From The Pumpkin Patch

There’s been a noticeable change in the weather recently – it’s colder, greyer and the last autumn leaves are beginning to fall.

We’re officially heading into the winter months, a time to get cosy and hibernate. Those pesky goals and ambitions can wait until the New Year… right?

Now, I’m all for being cosy. I love nothing more than sitting down with a warm mug of herbal tea, a homemade cinnamon bun and a good book. But I also want to set myself up for success in 2025, and there’s no better time than now to create good habits.

As an example, I fell out of my workout routine last month after I caught the flu. It would have been easy for me to put off my return to the gym until January, but I challenged myself to get back to it at the start of November instead.

That way, by the time the New Year rolls around I’ll already be established in my workout routine and it won’t feel like such an effort. Genius.

This realisation has motivated me to tick a few more things off my list over the next six weeks, so I’ve set myself a handful of small goals that I want to achieve before the end of December. Some are related to my goals for 2025, while others are more of a push to achieve the resolutions I set for myself at the beginning of this year.

Get to 10,000 words of my novel

One of my biggest goals is to become a published author. This year, I finally took steps towards making that happen – I started writing a novel!

I had planned to complete my first draft before the end of this year, but life got in the way. I’ve also found that I’m a very methodical writer, and my first drafts probably look like someone else’s second or third. So I’m not going to be too hard on myself.

However, I do want to hit a milestone before 2025. I want to push myself to get to 10,000 words – it’ll be a challenge, but I really think I can do it.

Schedule medical appointments

My husband and I have been going through a medical process over the past few years (don’t worry, it’s nothing bad!) I’m not quite ready to talk about it here yet, but this may change in the future.

We took a break for a while, but we’re now ready to start again. It’s something that I don’t enjoy (and actively dread at this point!) but I know it’s necessary to achieve our dreams.

So instead of waiting until the New Year to start getting organised, we are actively scheduling the appointments and preparing now. This way, I’ll be set up and ready at the start of 2025 and will have no excuses!

Read two books

I set a goal this year to read 20 books, and as of mid-November I’ve read 18. Almost there!

That gives me six weeks to finish my current book and complete another one. I know it sounds like a lot of time, but lately I’ve been struggling to find the motivation to sit down and read after a busy day.

Now that I’m actively prioritising this goal, however, I’m confident that I can achieve it. I predict cosy evenings in my future…

Publish two blog posts

This is similar to my reading goal – I wanted to publish 15 blog posts this year, and I’m currently sitting at 13.

Between writing a book and juggling a day job, I often feel like my creative energy is too depleted to work on blog posts. But I love my little corner of the internet, and I’m determined to keep it alive despite my busy days.

If I can publish two more posts this year, I will have hit my goal. If you’re reading this, I only have one left!

Reactivate and update LinkedIn

I started a new job as a UX Writer over the summer and as a result, I’ve met a lot of new people.

I’m not the biggest fan of LinkedIn, but it doesn’t hurt to have a list of work-related connections. So I’ve set myself a goal to reactivate my LinkedIn account, update it with my current role and connect with my new work colleagues before the start of 2025.

It may be a little boring, but I’m hoping my future self will thank me.

I know it’s tempting to kick back and relax as December approaches. Maybe the cold weather and darker evenings have sapped your motivation, or maybe you’re exhausted due to recent political events. You might just be feeling burnt out in general after a busy year. I’m here to say, don’t give up!

Of course, it’s important to take care of yourself and rest as much as you need to. But it also feels really good to tie up any loose ends and get a head-start on your goals before the New Year.

Let’s end 2024 on a high note – prepared, refreshed and ready to succeed.