I have been doing a lot of reflection lately about life and the direction I want to be heading in and from today things are changing for the better. Gone are the days of procrastinating and here are the days of productivity and working towards those goals I have set for myself. If life keeps going the way it has then those goals are never going to happen therefore things are changing and things are getting done. 

Over the next twelve months I am going to be really knuckling down to create habits that stick to set life on the path I have only been dreaming of up until now. Action is going to be taken and these twelve months are going to be the most productive and consistent yet! These months are going to be filled with self discovery, hard work and change. If all goes to plan in the next twelve months I will find my personal style, see this weight disappear for good and see my websites grow at long last. As I say it is now time to really knuckle down and get on with things and try get out of the procrastination I always find myself in. So here is a break down of just some of the things I plan on doing over the next twelve months to work towards creating my dream life...

Finding my personal style

This is one of the big things I want to have perfected over the next twelve months. I really want to get cracking on with this as soon as possible and not wait until I have lost the weight like I was going to originally. The plan with this is that when my sizes changes and I need to purchase new clothing, I will only be buying what aligns with the style I have been envisaging for myself. This is going to be much smarter and put together than my current style and will all fit into that whole life I am trying to create for myself. So here is how I am going to find my personal style in the next twelve months...

Find my clothing style

At the moment everything is mix & match and far too casual for my liking. I have in my mind though the perfect clothing style for me and that life I want to achieve which is going to be a total 180 flip to what I am currently at. I have Pinterest's saved, Threads saved and pictures from in shops ready to help me decide what clothing is needed to create the perfect style for myself and I am no longer putting off buying these items, I am going to be investing where needed and my day to day outfits are going to be leveling up. To help build that perfectly curated wardrobe to fit the new style I find for myself I will be making sure I am decluttering my wardrobe and selling items every few months to help lower costs and create the space for the perfect items rather than cramming everything into a wardrobe where 90% of items don't get worn.

Find my signature scent

Alongside finding my clothing style I want to find my signature scent. This might take a while but a good scent is a key essential and tied in with finding my clothing style I will be on to a real winner. There are a few fragrances I want to test out to see if they could become my signature scent and to be honest I am really looking forward to this journey as you can't beat trying a good fragrance. I think this is going to be across my social media and I can't wait to get started.

Sort out my hair and skin 

Since growing out my hair I have never had a style to it and most days do the bare minimum with it however, over the next twelve months that is going to be changed. I am going to be taking time to find that style that suits me the most when it comes to my hair and each day I am going to actually take time to create that style rather than just running a brush through it quickly & leaving the house. As for my skin I really need to work on that too as the breakouts are getting ridiculous now and the dark circles under my eyes are getting darker day by day. Over the next twelve months I will be really working on nailing a skincare routine to get the breakouts under control and have my skin looking the best it has in a long time.

Weight loss

My weight loss journey is going to be a huge focus over the next twelve months as I am determined to push towards that end goal as much as possible. I know that due to how much I want to lose that I am not likely to hit my end goal in the twelve months however, I can have a solid twelve months of working towards this and get as close to the target as I can. Getting close to this target is going to be tough and require plenty of changes and here are some of the things that will be being worked on over the next twelve months...

Focus on the journey 

So many times I am tempted with treats like takeaways & meals out however, over the next twelve months I will be cutting right back on these as I want to see the weight dropping and I know that too many takeaways or meals out and going to see the scale rise rather than drop, this goes for alcohol too, over the next twelve months I won't be drinking for the sake of it even if I am out at events I will be mindful of what I consume to help me with this journey. To focus on the journey sacrifices maybe required however, I just need to keep reminding myself they are going to be worth it in the long run. Not everything will be sacrificed though as things in moderation aren't going to effect the journey too much.

Nail my nutrition

Nutrition is going to be a big focus as like I said above the takeaways and meals out are going to be massively reduced. By reducing the takeaways I am going to be finding myself in the kitchen a whole lot more which is definitely going to be a good thing as I can make food from scratch and know exactly what I am putting in my body. The plan is to reduce the amount of ultra processed food we buy and make items like sauces from scratch going forward just to make sure we are eating what is going to fuel me not ruin me. For some strange reason I am actually really looking forward to getting into the kitchen and making some nice, healthy meals.

Hit all my workouts

Gone are the days of missing workouts for trips out, if a workout is scheduled in then it is happening that day. No more 'ah I will fit it in elsewhere whilst I go shopping', this then leads to the workout being missed and slows down progress which I don't want to happen anymore as I want to be making as much progress as possible over the next twelve months. The plan is to be at every football session possible over the next twelve months and then still hit three workouts a week between these football sessions. If I really knuckle down these amount of sessions are certainly possible and I should see some fantastic progress if all these sessions are hit weekly.

Be more active 

I have just mentioned about the workouts I am hoping to hit every week however, it is time to be more active in general. I have become so lazy over the past few months and skip dog walks, leaving them to Liam so I will be bringing them back into play which should be a huge benefit as it will see my steps increase, something that is certainly required as some days I struggle to hit my 8,000 target. I want to get outdoors and generally moving more but I also need to work on finding a balance for this as there are other things I want to do which require being sat down for periods of time. Finding a healthy balance between being sat working on projects and moving my body should be super beneficial in improving so many areas of my life going forward.

Grow my websites

Over the next twelve months a big focus is going to be on growing my websites. Over the past few years these have been massively neglected and to be honest I have really missed working on them so for the next twelve months I am going to be really knuckling down to make some good progress with the sites all round and turn them into something to be proud of once more. So here are some of the things I am going to be doing over the next twelve months to grow the websites properly...

Dedicated specific evenings to work on each site

With three websites I tend to jump between each one and never finish off articles fully so this needs to stop. The plan over the next twelve months is to really knuckle down and use specific nights to work on each site, rather than jumping between content one evening will be dedicated to this site, one will be dedicated to the gaming site and then another will be dedicated to the football site whilst a few hours on a weekend will be dedicated to tying up loose ends which didn't get completed on the specific days. I am hoping this will help me with focus and stop the procrastination that has been delaying the creating of articles for the sites recently.

Put time into building the social media accounts for the sites

A lot of website promo comes from social media and the traffic that the relevant social media accounts drive to the website. Just like with the websites though I have also been massively neglecting social media so that needs to change too. I think I am going to block out some set time each week to batch create content for each account and hopefully this will help create consistency. I also need to remember to post links to any content on stories to help drive traffic towards the articles I have spent time creating. Consistency on socials should really help me see that growth I am hoping to see over the next twelve months.

Make sure I keep to a consistent schedule

To make the most impact I realise now consistency is going to be key and the plan for the next twelves months is to post every Monday to Friday on the websites, this means people know when to expect content from me and when to check the site for new pieces. This might seem like I am going to be needing to write a lot of articles each week however, if I create some mini series & stick to those dedicated evenings for writing articles then I should be able to carry this out and produce plenty of articles over the next twelve months. There may be themed days like a wrap up of my fitness progress or posts that are relevant to that week but all I know is I am going to become super consistent these next twelve months and really stick to that schedule.

Plan ahead so I don't burn out

To maximize the evenings for each site I need to know what I am going to be working on and not just winging it like previously. My plan is to have an evening towards the end of each month to just sit down and map out the sort of articles I will be writing for the next month and any social media posts I need to create for the following month too. This just means I know exactly what is coming up, what I need and how things are going to play out. During this I will also take a look at the analytics for the sites and social media accounts for what is working well and what needs changing up which can then be put into action for the following months content and articles.

Invest in my content 

If I am working had writing articles and creating social media content I want to make sure that over the next twelve months I am also investing in my content which means upgrading my equipment where needed. I will be upgrading any software that is required to help my productivity & planning. An iPad is on the list too to help me more on the go and provide an extra piece of equipment on those content days. Even lighting will look to be upgraded to ensure the best quality social media content and article image. The big thing though is going to be my camera, this is going to get a major upgrade as I look to pick up a new camera as well as a DJI Osmo Pocket 3. This is going to be expensive but more than doable over the course of twelve months and they are going to be expenses that are worth it if they help towards the growth.

Around the house

Finally over the course of the next twelve months I am planning on getting a lot of work done around the house to create the perfect space for relaxing and unwinding in so that I am not finding myself drawn to heading out most evenings and weekends and where I can spend time working on all those things I have just mentioned above. So here are some of the things I am changing around the house over the next twelve months...

Whole new kitchen

This one is happening sooner rather than later and I can't wait. As I said when I mentioned nailing the nutrition I need to be spending time in the kitchen cooking from scratch, something I don't like doing in our current kitchen as it is too dark and cramped. The plan for this space is to make it brighter and more practical with cupboards items actually fit in and aren't overflowing. It will also have a fridge big enough for what we require & my dream cooker which is hopefully going to have me wanting to spend a whole lot more time in here. I can't wait to see the finished result in here and make it our perfect space.

New living room

Once the kitchen is done there is only the living room left to redecorate in the house to finally get rid of the grey and make it cosier. The plan is to have this redone in the next twelve months ready for next autumn & winter to be the cosiest months yet for us with a real fire being added into this space. This is going to be a fun project and I can't wait to finally have all the indoor jobs ticked off at last so that we can finally move onto the outdoor jobs which are going to cost a small fortune no doubt. 

Create the perfect content creating space

The spare room in our house doesn't get used half as much as it should so over the next twelve months I am going to spend time turning this into the perfect content creating space. The plan originally was to turn this into a dressing room however, upon reflection it will be much better suited as a space where I can shut myself away to work on content either writing articles or filming for social media. I have a few ideas on my mind for this space so let's see how this goes and if my dream content space comes to life.

I am determined to make these next twelve months the best yet and really find myself in this time frame but I suppose only time is going to tell if this happens or not. Either way though I am looking forward to seeing what the year has in store for me and hopefully when I do a check in next year I can really see the improvements all round. Let's see how this unfolds shall we, it is time to start making these changes...

See you soon, 

Lucy