Happy New Year!

My goodness, twenty-nineteen is here already and I’m finding it hard to believe how quickly time is passing.

With reluctance, I was ‘out out’ with my sisters to see the new year in. To clarify, the reluctance wasn’t to going out with my two sisters – being with them is always a dead cert for a good night, love those girls! I just didn’t really feel up to going out anywhere at all, for a number of reasons. For one, being ‘out out’ for new years is always a bit hit and miss, since club events usually fail to deliver on their promised hype. The past two years I’ve happily tuned in to Jools Holland on the TV at the family house and nibbled on a selection of oven-baked party bits, washed down with a glass of bubbles of some variety and had every intention to do the same again. Alas, I was encouraged to glam up and get out. There was no sign of the promoted popcorn and candy floss, prosecco was being served in plastic pint cups for fear of handing partygoers a glass bottle and there was no notable male talent to distract from these points. But I was starting the year with two of my most favourite people in the world and that was all that really mattered.

For Christmas, I’d gifted myself The Positive Planner. 2018 was hectic, to say the least and one of the things that suffered as a result was my consistency in looking after myself. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t completely let myself go but most of my efforts were reactive, instead of proactive.

Rather than habitually doing my nails, defuzzing my legs or having a morning stretch, I would do these things out of necessity like when I’m going out somewhere, felt a bit achy, bordering exhaustion and so on.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing to say you have to do these things in the first place, every woman has their own stance on the removal of bodily hair and all other self-inflictions that women often subject themselves to. I am just keen to be in more of a ready state at all times, rather than having to get ready when needed.

The planner encourages you to set a mantra for each day, jot down your intentions, list a few tasks to be completed and then reflect the day. It’s a 12-week journal which I’m hoping will encourage me to develop good habits for first three months of the year, hopefully setting me up for the rest of 2019.

Kicking off the new year in the best way methinks!