Looking forward to November: energy, birthday and parties!

Yesterday we looked back on October, today we look forward to what November will bring! We’re still channeling Halloween here though, with a fancy dress party on Saturday. The Saturday after that there’s a big family party and at the end of the month I’m turning 27. With hopefully family comin’ in and friends comin’ out as Brad would say. Amongst all these festivities, I’m somehow supposed to churn out work for my PhD!

I’m starting the month off strong, with more emphasis on regular exercise and early bedtimes as a foundation for success elsewhere in my life. One of my goals for 2017 was to run 5 km in less than 30 minutes. This month I’ll work on being active every day, as well as doing my first official parkrun, so that I can hopefully check that one off before the end of the year! I’m also going to switch my computer and the Internet on my phone off at 21:15 every night to ensure that I get my beauty sleep and wake up energised. I’ve shared this on the line now, so I’m more accountable too!

I turn 27 on the 29th, but I don’t feel like I am about to be 27 – it just feels so… old. I know it isn’t, and I’m in a good place in my life right now, but birthdays always feel a bit bittersweet. To focus myself on the positive I’m compiling a list of 27 things I want to experience or accomplish in the year to come… Any ideas? Do you feel the same about birthdays? Please share in the comments below!

Personal goals

🏃‍♀️ Run in first parkrun

🗺️ Do concept-mapping for second literature review

✍️ Share nine blog posts

On the blog

🏖️ A guide to making the most of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – part two: what to do and what to see (part one available here)

🍽️ Easy plant-based meals: three vegan lunch recipes (breakfast recipes available here)

⌨️ The rest of the series on becoming a blogger: Doing the research and creating your editorial calendar, and Blog post workflow (the first two posts are available here: Creating your website and Developing blogging habits)

🌱 Introduction to permaculture: where to find out how to best grow your own food

💐 Our office transformation: pictures and (possible) productivity gains

🎂 My birthday bucket list: 27 things I want to do while 27!

I’ll link to the posts when they come out, but if you want to make sure you get them – if you’re curious about becoming a blogger for instance – do make sure you subscribe to my newsletter to get all the posts as they come out.

Action points

🏋️‍♀️ Create a fitness/wellbeing goal for the end of the year. Bonus points if it involves the crisp outdoors or other people!

📝 Join me in writing a bucket list of what you want to do this year! Please share a few of your ideas in the comments to give me inspiration for my birthday list.

📬 Subscribe to receive my upcoming blog posts! Just pop your email in the box above on the right for some goodness in your inbox.