2020 resolutions

So what resolutions do I have for 2020? Read on for my goals for blogging, travelling, creativity, fitness, books and some personal stuff.

It’s only the second time I’m making resolutions for the year ahead. Last year was my first go at it. By the end of the year I found it very useful to look back and see what I have accomplished – or what I didn’t accomplish and why.

 

Blogging

I started with this blog in September 2018 and so far so good! I’ve managed to (more or less) publish a blog post every other week during the past year. I want to maintain that frequency and alternate between the different topics that I’m passionate about.

I’ve started reviewing and updating some older posts during this Christmas break to optimise their SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and will continue to do so over the next few months. This might lead me to opt for a paid version of WordPress as that means I can install some plugins to improve things, but we’ll see how it goes.

Other than that I’ll look at my outreach on social media (Twitter & Instagram) and how I can improve my number of followers and e-mail subscribers. If you’ve got any suggestions I’d love to hear them!

 

Travelling

Last year I started a ‘Best of Belgium‘-series. I wanted to put some of the great must-visits in Belgium in the spotlight, and not just write about the places I travel to abroad. I talked about Antwerp and Bouillon so far, and I’m gathering info on Brussels (so much to write about!) and Ghent at the moment. A great excuse also to visit your own country all over again!

I will continue to round up my recommendations for weekend trips. A guide for Prague is still in the making and more weekend trips to come in 2020! I also still need to write up our Georgia trip, so expect more updates for the longer trips as well!

Last but not least I want to keep up travelling in a sustainable way. Last year I tried to fly less and managed to take bus or train for half of my trips. I’d like to do better this year, so we’ll see how far we get!

 

Creativity

I’ve been watching a lot of the Abstract documentaries on Netflix lately, and have been loving the typography episodes on there. So in 2020 I’d like to focus more on letters. How exactly I’m not sure yet, but some sort of practical or theoretical practice (or both) would be great.

I also want to keep practicing my Sketchnotes. Last year I’ve helped my other half on a few creative projects he did for work and uni, so I might showcase some of the creative stuff we do together on the blog too in the coming year.

In 2019 I took part in my first #100daychallenge whereby I drew one word every day for 100 days in a row. It wasn’t easy, but bar one day (I only got back after midnight) I managed to do it for 100 days in a row. So I’m very much up for taking part in the challenge again this year, and might combine with my desire to do more with typography.

 

Fitness

OK, this is a super concrete goal, and one I’ve been thinking about for a very long time: I’m gonna run a marathon in 2020! I’ve never done one before, so eeeek! I’ve started training in October, right after we signed up for the Rotterdam Marathon in April. So far so good, but we’ve got a few tough months ahead of us training-wise. More on this soon in a separate blog post!

 

Books

I still owe you Part II of the books I read in 2019. Don’t worry, it’s in the works. In the meantime I’ve started a new Goodreads challenge for this year: 20 books in 2020. Slightly less than last year, but hopefully that will allow me to read a few longer books that I’ve got lying around. I also want to read more books in Dutch, and perhaps a few in French as well.

 

Personal

I started a new job in communications last April with a one-year contract. In 2020 that contract should be made permanent, which I’m very excited about! I’ve learned a lot last year, both about comms work as well as about working in a team. Luckily that team is very supportive and the colleague I work with closely and I are very compatible. We’ve planned out 2020 to great detail. It will require some hard work to deliver it all, but I’m looking forward to it.

Both in and outside the job I want to keep on learning, whether that’s through courses, by practicing, travelling, or from friends or family. I was very lucky to spend some time with my own and my boyfriend’s family over Christmas, as well as host 11 friends for New Year’s. It’s been a reminder as well to celebrate and cherish the time with our close ones. And to keep making time for friends and family in 2020.

One thing I’ve been thinking about quite often lately is what Andy J. Miller calls ‘your Master Sword’. He discussed it in a podcast episode of The Creative Peptalk, and I made a sketchnote about it because I felt it was something important I really wanted to capture. It’s food for thought for the distant future, but I think it’s good to think about where you want to head to in the long term, and what steps you should take to get there.

So that’s me for this year! What are your goals or resolutions for 2020?

If you like these blog posts you can always subscribe below to receive them in your inbox as soon as they’re published. Or you can follow me on Instagram or Twitter, of course (latest posts below).

Advertisement