoughts and experiences out there to keep a record for myself but also to help other people. This year I really want to give it my all, I want to write more often about more things. I don’t want to just be one of those mum bloggers who documents every sneeze their baby makes, I know that is boring to everyone else. I want to start writing about more topics and posting more often. Don’t hold me to this though, it might take a bit of time to get into the swing of things as Amelia takes up a lot of time but now that she is going to bed at a reasonable hour I should have more time for writing.

I’m so inspired by other blogs that I read and I try to take inspiration from their style and content, so many great bloggers are even earning a living (or at least a supplement) from their writing and this would be an absolute dream and definitely something I will be working towards this year.

Make more mummy friends

Since becoming a new mum and being at home on maternity leave I’ve been loving all the mummy friends you make on Instagram. Ladies who were all expecting babies around the same time and now we’ve had them we are learning from each other, inspiring each other and supporting each other. Someone is always up at 3am when you are, you can guarantee that whatever you’re experiencing someone has been there before and it’s been wonderful to have that support network. This year I would love to find more mummy friends, bond and chat with new people, find mummies who live near me and meet up for play dates. Help my little girl to meet new babies and make friends as she starts to play and learn. The more friends we have the better, right!

Grow my confidence with videos

It’s an area of the social media game I have never felt comfortable with, I don’t really know why. Maybe it’s because I don’t like the sound of my voice on video or that I don’t think I have anything interesting to talk about but really I think it’s just because I’ve never done it before. It’s new and therefore it’s scary but Instagram is encouraging more and more videos with its Insta-stories and what not. So, I’m going to give this whole vlogging thing a try. I’ve bought myself a small handheld tripod to attach to my phone so that I can stand it on a table and it also makes it easier to hold the phone whilst talking. I’m certain I’m going to look like a right plonker walking down the street talking to my phone but we’re all doing it right?

The tripod is by Manfrotto and is designed for use with a digital camera, it has a screw on top that is designed to attach to the bottom of a camera but when used with the Joby Grip Tight Mount it allows you to attach your phone much like you would with a selfie stick. The legs of the Manfrotto open making it a small tripod stand and the red button can be pressed in to tilt the angle of the ball at the top so that you can get the best direction for your phone or camera.

As part of this goal I’m also going to work on my photography skills, I only have my iphone camera but they’re such good quality I feel that it is all you really need. I want to learn to take beautiful artistic pictures, of our baby as she grows, of friend and family, random things around me that might seem like nothing but actually make a beautiful photo. Flatlays, I would like to conquer flatlays! Who knew that photographing a much of items all lying still on a flat surface could be so difficult! If you don’t know what flatlays are, they even have their own Instagram account, check it out here.

So there you have it, that’s quite a few goals isn’t it! Might have just been easier to say “I’m going to lose weight this year” and then continue with the same bad habits like everyone else. I’m really going to try with these though, they’re all important to me and I want to succeed in all of them as best I can whilst also learning to be the best mummy to Amelia that I can be.

What are your 2017 goals? Leave a comment below and share your dreams for this new year.

Rachel xx