Hello 2020: Goals and aspirations for the year ahead

Photos by Khandie Photography

Hello, 2020!

My goodness, can you believe we are entering a WHOLE NEW DECADE which means I have been alive for almost 4 decades! JEEZ

But wow. What a year 2019 has been!

I knew I had quite a few things I wanted to accomplish last year, one was including saving up for a house and moving in with my boyfriend of which I can add a big tick next to.

But I never imagined how life-changing 2019 would be for me.

I did indeed move house, but I also started an incredible new job which I can say with full confidence that I love – working with Louise Pentland, the UK’s #1 Mummy Vlogger. I don’t think my year could had got better!

2019 was the year my blog really boomed as I was lucky to work with lots of local companies and brands, establish myself as a Northamptonshire Blogger and I have even secured some paid blog and Instagram work which is something I didn’t think would ever happen.

But mostly, I have enjoyed the journey my blog has taken and I can’t wait to grow that even more this year.

If I could pick a word on what I want 2020 to look like, it would be growth.

But enough of 2019, it’s been and gone and it was incredible. But instead of writing a post reflecting on the year before, I want to look forward to what I want to achieve this year.

As 2019 was such a big year life-wise, as ticking off getting a mortgage was a pretty big deal, I feel 2020 isn’t as big in comparison.

However, there are a few things I’d like to work on this year:

Keep building on our home together 

The biggest goal of 2019 was to move in together and we even considered renting just so we could be together, but now we can say we actually own a house!

In 2020, I would just like to continue building our home together and I want to do more DIY jobs around the house.

Now we have been living in our house for 6 months, it’s about time we start focusing on adding elements to it.

Such as, I want to start painting rooms, especially our bedroom, the kitchen and I want to start creating an office space I am proud of, as it’s currently a bit of a mess and I want to make it a space that I can work in productively and that motivates me.

We also want to start making our back garden look more than just slabs and grass in the Spring/Summer and Josh and I have lots of plans on how we can improve it, including our own space to grow vegetables, a decking to add chairs and a BBQ for the summer and maybe even a hot tub!

I’m hoping to also share more home content on my blog moving forward, especially that it seemed like a natural fit to move everything from my home IG account to my main account. 

I have a 6-month update coming to you on Monday 13th January!

Continue to work up in my role

I can’t believe it’s been six months since I started the most awesome job ever – being Creative Assistant to Louise Pentland.

If you know me, you know how much that was a big deal for me to have landed such a job with someone I have been watching on YouTube since her beginnings!

So to actually be working with her is a completely rare but exciting experience. She has taught me so much over the last 6 months and she truly cares about my role development and developing my skills as an individual.

We’ve got a very busy 2020 ahead of us and I’m going to be learning and getting stuck into some exciting projects which are hopefully going to give me so much experience. Plus, I have never known a job to have such a great work-life balance. 

So going forward, I already have a ‘work goals’ list of what I would like to do and achieve in 2020 and I’m hopefully going to start investing in some courses and qualifications to really help me with my Digital Marketing career. 

Up to the middle of last year, I had a lot of bad luck when it came to my job and due to lots of moving around etc, I’ve not really been able to settle and grow within a role – so I am really hoping for a long and successful career with this role! 

So far, it’s been the best! 

Sing and perform more

Oh yeah, did you know I sing?

There’s no hiding the fact that I love singing and you may or may not know I have a Musical Theatre degree which I left behind to pursue a career in Digital Marketing which I love. 

But I do miss the thrill of singing and performing on a regular basis and I can feel when my voice isn’t well oiled and not in practice – so I want to start strengthening it again and singing regularly. 

I already perform in a local pantomime, where performances run in February half term which is something I always look forward to, but I would also like to perform as just Nicole and not as a character at events, local mic nights and singing anything and anywhere that will have me!

I’ve even been considering sharing some IGTV content that just features me singing some of my favourite songs to a microphone. If people are keen, this is something I’d LOVE to do more of – who knows, it might open up some more opportunities! 

Eat better, move more

I feel like this is a goal I’m constantly giving myself – but it’s true, I do need to eat a bit better and move more in the new year.

I know, I know it’s such a CLICHE new year’s resolution, but if you follow me on IG, you will know that I did do Slimming World for a little while, which really helped me feel confident and I lost a stone and a half doing so.

But with the house move, changing jobs, getting out of a routine, my birthday, a holiday to Tenerife and other life events occurred which left me losing motivation to continue and before you know it, you’ve gained the weight back!

I also have a job where I am often sitting at home doing nothing but working on my laptop. Which obviously isn’t good!

So going forward, I will be re-joining Slimming World to regain that focus on what to eat and what not to eat and I will try and incorporate some exercise into my daily routine, whether it’s walking, swimming or joining the gym (oh, the horror!) but I know it will not only benefit me physically but mentally. 

Venture into other offline projects

I feel like when you put something out to the universe, more likely than none, it can happen!

It’s been no lie that I have always wanted to go into radio. Since appearing a few times on some radio shows on BBC Radio Northampton and Beat Route Radio, I have gained the buzz for speaking on the air and love the thrill it gives me.

It would be a dream of mine to host my own radio show on a local radio network. Even if it’s an hour or 2-hour slot, or co-hosting with someone else who can guide me, it’s definitely something I am interested in doing. 

Other offline projects I want to continue with is writing for publications that I enjoy doing too.

Keep blogging and securing collabs 

During Christmas, I lost the ball a bit when it came to publishing blog posts as I feel like my energy levels were at 0 and I was just ready for a good long break and rest!

Last month, I found some space in my busy schedule to sit down and actually create a blog schedule that I filled with ideas, dates of publishing right through till Christmas 2020!

Sure, they’ll be some odd bits probably thrown in but for the first time, I feel like I have actually PLANNED for the year ahead.

And it feels so good!

So here’s the blog plan going forward…

You will be getting a blog post from me every Monday and Thursday.

This means you are guaranteed 2 lots of content from me a week which means I keep consistent and you guys will know when a new blog post is coming – and if there’s extra, then it’s even better!

So let’s hope I can keep this up around work life, home life and everything else in-between being an adult!

There are a lot of ‘big boys’ out there who have a team of people behind them and are killing it with content; whereas me, I am a one-man band!

So it can be disheartening to me sometimes when I am limited with time and resources and all I want to do is make my blog the best it can be!

I want to be THE Northamptonshire Blogger everyone comes to for inspiration and advice on what there is to do, see and eat in Northamptonshire.

Sure, that might sound a bit cheesy, but I do – I set myself to write about that content and I hope people know me as that!

So basically, keep going, keep hustling and keep providing content that YOU guys want! 

I have a variety of goals and aspirations for 2020. I’m not too sure what lies ahead this year, as anything could change, but after such a brilliant 2019, I am hoping to continue going forward with a positive mindset and I wish everyone in my life (and you) a very healthy and happy new year!

What are your goals and aspirations for 2020? 

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