Last Updated on 29 December 2021 by Colette
I can’t quite believe we are ending 2021 with the same level of uncertainty and apprehension that we began it with.
When I wrote my goals for 2021, they were fairly low key. I knew I wasn’t going to have all that much control as to whether I achieved them or not – and I wasn’t wrong. Lockdowns, travel restrictions and more periods of isolation than I care to count were not on my side and as I look back through these goals now, them seem laughable in places – that, even in the midst of all the stress the start of 2021 brought, we really thought things would be “normal” again.
Of course, once the last of the restrictions were lifted in the summer, we did get a taste of a more normal life, one where we could start to plan and to go out – but this was always tempered by the risk of a positive LFT screwing it all over at the last minute or events been cancelled.
2021 saw us isolating almost constantly at one point – Ben and I seemed to be doing some sort of close contact relay and I worked out that I’ve spent close to three months of 2021 in isolation, Ben’s total is at least two months – he was literally doing a Covid Hokey Kokey at one point – in out, in out, shake it all about. Someone in the house was isolating on almost every bank holiday of the year – and we have ended the year in isolation too as Covid hit our house for the second time in mid December, wiping out the whole of the festive period for us.
As you’d expect, I paid little attention to my goals after I’d written them back in January – I think I only checked back on the post once to see what I’d actually written. So let’s see which of my low key goals for 2021 I nailed – not as the case may be!
In no particular order my goals for 2021 were:
1. Actually leave the country
We went to Wales. Twice. That counts as leaving the country doesn’t it? Obviously when I set that goal, I had hoped we’d need passports and an aeroplane, or at the very least a ferry – but it was just too much hassle to even consider in the end. After so much disappointment and cancelled plans through 2020, the last thing I could face was attempting to book, and get excited about, a foreign holiday that probably wouldn’t happen. I think we did the right thing in all honesty – we had a lovely week in Llandovery with my parents and sister, a few days in Swansea on a press trip and squeezed in a weekend of camping too. I’d like to tell you that we’re planning to go abroad next year but it would be a lie – the kids don’t even have passports right now. Ben is due to go on a foreign trip with school in the summer but I’m currently not holding my breath. Should the opportunity arise for a little foreign sunshine, we most certainly won’t turn it down but with ever changing restrictions and our current financial priorities, I think we’ll be aiming for some longer camping trips in the UK instead!
2. Earn enough and earn regularly!
At the start of the year, I said that 2021 needed to be about getting back on our feet after a period of financial instability and rebuilding my business. As it was, I spent 7 months of the year teaching between three and five days a week and that regular, guaranteed income made a huge difference but did mean I had a lot less time to concentrate on my blog and social media. Typically my income comes predominantly from my self-employed work but this year it has been heavily weighted towards teaching, at least until the end of the academic year when my long term booking ended and I didn’t actually get back into the classroom till December!
3. Cycle 200 miles through the year
The less said about this the better . . . my bike hasn’t left the garage since 2nd October 2020 according to Strava! We did do a lot of walking through January and February but this tailed off once the kids were back in school and we were able to socialise again. Regular periods of isolation and poor weather contributed to a decline in our walks too but I’m hopeful we can get back into the swing of things in the New Year!
4. Finish off half-written posts in drafts
I started the year with 37 draft posts – and as I said in my review of my 2020 goals, I don’t think I will ever hit “draft 0” just because of the way I work but I did have a really good go at finishing off and publishing some draft posts or just brutally deleting others (some of them had been there so long I couldn’t even really remember what they were about any more) – so, as I write this, I’ve currently got 19 posts in draft which doesn’t seem so bad and I’m pleased to say that most of them are quite fresh!
5. Go to the cinema on my own
I think I’ve only been to the cinema once all year – to see something with the kids that I didn’t even really want to see. So I’ve definitely not managed this one. In my defence, there has been very little on at the cinema that I’d even want to give my time to watching! Perhaps I’ll pop this on the list for 2022 – you know I love a repeating goal!
6. Tick off some more jobs in the house
Dave and I have always have quite a long list of bits and pieces that need doing in our house – from fairly minor tasks that just need a few hours of motivation and some gloss, to the more major things like replacing windows or re-plastering rooms. This year, Dave has invested heavily in new tools which have made jobs easier and more appealing to do – we have (or rather Dave has) ticked off quite a lot of jobs this year – both big and small. We’ve finally finished replacing all the windows in the house (we couldn’t afford to do it all when we had the extension built but have done the last ones on the old side of the house this year). The house feels more “finished” than it has ever done before and the things which need doing now are all fairly minor, cosmetic jobs that we can do ourselves – well bar the pointing which we really must get sorted in the new year!
7. Survive
When I wrote my goals for 2021, I said I had “started the year a bundle of breathlessness, sighs and anxiety” and, if I’m honest I’m ending it feeling much the same way. December has been hard. 2021 has been hard. My mental health has taken a battering at times. However, there have also been some really lovely bits – time with friends, holidaying with family and really appreciating being a part of a team again in work after so many years of not really belonging anywhere. I also wrote, “If I get to the end of this year and write my annual update to find that I didn’t achieve any of my goals at all – then it won’t matter, as long as we are all still here and smiling I’ll have won.” And we are. We are all still here, we are mostly smiling. We made it through an another unexpectedly tough year.
I haven’t even thought about setting goals for 2022 yet, perhaps something to think about next week.
If you have enjoyed this post and found it helpful, here are a few ways you can say thanks and support We’re going on an adventure:
Click here to buy me a virtual coffee – it’s like a little tip jar but with caffeine!
Click here to leave We’re going on an adventure a Google Review
Share this post with your friends – you’ll be helping me and them!
Follow We’re going on an adventure on Facebook or Instagram
