The year ahead

If you remember, in my previous post I mentioned that on 1 January I wrote an uplifting post that was all about great things that I would do in 2011.

So I looked back at that goal-achieving post and this is what I had written then:

"This time of the year a famous quote by F.M. Knowles comes to mind. "He who breaks a resolution is a weakling. He who makes one is a fool." We've all been here, making promises to ourselves that definitely this year we will lose weight, or start going to the gym, stop smoking, cutting up the credit card, etc. And it never happens. So for a few years I made no plans, I let the things unravel on their own accord, but that doesn't seem to work for me either, as I feel I've been left with far too many loose ends and unfinished projects.

So 2011 is going to be the year of goals, commitment and discipline. I got this idea from Julie Isaac (she is a creativity coach) who says that

"Without commitment discipline is impossible,
With commitment, discipline is inevitable."

So this year I commit to doing this: 

  Home Renovations

1. Finish all projects from the 'unfinished projects' list before starting a new one.  Here are a few projects that are on this list: a pantry door (pantry is door-less since 2009), water fountain (a beautiful vessel waiting since last year), veggie garden (bare patch of land just hurts my eyes), install a clothes line (old and rusty Hills Hoist was removed in 2005!)
2. Renovate the laundry. Only after the 'unfinished projects' list gets ticked off.  

Writing

1. Write every day for half an hour. Just like exercise, no excuses. It will be in the evenings after Bella's in bed and hubby is happily nestled in front of the TV. I think this is achievable and may suppress this crazy urge linked to goal number 2.
2. Gather all loose bits of my novel. I write a lot but I write everywhere (whilst commuting to work, shopping, etc) and on anything (backs of old envelopes, my work computer, my laptop, post-it-notes, notebooks). I get an idea and have to write it down right there and then, but later have no idea what had happened to that. So this year I will gather all that and transcribe it all into my laptop. 
3. Join a writing group
4. Start a new blog about books and writing. (Stop press: new blog is up an running, see here).

Home life (family. me)

1. Organise a family holiday. This doesn't come easy to us. We tend to sacrifice our holidays for home projects. In 2009 we decided to install photovoltaic panels (aka solar panels), in 2010 I had to dash back to see my family (yes they are in Europe, but that certainly wasn't a holiday). So as we speak I'm making plans for a holiday in Sydney and Gold Coast in September. This will be our first family holiday since Bella was born 5 years ago!
2. Complete my post-grad studies. I only have one unit to go, and I've been postponing it, rescheduling, changing it around. Again, I sense the end and lose the interest. But I am committed to put this baby to rest in 2011.
3. Get Bella through her first year of full time school. This is mostly about getting her earlier to bed. She's stopped having daytime naps and that has helped.
4. Organise the study. This room has been a dumping ground during our renovations, but very slowly this room is once again starting to resemble a study that it once was. A few days ago I culled a lot of paperwork (old bills, bank statements, even my payslips from 1998!) and the room (and I)already feels better organised. 

There. I apologise for the long post. I will leave you with a sneak peak of our living room reno. I will do a separate post once it is all done. 

Maja xxx



before



during (hubby did it all himself)