Happy New Year

I must be getting old because I cannot believe a year has passed since it was last New Year.  How have twelve months happened without me noticing?  Is this just an age thing do you think?

I have set myself some personal goals this year, some I will be sharing over on Special Needs Jungle in the next few days as they are related to life in the world of Special Educational Needs but others are more general and I want to share them with you.

1.  Be more organised!

I have bought into the Bullet Journal concept of getting organised.  If you haven’t already looked into that, then pop over to the video and I promise you will be bullet journalling before the day is over.  I have tried using this in a notebook and in a Midori Travellers Notebook but I have reverted back to my ever faithful A5 Filofax.  It just works for me.

I have a section now for my to-do list (Bullet Journal) but I have added a diary (for forward planning which sadly isn’t something that the Bullet Journal concept incorporates well) and I have also added in a collection (see the Bullet Journal video) called “Ideas”.  These are all the things I want to do at some point but know that time is against me at the moment.

I am also using Evernote to it’s full potential.  I love Evernote, it’s a great way to keep links, notes, websites, pdfs, photos etc filed in one place and easy to find.  Think of it as an online filing cabinet.  You have folders (notebooks) and tags (dividers).  I love this, especially as a way of keeping track of expenses and income.

I have also been writing about organising paperwork over on Bringing Us Together – as a mum of three children with a variety of special educational needs, paperwork is not my friend.  Along with all the usual junk mail, we get school appointments, reports and reviews; health appointments, reports and reviews; care appointments, reports and reviews so I decided it was time to blitz and get organised.  You can read about it over on Bringing Us Together.

2.  More family time

I spend so much time focussing on all my projects that I am sometimes exhausted and not ready to face the chaos that taking three children with special needs out.  This is made easier by the fact that two of my children would rather stay home all day when not in school but this won’t help them in the long term so this year we are heading out!  I won’t be looking at my friend’s Facebook or Instagram accounts and feeling envious of their trips out, I will be posting my own photos.

3.  Move more, Eat well

Oh yes, the time has come to stop using my fitbit strap as a bracelet and actually start moving!  I have lots of excuses – I don’t walk to school each day as my children all go to school via transport, I work from home so don’t walk to an office; I don’t have a lift to avoid in the work place, I can’t get off my bus a stop earlier, etc, etc.  Yes, we all have these excuses but that is all they are.  So this year, I am going to move more.  I have lots of reasons I can do this – I work from home so can fit a walk in whenever I want to, I have a dog who loves going for walks, I have three floors to my home so plenty of stairs and I also have a house full of gym equipment (exercise bike, rowing machine, Wii Fit, kettle bells, rebounders, pilates machine (£200 worth of equipment collecting dust behind my sofa), hand weights and trampoline.  So I have no reasons to not move more, just lots of poor excuses.

4.  Grow Chaos in Kent

I spend time writing posts for many other sites and love it but this means I rarely get to write on here.  I am determined this year to get this blog more active.  Many of my friends are not in the Special Needs Jungle so I am hoping they sign up to this blog and follow the chaotic ramblings of a slightly neurotic, fun mum here.

I am adding this goal to my bullet journal as an action point but any tips other bloggers have would be hugely appreciated.

One of the ways I want to grow the blog is by offering more downloads.  I produce different things all the time to make my life easier at home but never think to share them.  They may not be the prettiest or best designed – see goal number 5 – but they serve a purpose and work well.

5.  Learn more about design

I see so many people with amazing images, downloads and blogs and I have a real envy of their skill.  However, I know it has taken them time to learn how to do this and with everyone so keen to share their tips on Pinterest, I am on the case.  I am determined that the one new skill I will gain this year is the ability to produce great Pin worthy images.  I will share as we go along, so don’t forget to sign up to my blog to keep posted.

Dates to remember – free download

I don’t know about you but I get so frustrated when I turn over the calendar each month and realise I have a birthday on the 1st or 2nd that I have missed.  I came up with a solution for me and wanted to share it with you.

I produced an easy to download and print A4 poster called “Dates to remember” with every month of the year.  This can be used year after year and you will never miss a birthday or anniversary again (well in theory anyway).

Just click on the image to get your free download.

What about you?

What goals have you set this year?  When it is January 2016, what do you want to be able to look back and say “I did that”?

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