Hello hello hello. Happy New Year! Shout out to those who think 3 years ago was 2017 and not 2020, because that is certainly where my head is at right now. 

New years can sometimes not be so exciting if you're a bit confused about life; suddenly there is a whole year ahead of you and everything looks a bit uncertain. And for the anxious person that can't think too far into the future and likes to break things into small sections whilst everyone around you is posting what their goals are for the next year when it's hard for you to think about the next week. If that's you, that's also me and this post may be a bit of help. 

I used to LOVE making resolutions and think about New Year as a time to reinvent myself and list the most unrealistic goals which would result in self sabotage when I hadn't started them by January 3rd. I wasn't going to be reading a book a week that's for sure. 

I still love a goal, love a list and love pushing myself and while January is a good time for a fresh start, there were other lessons I had to learn too. 

January isn't the only time to start again, to do something you've always wanted to do or write a list of goals. You can have a fresh start in February, June or even the 15th December, in fact every day is a chance to start over again if you need. January 1st is just a day in the calendar and sometimes that is enough to think about, another day to survive and get through is just a significant goal in itself. 

If it gets to the 3rd January and nothing has been ticked yet, it is definitely not the end of the world. And if I'm being completely honest, this is something I'm learning to deal with now. There is such a thing as starting again and not feeling like you've failed. These goals have been set by yourself, not a member of authority, and when the negative voice in your brain starts... would you speak to your best friend like that? 

So with my previous unhealthy relationship with resolutions, I decided that going into 2023, I wasn't going to make any and treat the new year or January as any other ordinary month. 

But this didn't help my overactive, anxious brain; I needed some clarity on what the year might hold. I naturally had goals floating around in my head because of the type of person I am and influenced by the media being about the New Year and starting 'afresh'. 

I still didn't want to make any resolutions but I had to do something about it, and a brain dump is always the answer when my mind is feeling busy. 

I got a blank piece of paper and let my mind transfer. It mostly included things I wanted to continue doing this year, one thing I wanted to learn/improve and affirmations to focus on. There are always things you're going to strive to do New Years or not; to improve your career, better your mind, do more of things and less of others. Everything I noted was achievable as it was something I already do or is easy to integrate into my life and there is no time limit to these things, I have a whole year. 

I am now opposed to big and out of reach resolutions that aren't good for my self esteem but what I am a fan of, is individual tiny goals that will eventually lead to big goals being achieved without focusing directly on them. 

For some people, January is a huge month to kick start the year but it's completely okay and more up my street to ease myself into the new year with a slow month as it can be a difficult period of the year. It can be a time to focus on well-being, getting outside, reading or watching that new TV series (Emily in Paris and Waterloo Road, polar opposties but both great) when you feel like it to relax your mind, practicing breath work and gratitude and prioritising YOU. 

If there was one intention I would pick for myself and us all for the new year ahead and more, would be to be more kind to ourselves. 

Bethan xx

3. Binge Netflix and watch as many Christmas films as humanly possible. 

4. Paint a festive mug (run to Flying Tiger!)

5. Go on a mental health walk and grab a hot chocolate (or your hot drink preference).

6. Read 10 pages of a book, festive or not.

7. Drive around your town to admire the Christmas lights.

8. Declutter your wardrobe. Tidy wardrobe, tidy mind.

9. Throw a Strictly final party. Get all the glitz out. Even make scorecards.

10. Make a 2023 vision/mood board.

11. Improve or show off your baking skills and make some gingerbread or mince pies if you're feeling fancy.

12. Walk a Christmas light trail.

13. Dance around your kitchen and sing like Mariah Carey.

15. Wrap your presents whilst watching a movie, or the fake fire on Netflix.

16. Paint your nails but festive edition.

17. Spend time with your family and ditch your phone, be present.

18. Buy a new decoration for your tree. 

19. Gather your friends for a 'friendmas'.

20. Curate a Christmas playlist, or for those Winter, kind of festive tunes.

21. Play board games and create an end of year family quiz.

22. Ice skate on a real or fake ice rink, I'm no Torvill or Dean but it's fun!

23. Have new pjs in time for Christmas Eve. 

24. Crack out a red lip every. single. day.

25. Buy a disposable camera and capture all of those festive moments.

Bethan xx

These days, my daily routine from 9-4 looks a little different. And this routine is actually different every day but I have implemented some things that I can do daily to make me feel like I have a bit of structure. Here are the main things I plan in my day on an average Tuesday, I say Tuesday is the day that has the least plans every week, and I think that's by choice. 

1. Get up around 7:30-8:00am and practice yoga

I started doing yoga around the summer of 2020 and it's the only exercise I've ever stuck with, running is not for me! It is such a nice way to start my day, whilst I stretch my muscles and improve my strength at the same time. Some days I feel like I have the energy for a longer practice but most days, especially weekdays, I complete a 10 min body stretch. And with the bonus of using teachers on youtube, you don't have to leave the house or pay for a session in a yoga studio. 

2. Have some kind of breakfast, get ready, make my bed (it's a day game changer) and do a 30 min blitz around the house. 

I can never decide what meal of the day is my favourite but the process of making breakfast is one that I love. That makes it sound like I cook up something really fancy, I don't. It's normally a bowl of porridge or granola and maybe some cut up banana if I'm really pushing the boat out. However, when I go downstairs and practise yoga, followed by having my breakfast; it's time in the day when I don't have my phone in sight as I leave it upstairs. I have a love/hate relationship with my phone which is another blog post in itself but what I do love is finding times in the day when I'm really in the present moment. 

Most of the weekdays, unless my dad is off work, I spend alone so I'm learning to love my own company but what helps me a lot is listening to the radio, a personal favourite is Radio 1. Hearing other people talk and listening to music is a huge motivator in itself and it feels like I have some kind of company. 

Then come the boring, mundane tasks like getting ready, making my bed and completing some chores around the house that are so much easier to do when listening to the radio but also when ticking them off my mental to-do list, I feel like I can really start my day and the 'tidy room/house, tidy mind' quote couldn't be more true. 

3. Breathwork

This is a new one for me but genuinely one I will be adding to my routine for the foreseeable. Some people say you are either a tummy ache or a headache person, but I believe I am both. Not to be greedy! This year but especially during my a-levels and post a-levels, I struggle with tension headaches as a result of a busy brain that doesn't stop worrying and overthinking. With these things, it's hard not to focus on them and when you do, they get worse which can lead to further worry. My counsellor and my mum (definitely listen to your mum when she recommends something) both said I should start meditating or practice breathing at some point every day. It sounds a bit stupid when you put it like that as we breathe all the time but when prioritising time to learn the best ways of breathing, I learnt that the way you breathe changes your mind which can affect how you feel. After a week of the same tension headache that was so frustrating I didn't think it would ever leave me, I decided to finally give it a go and I'm so glad I did. I've never felt calmer than after a session of just focusing on my breathing as my mind can't drift onto anything else and with that, the headache gradually went. Breathing is so much more important than we think. 

@breathpod on Instagram for all your breathing exercise needs.

4. Fresh air 

I go out for a walk at different times every day, sometimes I go into town and make sure I include a walk past the sea in my route or it can be a walk up the fields for a break in my day to fully escape. It can be really hard to prioritise these kinds of things if the to-do list is overflowing and your mind is telling you to just get your head down and work through it, but walking and coming away from the 'mind buzz' is quite the opposite of being counterproductive. My head always feels so much clearer and more focused on the task I'm doing when I'm home. I use this time to catch up on some podcasts, listen to music or even just listen to nothing but the noises going on around me to process my thoughts and not overload my brain with any more content. 

5. A plan with a friend

On days when I'm not doing much, I try to organise something with one of my friends, not only because I want to see them but after spending a while on my own, I crave any human interaction. The radio can only give me so much company before I start to go crazy. I'm learning to enjoy my own company too as I take myself out and am on my own most of the day time in school hours whilst my family is working. However; a walk, a coffee date and a browse round charity shops are firm favourites when organising a plan with my friends. If this isn't possible, even interaction in shops, giving the awkward to smile to anyone you walk past or having a solo dance party also do increase the serotonin. 

6. Planning and writing

At the moment, the words aren't flowing as much as I would like so blog posts are coming few and far between but when they are, writing is a big part of my day. I spend a lot of time finding inspiration for things and topics to write about before actually putting the pen to paper, or fingers to my laptop keys in my case. Even if no one was to read the writing I put out on here, I still would do it because of the way I feel when I'm writing, a kind of cathartic emotion as the words from my brain are visible on a screen. With this being said, I don't like to spend too long looking at my laptop screen so I take breaks, leave it and come back to it or allow time allocated to writing on the days when I'm at home. 

This is also a recent one. I've previously delved into the editing world when creating Instagram reels a few years ago or in my media a-level coursework but I had always wanted to try out creating fashion reels. I started by seeking inspiration and then I just had a go, I was a bit scared as I have a desire for everything to be perfect first time round which is never the case but if you don't try out new things, then you'll never know the outcome. It turns out that I love the process of having an idea, planning and choosing the outfits to offer some style advice or outfit inspiration, filming the clips, editing it together and picking a song to go over the top is possibly the most important part of it all. I'm still very new and not posting them regularly yet but I love finding a new outlet for my creativity and this ticks all the boxes. 

The rest of my day when my family get back from work is different every day too, but I try to spend this time 'resting' and by that, I mean not ticking things off of a to-do list and instead, spending less time on my phone and being present. But you bet if I'm at home, I'm sat on the sofa ready for Strictly's It Takes Two at 6:30pm on the dot!

I think I need to mention that not every day am I motivated to do all of this, sometimes I have days where I just do one of them or have a few hours of watching something on my laptop and getting out on a walk is a big achievement. I'm still navigating this new chapter in my life and it's certainly a curve that goes up and down regularly, and the downs are normally when you think you're starting to get somewhere. There are so many things that I'm working towards in terms of goals, i.e getting a part time job is definitely high on the list but I didn't realise that would take some time. This part of my life is for working on myself and figuring out some kind of plan for the future, whatever that will be. 

Bethan xx

Heavily influenced by listening to Radio 1 every day.