Salut, I'm Julia.

My time machine didn't work and 2023 was a whoosh of time passing by. For the first time in quite a few years, I've decided to give myself time and space alone over the Christmas / New Year period, to just breathe a little and reflect on the year that's passed. It feels a little strange saying this, because there seems to be some underlying pressure for this period to be spent with others, being happy and merry (or maybe it's just me? 🤷🏻‍♀️). It's really nice though, to be able to just sit with my thoughts and reflect on the year that's passed, and think about what I want to do in the year ahead. 😊

What I'd like to keep

• Reading: I've been reading a lot this year, and I want to keep this up. I've been using a combination of Obsidian, Reader, Kindle, and Goodreads to keep track of what I'm reading, and the knowledge I've gained... and it's been working really well.

• Journalling: For the first time ever, I have managed to journal daily across an entire year. I've been using Obsidian for this, and have therefore been journalling digitally. The secret sauce is using Obsidian for my daily workflow, meaning journaling and task management all happens in the same place. I use a daily template with set prompts, but I've been reviewing these in preparation for what I think will serve me better in 2024.

• Exercise: This has always been part of my daily routine, but it's been extremely tough keeping myself motivated in 2023, due to my knee injury. I've been doing rehab for this, and am trying hard not to compare my current self, to pre-injury self, and to just keep going. I'm hoping that 2024 will be the year I can get back to pain-free running. 🤞🏻

• Volunteering: Wanting to get out of my head and get more involved in my community, I did some volunteering shifts this year. It's not always easy to want to find the time to do this, but I always feel better for it afterwards. I want to keep this up in 2024.

• Spending time and money on experiences: I've been more and more mindful of choosing experiences over things in recent years, and this is a reminder to myself to keep doing that. Some of the amazing experiences I've had this year include:

  • Watching Wimbledon live (I even bought one of their famous towels)
  • Catching the Red Hot Chili Peppers live in concert (one of my favourite bands)
  • Walking the last 120km of the Camino de Santiago (the amazing people I met on this walk made this trip)
  • Travelling to Japan for a 2 week family trip (precious)
  • Last minute weekend getaways to the Brecon Beacons, Wales and Gothenberg, Sweden (because why not?)

What I'd like to change

• Less time at work: I've been working a lot this year, and whilst I love what I do, I want to spend more time on other things and work on more hobbies. I need to resist the temptation to work overtime. This is also part of the reason I've been blogging less.

• More time with friends: My natural inclination is to be on my own, as I love being on my own. I also love meaningful one-on-one time with friends. Working remotely, it's easy to spend way too much time at home, and I need to fight the inertia, and get out and see people.

• More time with nature: I'm a big city person, but I feel happiest in nature. It's not necessarily about big trips out either - even the small things help. Walking around one of the great London parks and looking out into the horizon, mucking around outside in the rain, or just propagating some house plants. Getting away from watching a screen is also a bonus.

• More time on hobbies: I want to spend more time on developing old and new hobbies. Specific things that come to mind are drumming, learning French, and perhaps, learning something completely new. Bonus if this can be coupled with point 2 above, on "more time with friends". 😉

Have a great 2024 everyone! 🎉