Monthly Goals: November

It's already November 6th and I can't believe how quickly this month, let alone the year, is speeding by. Last night I watched the local fireworks from the comfort of my living room. And with Bonfire Night comes the one month mark until my birthday! (Get ready for me to blabber on about this all month long, people - I bloody love December. Might have something to do with all my presents for the year coming at once...) And before my birthday I'm always itching to do a little self-improvement. So let's get down to business! As usual, first we'll see how I did on my goals from last month *quakes*. This is just like Parents' Evening all over again...

OCTOBER GOALS

• Apply for 5 jobs per week •

Ok, this one went down the drain as soon as I started my work placements. Penguin and Blue Rubicon were really fun, but I was so swamped that I ended up crawling home exhausted every night, probably more tired than I was during finals. I applied for a couple but nowhere near as many as 5 per week, so I'll be continuing with this goal this month. 

• Read 5 scary novels! •

I seem to be good at ticking off my book-related goals! I read my requisite 5 scary books, and you can see what I thought of them here. I kind of want to read at least one scary novel a month - they're so addictive!

• Continue to learn Spanish •

Again, this one went out of the window. I did fairly well towards the beginning of the month, racking up a 16 or 17 day streak with all my languages on Duolingo, but after I started suffering from the most stubborn cold ever (three weeks, guys - I need sympathy here!) the streak quickly fell by the wayside. I'm not going to let this one slide, though - I want to get my Spanish up to at least a basic level so this one is officially appearing on my goals list for a second month in a row.

• Get rid of things I don't need •

I've begun to clear my wardrobe of the summery things I didn't end up wearing this summer, and my bookcases are next. I have so many that they're spilling off my two floor-to-ceiling bookcases into piles on the floor, so I've started putting the rejects to one side to sell on Amazon or give to charity.

• Build up my stamina •

Another goal, another defenestration...I totally failed at factoring the promised runs into my routine, but I did manage to do a couple of workouts each week, so I think my stamina might have improved, if only by a little! I'm really interested in the nine week Couch to 5k plan though, as recommended by Lisa. This one isn't going to get swept under the rug!

So yes. I was a bit fail this month with my goals. I'll chalk it up to my lack of a regular schedule, running around town at two different work placements as well as starting a part-time job. Hopefully as soon as I have a stable routine I can put these goals into action! I'm going to cut myself a little slack this month and go for four instead of five: here's what I'd like to accomplish this month.

NOVEMBER GOALS

• Establish a regular blogging routine •

I didn't post as much as I wanted to in October and have ended up with a backlog of seven posts that really should have gone out last month (drat). I'm going to try posting three or four times a week to see if a Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday or a Monday/Wednesday/Friday/Sunday schedule works best with my lifestyle.

• Teach myself how to use the manual setting on my Canon •

I'll come clean here: I completely suck at using manual. I'm lazy and usually just flip the settings to automatic or no flash. This month I'm going to look up YouTube and online tutorials to try and finally sort out how to use manual. If anyone knows any good tutorials, please link me to them - I'm so useless at using my camera properly!

• Try out 3 new things •

This one's a bit vague, I know. It's kind of a get-out-of-jail-free card for this month's goals, and might mean trying out a new restaurant or bar, attempting a brand new recipe or even learning a short new piano piece. I'll report back next month, hopefully feeling that I've mixed up my routine and been a bit daring in the interim!

• Persevere with Spanish •

I'm going to get back into Duolingo and continue to learn español! I really love languages and would love to add Spanish to my list. I found the vocab fairly easy to learn last month because of my Italian and French, but haven't quite got to grips with the grammar yet. Maybe one day I'll be as good as Beth and Sam...

What do you want to tick off your to-do list this November?

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Monthly Goals: October

It's October, and our Indian summer has abruptly been replaced by torrential rain, a chill in the air and cold, bright light with little warmth. Autumn's finally here, and with it, a new host of goals to set myself this month. 

But first, let's look at how I did on my goals for last month:

SEPTEMBER GOALS

• Cook 5 new dishes - Done...kind of? •

Off the top of my head, I think I cooked four dishes I'd never attempted before - an easy tomato and beef pasta bake, roast poussins, crab and fennel pasta and a spicy vegetable stir fry. Five, if you count the chocolate and pecan cookies I posted about - though I'm not sure they quite count as a meal in themselves ;) 

• Continue to pursue my love of learning - Done! •

This was great! I went to a talk on apps building and website design (and while I didn't learn loads about the process, it was interesting to learn about the career trajectories of the speakers). I've also been beavering away at my Duolingo, revising my rusty French, Italian and German, and getting my Spanish up to level six. 

• Get serious about yoga - Done! •

I think I'm getting better at yoga, slowly but surely. I've been practising a Vinyasa flow a few times a week, helping me to ease into the mornings and wind down in the evenings, and hopefully it's bringing me some inner calm as well as balance. I haven't managed to get my hands on a yoga mat yet, but once I've saved a bit of money I'll buy one!

• Spend more time with my friends - Done! •

I spent a lot more time reconnecting with old friends this month. I enjoyed some amazing homemade treats and excellent champagne with a couple of my Cambridge friends at a housewarming party. I fell in love with Broadway Market accompanied by Jess. I saw Inez for some good old-fashioned Ghibli watching (Totoro!) and some calligraphy. And I had a good old catch-up with four friends from school. It was so lovely to see everyone and spend time with people who I have so much in common with - and made me realise that regularly seeing people other than my family and boyfriend isn't as scary as I made myself believe.

I think I was fairly good with my goals this month, and hope to continue with all of them even though September has come to an end, especially the spending time with friends, practising yoga and continuing to learn. Now let's have a look at what I've got planned for this October!

OCTOBER GOALS

• Apply for 5 jobs per week •

The job search continues, and this month I've got four weeks of work experience scheduled at various places. I'm usually exhausted when I come back after a day at my placement and liable to want to lie down with a book or my laptop, so I want to set myself the goal of five applications per week to ensure that my job hunt keeps on ticking away and I don't let October slip away from me.

• Read 5 scary novels! •

To gear myself up for Halloween this month I want to read five scary books! I'll be reading at least one Stephen King novel as well as The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes, and have yet to decide on the other three. If anyone has any recommendations for any horror, thriller or true crime novels, please let me know and I'll add it to my list :)

• Continue to learn Spanish •

I'm really enjoying learning español on Duolingo and am currently on a 13-day streak. This month I aim to continue that streak and practice and learn new grammar and vocab every day for the rest of the month. 

• Get rid of things I don't need •

It's a new season, so this month I'll be clearing my wardrobe of summer clothes I didn't wear this year, as well as throwing out battered shoes and anything else that's cluttering my room, including the unpacked boxes that have been floating around my room since I moved back from uni in June. 

• Build up my stamina •

I have the worst stamina in the world. I'm also prone to hyperbole. I probably have the worst stamina in my house, anyway - when I run down the street (to catch a train, usually!) I'm usually left red in the face and panting like an overexcited puppy. I'd like to change that this month by factoring some short runs into my routine. Slow and steady...

What have you challenged yourself to do this month?

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Monthly Goals: September

Time flies horrifyingly quickly, doesn't it? The hour to update you on my monthly goals is nigh, and I've got that lurching feeling in my stomach as I confront last month's list, similar to how I felt walking into school for parents' evening. Here's how I did on my August goals...

AUGUST GOALS

• Do at least one 10-minute workout every day •

Ok, this fell by the wayside a bit. In Turkey I swam every day and squeezed half-hour workouts in where possible, but on returning home exercise became a bit more sporadic. I reckon once I've started a permanent job I'll be more used to incorporating short workouts into my everyday routine, and might join a gym or buy some proper running gear once I've got the funds to do so. 

• Improve my driving skills - start studying for my theory test •

Money's been a bit of an issue this month - the glamour of being unemployed after uni! - so I had to drop this one as soon as my 10 lessons (bought as a birthday present) dried up. Luckily there's no great rush for me to drive, so for the next little while I'll content myself with saving up for my next installment of lessons and looking over the theory DVD I bought from DVLA.

• Focus on the job hunt - Done! •

Last month I said I'd try applying for as many jobs as possible to see how many would be realistic per week, a figure that's ended up at about 3 or 4. It's quite a daunting process, but I've had some good work experience this month which has given me the confidence to apply for some roles I wouldn't have plucked up the courage to approach before. This one will continue on the sidelines until I'm an employed woman!

• Read five books - Done! •

I'm happy to say I did this one easily (though it was more a present to myself rather than an actual goal)! I read I Am Pilgrim, Red Rising, Life After Life and Eeny Meeny while in Turkey, then went on to read Brick Lane, Seven Ages of Paris, The Maze Runner, J'Aime London, The Secret Place, The Garden of Evening Mists, Smiler's Fair and The Plague. That's twelve books this month, which I'm happy with.

So I went a bit wonky this month and overachieved on the books, just about ticked off the focus on the job hunt after spending a few weeks at Random House, but was pretty rubbish at exercising and driving. A new month is here, though, and I want to make this one count. Let's see what's on the cards for September.

SEPTEMBER GOALS

•Cook 5 new dishes•

This is high on my list of priorities this month, especially since I'm living at home. Of special interest this month is expanding my savoury dishes repertoire, and writing more recipe posts. 

• Continue to pursue my love of learning •

I don't want to stop my learning with graduation, but rather keep learning every day I possibly can. I studied a load of languages (dead and alive) at school and uni, but somehow Spanish wasn't one of them, so I'm going to start learning this on Duolingo this month! I'd also like to learn some basic coding, and will be attending a couple of digital tutorial lectures this month. Anything that counts towards my 'education' in the school of life is valid this month! 

• Get serious about yoga •

This really helped me during finals, when I did at least one yoga workout a day to keep me calm and centred. This month I've been hugely inspired by Freya's #yogaeverydamnday challenge on Instagram. I'd like to buy a yoga mat and practice yoga at least three times a week. We're going to break this exercise malarkey down until I fall in love with it.

• Spend more time with my friends •

To be frank, I've been really terrible at hanging out with my friends this summer and in the last year in general, thanks to being consumed by job hunting, finals and being that girl who spends most of her time with her boyfriend. (I'm sorry!) I'm so happy that we're all living in London now, and really want to spend more regular quality time with them. 

What's on your list of things to tick off this September?

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Monthly Goals: August

We're already four days into August! What on earth happened to the last eight months? It feels like just yesterday that I was squeezing through the crowd on the Embankment, craning my head to see the New Year fireworks. This month I've decided to take a leaf out of Bee's book with her very inspiring Goals series. July was wonderful, but in my new unemployed graduate state, I've decided that it definitely can't hurt to structure my time a little more. Here's a few things I want to prioritise this month.

•Do at least one 10-minute workout every day•

I used to cycle every day at Cambridge, but ever since moving home (and leading a far more sedentary lifestyle), I've been noticing the weight creeping on. I really need to sort this out and get my fitness levels back to where they used to be! I think the FitSugar 10-minute workout videos are great- once I've convinced myself to do one, I often end up doing at least two or three. Yep, I'm just lazy.

•Improve my driving skills - start studying for my theory test•

I've finally started learning to drive and now I need to up my game in terms of theory, so I can understand what my instructor's talking about every time I'm allowed behind the wheel!

•Focus on the job hunt•

It's only been a month since I started the internship/job hunt, but I've been finding it difficult sometimes to remain confident. This month I want to keep my head up and apply for as many jobs as I can, aiming for at least five quality applications a week. We'll see if that's optimistic by next month...

•Read five books•

I've read two already here in Turkey (I Am Pilgrim and Red Rising), but I want to knock a few more off my giant TBR pile at home! I'd particularly like to read one book that I deem a classic. 

I'll report back on how I've been doing at the beginning of September (eek!) What's on your agenda for August? I'd love to hear what goals you're hoping to accomplish this month!

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