This is a summary of all my monthly goals posts throughout 2016 and how I did on meeting those goals. Rereading all those posts definitely has made me realize I need a more step-by-step approach to my goals for 2017 to actually get myself to make more progress. But, I did do pretty well on a few of them!
Capsule wardrobe, which never really happened but I am so much happier with having less than half the clothes I did at this time last year. I still notice that half the stuff in my drawers is stuff I never ever wear so I think I’ll try to have a little clean out once a month to keep everything in check for 2017.
Read 10 books, which I think I did! I ended up reading quite a few during summer and about 4 since September so I think I actually surpassed that goal. Reading is so calming for me and I love expanding my vocabulary and opening my mind to new ideas through reading.
Clean out unused items. I actually kicked butt on this one. I’ve sold/ thrown out/ given away a ton of my unused makeup this year, my wardrobe is significantly smaller, and I’ve thrown out tons of old magazines. I also gave a bunch of books I knew I wouldn’t reread away and things like that to clean up, although I do have a long, long way to go yet.
Blog consistently, which I think I pretty much succeeded at. Forgive my week off here and there and my slight slacking on the schedule which I promise I’ll try to fix next year but overall there weren’t any months that I just didn’t post. I’m pretty proud of myself going in to my 4th year blogging.
Stay off my phone. I’m looking at my Moment analytics right now and I can tell that it’s getting a little better lately and overall this year was so much better than 2015. I’m moving in the right direction but there’s always room to grow.
Talk more, and I’m so happy that I have finally started to crack my shell a little bit. I went from being insanely anxious about social stuff in August to now sitting here wondering when the next time I can be with a big group is going to be. I’ve started talking to so many new people and I’m in general a lot less shy in groups and in 1-on-1 interactions. My friends are so patient with me and make me feel so comfortable that I have been able to start speaking up more and I’m really proud of myself on this one.
Relax more. Considering “de-stress” is the 2017 motto for me, I’d say I didn’t do all too well on this one but there were periods when I was super relaxed and not stressed. On the other hand, there were a ton of times when I was so so stressed and it was terrible. I’m learning how best to deal with my stress and I’m looking forward to bringing those things into next year to hopefully have a relatively stress free year. I’ll make sure to write a post or two on how I deal with stress
Procrastinate less. Like my stress levels, this was all over the place. August was just my month in terms of productivity. I earned two college level certificates, I wrote 5 posts a week on the blog, I did tons of Twitter Chats, and I had a social life. But then we get to yesterday which was really bad for productivity. I’m still learning how I become productive like what areas of my house are most productive, if I like music on or not, if I like to snack while I work. Things like that are still under observation at the moment.
Use what I have, I’ve used a lot of what I already have this year especially with makeup. I’ve blown through so many things that I wanted to and I’m finally getting in the habit of using what I have before buying more. This one gets a big thumbs up.
Invest in skin care, and boy did I ever. This year was great for skin care for me, with lots of new things that I love and work really well for my skin. I’ve got my Foreo, some wonderful moisturizers, I’ve finally started using eye cream, the gang’s all here and it’s lookin’ good.
Eat healthily, this I did pretty well with. I kind of lost my sweet tooth a bit and I’ve redefined “Weekend Breakfast” to be steel-cut oats and fruit instead of pancakes and bacon. My family kind of teases me for my lack of candy-eating and things like that but I just don’t really want to eat pure sugar anymore. I’ve definitely starting thinking a lot more about what I put into my body.
Learn new things, and I actually did do this! I got a certificate in psychology from the University of Queensland online over the summer and I really found a new interest in psychology through that. I’m of course still working on my computer science stuff but that has been pushed a bit to the side as I focus on school and the blog.
Minimalism is a wonderful concept that I was so intrigued by this year. This fostered so many positive changes in my life from working to live with less to trying to enjoy what I have more. Minimalism is truly amazing and I hope to take it further next year. If you’re struggling with being overwhelmed by everything or anything like that, try minimalism out.
Wear less makeup, and I think this was probably my biggest success of this year. I’ve really started to wear so much less makeup and start to embrace my natural looks more. This all started with that No Makeup Challenge I did and it really changed my whole year. My makeup routine is completely different now than it was in April and I really am happy with the more natural look I’ve been choosing.
So those are my successes and failures of 2016, tune in soon for my new goals for 2017. I think it’s important to reflect on both the good things and the not-so-good things to learn from the not-so-good things and work on them and improve. Life is all about learning and growing, so let’s learn from ourselves!