Revising your 2020 goals

I made the decision to change into a new bullet journal for the rest of 2020. I’ve been using my current one (a Leuchtturm1917) since September last year, and I knew I couldn’t fit the rest of 2020 between it’s pages. Plus my hands had been itching to start the new one (Archer & Olive North Star, very pretty bluish cover). I was in the process of planning out the page order for the new bujo, figuring out which spreads go where, when I realized I hadn’t looked at – and I mean really looked at – my 2020 goals page for possibly the entire spring.

Now, reading through my list of 10 goals, my heart sank. I hadn’t reached any of my goals, and, I knew all but one would stay so for the rest of the year as well. I wondered why I hadn’t and why I wouldn’t reach those goals. I realized my goals didn’t feel right, they felt more of a burden than something to strive for. The important question I asked myself: is it okay to change the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year?

My top-3 reads of 2019

Books have always been one of my best companions. I enjoy being immersed into stories, and even escaping reality. Some of my fondest childhood memories include my parents reading books to me and my siblings. One of my living room walls is dedicated for a big shelving unit overflowing books I own.

I try to make sure I spend time reading by setting a realistic reading goal for each year. For 2020 my goal is the same 25 books I’ve had as my goal for the past few years, though I added a sub-goal of reading one in French and one in Swedish to keep up my language skills. Here are the top-3 books I most enjoyed reading in 2019.

Decluttering home and mind

Hands up if you’ve seen Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix, and been pulled in into the recent decluttering fever that has taken over the whole world? Yeah, me too.

Now, I have never read Marie Kondo’s books, nor have I tried the KonMari -method. And I actually started my first full-apartment declutter way before watching even one episode of Tidying Up. Had I heard of KonMari when I started? Yes. Did I believe in it? No. I did not do my decluttering the KonMari way. And I still don’t think it’s totally for me. But going on this declutter journey has taught me much, and after having learned a little more of the KonMari method I do believe the method has a lot to teach every one of us. Even if you don’t fully agree with it.

Achieving my goals: Event photography training

You might remember from my post Setting goals for 2019, that one of my goals for this year was to learn photography. Up till now, I’ve just been taking pictures mainly for my own joy, pointing the camera at something and really just hoping for the best. So now I really want to actually know and understand something about what I’m doing. Which is why, when the opportunity came, that I signed up for a short event photography course organized by the Finnish scouting organization.

The training itself was organized over one weekend at a scouting event in Tornio, right by the Finland-Sweden border. The location was great for me, only an hour by train, plus a 20-minute bus ride to get there. And the event itself provided us with a chance to practice in action. Learning by doing is the scouting way.

Setting goals for 2019

The change of the year passed, but you forgot to make your resolutions or set your goals for the new year? You’ll be glad to hear that it’s still not too late to do. Although making resolutions or setting goals is easier when something begins, such as at the start of a new year, every new day is the first day of the rest of your life, and so, any day is perfect for setting goals.

In the past years I’ve tried making resolutions and setting goals. I never kept to them. In my naivety I was sure that if I set a goal, that decision would be enough to make it happen. Wrong. To actually achieve a goal, you need not only set it, but make sure you work towards it regularly. And so, when I started setting my goals for 2019, my main thought was that I need to make my goals achievable. Something I can realistically make happen. And if needed, I can achieve for something more in those areas after I’ve first met my current goals. Another thought I had was, to make my goals look like me. Meaning, my goals need to reflect me and my dreams and needs, not anyone else’s. That way I am more likely to achieve them – goals for me motivate me.