How will you improve your life in 2020?

[wondering7777]

With a new year almost upon us, how do you plan to make positive improvements to your life in 2020?

My goals are:

1. Get out of debt: DH and I are about £4.5K in debt and I’m hoping that 2020 will be the year we finally manage to clear this. I’m not sure whether it’s achievable but I really hope we do it. It will give us a significantly better lifestyle if we can and will be a huge weight off my shoulders.

2. Keep my home “visitor ready” at all times: I’m so sick of people asking to pop round and having to spend an age desperately cleaning and tidying in order to make it presentable. I’ve been on an organising and cleaning mission in the run-up to Christmas, and the main rooms are looking decent for the first time in ages. I need to make sure it stays that way all year.

3. Tick off all the annoying tasks on my to do list: including selling or giving away old stuff I never use, and sorting some tricky DIY jobs around the house that have been hanging round for ages.

4. Be more productive at work: I’ve been feeling really lethargic and demotivated over the last couple of months and it has been affecting my work. I really need to change this attitude and make sure I stay on top of things in the new year.

What are yours?

Finish decorating my Lounge room. I’ve lived here for too long to not have it finished. Plus finish decluttering of course like everyone else.

Then I’m going to get started on my plan to move out of my city. I’ve lived here all my life, it gets way too hot in summer and I hate how isolated it is (not in the UK in case you haven’t guessed.)

If I don’t manage to move then I’ll definitely move jobs at least. I’ve been in my current position way too long and I’m beyond stale.

Great idea for a thread! My priority for 2020 to improve my life is to seek counselling for my anxiety. I've had it for a long time but always thought I was in control of it, never saw a dr about it or took any medication. But last week we had an issue we needed to sort and it tipped my anxiety over the edge. It made me realise that actually I don't have as much control over it as I thought and that if something relatively minor and easy to fix made me a nervous wreck, what would happen if something really bad happened. I've also over the last couple of years developed a real anxiety over flying, so I'm hoping by getting some counselling that I can get a real handle on my anxiety and be able to fly without being on the verge of a panic attack the whole time! So hoping that will make a big difference to my life.

I'm also going to spend less time on social media and more time writing and reading (which hopefully will also help with my m/h). And finally. I'm going on a solo city break in 2020 which I've always wanted to do and will be doing things purely for me without any compromise. So I'm hoping this will bring about more confidence in myself and teach my to rely solely on myself. Plus it's in Italy so I'm going to be eating a shit load of pasta which can only be good for me! Bring on 2020!

Re lose the weight I've put on in to consecutive pregnancies

Enjoy my time at home with the kids while on maternity. I've always worked full time and long hours so looking forward to spending more quality time with the kids

Way less time on my phone.

Finish sorting the house out. We've been here almost 3 years and still need to decorate my eldest a room and put up all our pictures etc

I'm going to have surgery to correct my flat foot and tendon issues next month. I'm so excited to think I will walk without pain this time next year.

I am going to get back to my excersises. This time last year I had caught the bug for it- I was in my best shape and mentally happy- it made me feel good, I unexpectedly got pregnant and now have our third lovely baby but the difference I feel mentally is clear- I need to excersise again and. I more babies for me so I need to stick with it. It’s better than therapy for me

Continue with therapy, feeling really positive about returning to it and using it to support me.
And with the encouragement of therapist, making me more of a priority.
Putting more boundaries in place with my family.
Renewing my passport.
Getting a passport for baby, so we can all go on holiday.
Lots of decorating in the house.
Increasing veg in our diets, and more cooking in general. I have learned to cook in the last two yrs, so looking forward to experimenting more.

Read more, I've gave myself a target of 30 books in 2020.
Lose the rest of my baby weight.
Continue savings and monthly budgeting to stay on track.

I intend to get rid of stuff not needed or used. Especially clothing that I still have that I don’t wear. Mainly t shirts with stuff on them. Not so fitting now I’m a certain age and they were from my 20s!

Oh and go swimming again. I used to really enjoy it then seemed to fizzle out.

I'm going to keep hunting for a job with better hours and better pay. Tbh, even better hours and worse pay would be an improvement.

I'm going to finish making the house we moved into this year into a home. It currently looks like an explosion in a toy shop and ds doesn't have all of his presents yet. A serious clutter clear is in order and maybe a couple of new toy boxes.

I'm going to save like a squirrel so I'll have plenty of spends for our summer holiday (first in about ten years and kindly paid for by mil)

I'll say I'm going to try and loose weight but I've been saying that for years and I like cheese and bread more than being slim tbh.

Read more. I’m aiming for at least 12 books. I need to fit in time to do this around work gym hobbies kids house stuff.

More self care. I go through phases of being really good at looking after me. But then it all falls away. Aiming to get at least half hour in a day

Meditation practice. Even if only for a few minutes a day

Less screen time - am setting up the timer and blocks on my phone

More mindful eating - be more aware of what I’m eating and actually enjoy it.

Start therapy. I’m waiting for an appointment so hopefully I’ll be able to get things started before I head back to work.

Exercise more frequently

Spend less money.

In 2020 I am going to

Declutter my house
Stick to the penny a day challenge
Stick to a meal plan
Save money
Be organised

Finish final projects on house then paint it all
Improve planting in garden
Keep up workouts x at least five every week (I'm sure this has had miraculous effects on menopause symptoms and mental state)
Marry lovely DP after many years together
Enjoy as much quality time as possible with DDog (he's 15 so every chance he won't be here this time next year)
Focus on ways to reduce final £90k of mortgage and get rid of the millstone
Work on improving job specific skills then look for interesting opportunities (currently successfully self employed but the business development and worry is draining)

We've been here almost 3 years and still need to decorate my eldest a room and put up all our pictures etc

Glad it’s not just me! We have a load of pictures on the floor in the spare room despite moving in over two years ago. I’m heartily sick of it and have vowed to myself that I’m going to get them all framed and on the wall in the first few months of 2020!

@cakebythepound1234 great ones - I may steal a couple of those! Spending less time on social media would make me so much more productive.

I am going put a suggestion into work that would hopefully put me on a better footing, if it doesn’t l will look for a new job.

I have lost 2 1/2 stone this year so l have 3 more to go. This will be helped if l get back into the c25k and my cross trainer l just bought.

My youngest started school in September and l had a huge declutter and sort out. I have let the slip a bit so need to pull that back a bit.

Really get back on top of my savings this is a use this year.

I will be giving up takeaways for a year (having last one on NYE) and dealing with my problems as they arise instead of burying my head in the sand (starting with tackling my hoarder house and making a debt repayment plan)

Good luck @Ambrose2. We plan to have a takeaway free January to start us off and we will see how it goes from there. I think once we break the cycle of them it might be easier just to stop completely.

I have lost 2 1/2 stone this year so l have 3 more to go.

That’s a great achievement- congratulations!

I'm going to cook at least one interesting meal a week (ie not just easy things I know the kids will eat).

I'm also going to cook double of some recipies and freeze half - just being able to pull a meal out of the freezer will massively improve my life on busy days!

Be more organised at home...

Get paperwork down to what’s necessary and ditch the rest.

Rationalise clothes and other belongings; if it’s not been used/worn/enjoyed in 2019, let it go to a new home.

Organise the garage (first world problem, I know), again, out with the not-needed, the rest stored logically.

It’ll probably take months, but it’ll happen. Either that, or I’ll go quietly crazy.

Great thread, OP. I was going to add a list of my own but it prompted me to think about things some more.

This year my life has actually changed immeasurably. Mostly for the better (was successful beyond my wildest dreams at work/in my career, finally sorted out my teeth) and a little for the worse (parent dying). I think this next year will be about consolidation: getting to grips with my new career opportunities.

I may also make the most of my new salary and move house next year. But that will be the only thing I seek to do. Otherwise I need life to stop changing, to enjoy my success for a bit (for as long as it lasts - you never know what is round the corner) and just to live in the present for a bit.

I love these threads where people are positive for the New Year!

I start a new job in the next few weeks, a step up from my current post and a notch up the pay scale. I flying at work at the moment and feel (after years of shitty jobs around school runs etc) that this is the next step in a career I intend to stay in until I die retire.

Reckon we could also get out of debt as well. It's about £3k and such a drain and really only needs some modest and rigid budgeting.

Am also strongly tempted to quit booze. Not quite there yet but the nagging in my head is getting stronger, and I imagine that this time next year I will be 100% behind it.

I'm also giving my marriage a year. We're not unhappy, just not actually happy IYSWIM. We're both to blame as we've become complacent and aged rather ungraciously, but if things don't change I see myself becoming unhappy. DS has GCSE's this year so I've not been at all hasty, but I think in 12 months we'll have a clear idea of where we are heading.

@TreacherousPissFlap your post gives me hope as I’m currently at that stage where I have to compromise job wise due to school runs etc and in 5/6 years I will be able to be more choosy about my career and also be finished studying too :)

1. Read more fiction instead of ‘self improvement’ books.

1. Learn to cook properly instead of arsing my way through.

1. Continue to lose weight.