Hello January!

Towards the end of last year, I started sharing a more personal post at the beginning of each month, and that's something I'd like to continue for 2016; it's really just setting some goals for the coming month, and looking back at how I went on with the previous month's. Nonetheless, I find it helpful to have my aims for the coming weeks written down, and it's nice to reflect on what I've achieved!
I didn't set many goals for December as I knew it was going to be a busy enough month without stressing about whether or not I'd achieve x, y and z. My goals were pretty simple, in fact:
• Throw more things away: I wasn't as successful as I hoped with this one, although I have assembled another bag of clothes to donate, and thrown away a few things I was hoarding for no readily apparent reason. I still have a long way to go with this one, though, as I have way more stuff than I could possibly need! I also made the mistake of buying a few bits and pieces in the sales (only a few, mind!) which may kind of negate the ones I've got rid of... Oops! My bedroom at my parents' house is only small and it's ridiculously full, so I want to downsize my belongings as much as possible.
• Bake: I said I wanted to do at least the mince pies; my Mum beat me to those, but I did make these Christmas Pudding "Oreos" instead! Two layers of chocolate cookie, filled with peppermint white chocolate ganache, and topped with white chocolate to look like a Christmas pudding. I'm actually quite proud of how they turned out!

So I'm considering December a pretty successful month, achieving two out of two goals! Heading into January, I'm setting myself a few more goals in the hopes of getting 2016 off to a good start...
• Read four books: That's one per week, and should set the stage nicely for meeting my overall 2016 target of 25 books over the course of the year. I'm intending to spend my breaks at work reading, rather than mindlessly scrolling through Facebook on my phone.
• Clear out desk: I'm sure I've had this as a goal before and just ignored it, because my desk is truly a horrendous sight! I don't even know what's in most of the heaps, it really needs a damn good clear out; I'll probably throw a lot of things away, and hopefully it should make staying organised that little bit easier.
• See friends at least twice: This is another one which was part of my 2016 goals; with one thing and another, it's easy to let friendships fall by the wayside, so I want to make a conscious effort this year to see at least two friends, on at least two separate occasions, each month.
• Work on my fitness: I want to keep up swimming at least three times per week, hopefully swimming for 40 minutes rather than the 30 I've been doing. I also want to fit in at least one run per week to try and get my running fitness back a little. I feel like that's a target in itself, and I can work on distances once I've got my fitness back up!

Do you set yourself monthly goals? What are you hoping to achieve in January?

xo