My New Year’s Resolutions for 2019

I know it’s pretty cliché to do this and yes most people drop all of their resolutions within a week but I thought I’d share mine with you.

2018 Recap

This year I mainly focused on my little angel. My pregnancy was (thankfully) quite great up to the last month when I was, what felt like, the size of a whale. I waddled around in the London summer heat which was uncomfortable and HOT 🥵 I then went into an induced labour around my due date as my little boy decided to get rather lazy in the last few days and not move a lot.

The labour itself was quite painful and long, especially after I lost a lot of blood, but worth it once he was finally out and they put him on my chest! I fell utterly and completely in love with him. The kind of love I hadn’t felt before.

My recovery was slow and painful but after 2 months I was healed and felt (and looked) more like myself. Only down side was that I ended up with a little mummy tummy which I am now working hard to get rid of.

These months have been amazing as I watched my baby grow from a newborn all the way to a 7 month old. And honestly loved every single second of it.

Related Post: My Third Trimester and Birth Story

Another big part of 2018 for me was starting my blog. I worked hard to design it the way I wanted and had to redo it a few times before I was totally satisfied. I haven’t created as much content as I wanted to but I am working to change that.

The other platform I started working on was Instagram. I managed to put myself out there with my pictures but the engagement with my content isn’t as fabulous as I want it to be but everything takes time and effort!

2019 Here we come…

1. Produce more content for the blog and post more frequently

In 2018 I decided to start a blog. I researched everything I could find on starting a blog, producing content, sharing it across all platforms, monetizing and keeping things consistent and frequent. Then came along baby and the blog fell into second, ok maybe fourth place. From September I started designing everything that I wanted to see on my blog and producing some content but definitely not consistently nor frequently.

I resolve to stick to the following blogging schedule as best I can:

Once a week – Short and Sweet Tips on Beauty (skin care and make up), Motherhood (pregnancy and baby), Lifestyle (food, travel, organising, planning and reading) and Fashion.

Once a month – My Fashion Favourites – a blog post on all my favourite fashion pieces that month.

Once a month – Beauty Product Reviews – a blog post reviewing a brand or specific product that I have been using or used in the past.

Once a month – Newsletter – covering the last month on my Instagram (FB, Twitter, Pinterest maybe) and blog, including some special freebies specifically for my subscribers.

Once every 3 months – Capsule Wardrobe – every season I will create a capsule wardrobe consisting of 37 pieces which I will mix and match for 3 months for a more minimalistic approach to my fashion life.

Once every 3/ 6 months – LookBook –  will try to create a lookbook style e-magazine covering all my looks from the capsule wardrobe I have created.

I also have a great idea for my blog once I am more established and have a more consistent following. Watch this space!

2. Get more fit and workout

I really hate to admit this but since getting pregnant I haven’t been keeping fit. I have tried to eat healthy (where possible) but haven’t been working out unfortunately. During the first 3 months of pregnancy I was unwell so couldn’t work out. Then I was busy with work, planning my baby shower, shopping for baby and nursery essentials and rearranging my bedroom to make space for our little angel. Then I wasn’t feeling too well again plus quite heavy to do squats. Once the baby came I was recovering from the labour itself and before I could actually life things and move around for more than just 10 mins came sleepless nights so any free time I did have between naps left only time for me to rest/ sleep.

I know I know it’s awful I really need to get back into Yoga and Pilates to get more toned up. My problem areas are my mummy tummy, core and pelvic floor and 2019 is going to be the year I get into shape! *PLEASE help keep me accountable so I keep up with this resolution as it’s the most important one i think*

3. Create my Planner app

I LOVE planning. I always purchase a diary/ planner/ journal and I love to plan. Then came the age of the smart phone and planners were digitized. There was an app for a calendar. An app for a to-do list, an app for a journal and an app for a routine. Well you get the point. There are different apps for different things – but I really want one app for everything I need. Therefore I have decided to create a Planner app that covers everything I want and need in a planner on my phone. It’s a big idea as I don’t really know anything about creating apps but first thing first, I’ll design it and hopefully my other half will actually create it.

4. Study something new

I have always wanted to get into event planning (including wedding planning), professional organizing and the hotel sector. Yes all three are very different but they all excite me. I do have a career at the moment – I am a lawyer! Just currently on maternity leave and since I have been off work I have been thinking pretty hard as to what makes me happy and where I see myself in the next few years. I want to find a good balance between raising my children, having a beautiful and happy home and my own side business.

Working full-time for the next 5 years probably won’t be something that I can do (or even would want to do) as I want to focus on my baby and if all goes well (God bless) have another baby. Running my own business is what I was always destined for. There’s two kinds of people in the world: those who are content with working for someone else, and those who are happiest when they run a business and work for themselves. I am one of the latter people. I have worked for someone else for 7 years and I have understood that it is not for me.

So what am I going to do? Interior Designer? Professional Organizer? Event Planner? Hotel Owner? In all fairness most of the above go hand in hand and help each other. Where do I start? I’ll find a course and study each area in my free time (if that’s even possible with a baby) and start somewhere. I’ll have to take some me time to sit down and plan out how I will be doing this but I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!

5. Work on my Instagram posts, stories and following

Instagram and it’s very tricky and sneaky algorithm is a real B****! Sorry for swearing but it is. I have been working so hard and every time I think I am doing a little bit well and my following is more engaging and increasing, the next day a whole bunch of people unfollow me and I go down in numbers. It’s very disheartening and upsetting, so much so that I just want to give up. But perseverance is key!

So here’s the 2019 Instagram plan:

(i) post better quality pictures – whether that means work better with Lightroom to edit my pictures, or invest in a great camera to take better pictures.

(ii) work at creating an aesthetically pleasing and exciting Instagram feed.

(iii) post more exciting Insta stories especially with more of me in the videos and more of my every day life.

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Ok so there you have it. Sorry if it was a little longer then you expected but this really was a great self-care exercise for myself to map out the year ahead.

Give it a go – what are your 2019 New Year’s Resolutions? Let us know in the comments.

Til next time XX Monica XX