#TakeBackWhatsYours - February Update

Hi Everyone!

As we take our first steps into February I thought it was a good time to re-visit my goals for the year to avoid them getting left behind with January.  I laid out my goals in my #TakeBackWhatsYours post & want to see what changes I’ve succeeded in making & what I need to focus on this month.

So…

To reduce my weight

My weight has fluctuated this month between 155-157lb. It seems that my weight is higher when I’m drinking cola. Unfortunately, I’ve been doing this to cope with fatigue & make it through a working day. I took you through my exercise in The 4 Fun Ways I'm Achieving My Exercise Goals post. I was able to cycle so consistently that I felt able to increase my cycle time to 50 minutes. Unfortunately I really struggled the next day & couldn’t manage more than 6 minutes. It could have been because I was feeling particularly groggy! I may try to increase this time again, but will proceed with caution. I got back into the habit of doing the ‘Drop A Size’ workout but that & my yoga practice have fallen by the wayside.

How I’m going to make positive changes to improve this:

Half term is coming up soon so I am aiming to minimise the amount of sugar I consume until then but not put emphasis on how much I weigh – I need to give myself a break! At half term I will, once again, work on taking caffeine & fizz out of my diet. With exercise, I am going to keep consistent with the 25 minute cycling. I am going to get back into my yoga & work on increasing my practice time here, rather than upping my cycle time. I am also going to go back to the ‘Drop A Size’ workout, as I really do feel this improves the way I feel, both about my inner & outer body.

To purchase less makeup & really utilise what I already own

I’m really pleased with how I’ve been doing with this goal! I have purchased just one item of makeup – the NARS Dual Intensity Eyeshadow Palette. I have been wanting to purchase one of these eyeshadows since they first released so wasn’t going to pass this opportunity up! I have decided to do a 15 in 2015 Project Pan in which I have chosen 15 products that I am going to work on this year to use up! In January I took part in a 30 Days Of Pigments challenge, created by Kristen Marie from SomethingtoConsider1 & am looking forward to this month’s 30 Days Of Creams challenge. This allows me the opportunity to make use of thinks I wouldn’t necessarily think to reach for & helps me make use of all my makeup – not just those that are in my project pan.

How I’m going to make positive changes to improve this:

I have decided that I will set myself a limit of 10 items I can purchase in 2015. This will really make me think about whether I REALLY want a product before purchasing it. By putting a number on my ‘low buy’ it makes it tangible so I know exactly how many/few products I have bought & how many (max) purchases I have left.

To be more organised

I’ve definitely gotten better with this, though it is still a work in progress! My biggest achievement in this area is probably lies with my blog! I had been having problems organising my thoughts & ideas for posts & videos. I was writing them down in a notebook &, while I was ticking things off when I’d done them, ideas at the beginning of the book were getting lost as all I was seeing were the ticked off items. I purchased an A5 spiral bound notebook & have been allowing both sides of the page per idea. Once the post/video has been published, I tear my notes out of the book so I am able to see everything else more clearly.

The purchase of my (£2!) organiser from Wilko has also been extremely helpful in the organisation of my blog. I knew that I was getting muddled with when I had my posts scheduled for, when Twitter chats were being held & when I would be working on my blogs/YouTube channel. I need to take this to the next level now & schedule myself in some time for blog reading (I don’t find I need to schedule time in to watch YouTube videos).

How I’m going to make positive changes to improve this:

I now need to move this organisation into my work & home life. I’m going to create a rough schedule to give myself more structure. Working more on my #ThrowOutThursday series will also help, as it will allow me to get rid of a fair amount of clutter.

To keep a diary – 5-year diary & MyFitnessPal diary

Other than the 2-3 entries in my diary, this has not improved during the past month. I initially moved my diary to the bookshelf but took it upstairs to fill in once & it never returned. My MyFitnessPal entries have been a little more consistent, but not much!

How I’m going to make positive changes to improve this:

I’m going to move my diary back to the bookcase & make a concerted effort to keep my MyFitnessPal accurate & up to date.

I hope you enjoyed this post & it’s given you some ideas if your resolutions or goals have fallen by the wayside a little. These updates are something I will be doing sporadically throughout the year to keep me accountable & focussed on what I want to achieve & how I’m going to do it. Remember – our lives are a journey & it’s never too late to make positive changes to improve them.

Did you make New Years resolutions? How successful have you been with them?

Tania Xx