Earlier this year I wrote up a few New Years Resolutions for 2015. I have decided to re-visit those resolutions to see how I've done so that I can endeavour to complete everything on the list for a successful year. Let's review....
Learn to say YES.
Everyone always seems to regret not taking risks. In hindsight we see they may have lead to something good. I feel that I need to learn to say yes and be more pro-active. I've lost out to many job opportunities because I forgot to respond to them by just thinking 'Eh, I will keep the window open in my browser and get to it later,' but when later comes, the position has been filled. Like in the film "Yes Man" I want to learn to say yes and grab opportunities when I see them. This could mean going on more nights out or taking up extra shifts or anything that could benefit me somehow.
How have I done with this?
I've tried to be a little bit more spontaneous. I go out more upon invitation, I've tried to pursue opportunities. I could be better though. Now we're in August so I have a few more months to say 'yes' a lot more.
Procrastinate less, do more.
This really follows on from the last one. I probably lost hundreds of hours to procrastination in 2014. All those times I went to sit down and write a novel and ended up on Tumblr or Pinterest or YouTube. I have so many things that I want to achieve and I will only do this if I kick my procrastinating ways. I need to focus on my work this year because I feel that this year could be a big one for me.
Well it's been tough. I work a lot. I mean a LOT. You'll see why when we get to the final point. I've not had much time to do anything so I have procrastinated less and have therefore become so much more organised with my time. I would say I've procrastinated a lot less and have really learned a lot about how to manage myself and to organise my time well.
Write a thing.
I want to write a thing. Any thing. A book thing. A script thing. An anthology thing. Anything. I want it done by the end of 2015.
Again, I have tried. I spectacularly missed out on NaNoWriMo even though I really wanted to take part. I work two jobs full time so there's not much time to write. I am about 27,000 words into a project and I'm hoping to have more time but it is hard when you work as much and as often as I do.
Travel
I want to at least go somewhere outside of England. Just once. I meant to last year but work and personal restraints held me back. Hopefully, this year will be the year...
I haven't left the UK so far this year. I do, however, have plans to make one or two trips later in the year when winter rolls around. I'm hoping to do a mini-break with my family in Berlin and hoping to do a trip with my partner to Italy or France. Again, work has been a priority this year
Make a career change
I have been in my current job for over a year now and I can safely say that, although I've enjoyed some aspects of my time here, it's not the job I was aiming for when I left university. Now it is time to find the job I want, the job I'm qualified to do. This may mean working at my current job as well as a new job and doing both simultaneously. This may be one big career move altogether. I've not decided yet but let's see what the New Year brings...
This is the one I have already succeeded in pretty hard. The job I mentioned in the previous paragraph is one I've been working at for a year and a half now, maybe more, and I am still there. I was up for a promotion there at my old job. A few days before the promotion interview I was offered a job elsewhere. This job offer was a salaried position. Obviously I took the job. I had my own desk, a good salary, won many of the incentives and competitions. However the job wasn't working for me so I resigned. It was scary - I'd never written a letter of resignation before. I was scared but I knew I had to resign. I was working an hour away from where I live and worked long hours - there was no way I was going to ever get enough time to make a job interview closer to home when I worked so far away. I resigned and applied to several jobs. I actually received quite a high level of positive response. Quite a few jobs wanted to arrange an interview or discuss the role further. I landed an interview a day or so after leaving my old office job and, within seven days of my resignation/leaving, I landed a new job. This new job is closer to home so no long commute! The new job is an area of interest to me with excellent career progression and I could not be happier.
Having reviewed everything I think I've done well. I'm on track. I just need a holiday and some time to write and it'll all be grand. Fingers crossed...
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