If you’re a regular reader of my blog you hopefully saw my 2019 goals article which I shared at the start of the year. Sadly, only a couple of weeks after publishing this blog post I underwent emergency surgery in the Maldives and was in recovery for a few months following this ordeal. My goals were put on hold while I put all my time and energy into rebuilding my strength. However, every setback needs a comeback and I like to think I built myself up to be stronger than before! Despite my rocky start to the year I have still managed to make good progress with my goals and wanted to give you guys an honest update on where I am at.
Goal: Spend more time with my friends, family and boyfriend.
If there was any benefit from my surgery it is that it gave me a chance to spend quality time with those closest to me, and I will always be grateful for that. And now that my life is back on track? I have definitely had my priorities shifted by my near death experience. I have given more time to those I love than I did in 2018. Although I am definitely not perfect, I am making a conscious effort to connect with them on a more regular basis and I can feel that it is doing our relationships a world of good.
Goal: Work with a couple of incredible charity partners.
This is in integral part of an overall goal I set myself to use my platform for good, and I am so happy to say that finally 6 months into this year I had found the right charity partners for me! I reached out to and am now working with Rainforest Alliance and Sea Shepherd, two organisations that do incredible work to support our planet and its delicate ecosystems. I can’t wait to see what awesome projects we can work on together!
Goal: Daily walks in green space.
I have definitely been prioritising green space in 2019 and after my surgery I walked around my local park every single day as I couldn’t go to the gym. As life has picked back up, I am perhaps not doing daily walks in the park but always trying to get outside even just for 30 minutes a day. This has a huge impact on my headspace.
Goal: Take nutrition seriously & learn how to eat a sustainable plant based diet.
Well, this goal has gone completely out the window! I bought myself a super intense text book all about how to eat vegan for the long haul…. and I haven’t opened the first page. Oops!
Goal: Bring out another reusable product.
This is happening, but painfully slowly! I released my Chilly’s whale water bottle last year and you guys loved it. As a result I want to create a reusable coffee cup to release in 2019. I have been in discussions about this since December last year and it still haven’t happened yet, but trust me – I am working on it. I have settled on the style and design I want, it just takes months to make them. I really hope to have the cups out in autumn!
Goal: Work late on my laptop less, have days offline and take one long digital detox a year.
This goal was focused around improving my relationship with work, technology and my online job. I have to admit… I haven’t done very well at this at all. I haven’t taken a single day offline since the start of 2019 – even through my surgery recovery. I haven’t taken an extended digital detox and I have still been working late on my laptop. BUT, I will give myself a pat on the back for being better at switching off over the weekends. I have been giving myself one day off a week pretty much every week, which is improvement for me and I think that is worth celebrating!
Goal: Bring out a digital plant based recipe book.
This has just launched – Eat More Plants! I am so happy with how it has turned out, after 6 months of work it is truly a beautiful and practical book, I am so proud of it. If it goes down well I hope to release a few more in the future, perhaps seasonally. I also want to work on another training guide which is focused on rebuilding strength, which I had to do after my surgery, but god knows where I will find the time to write that!
Goal: Launch my own podcast.
This is a project I have been working on for about a year. I pulled together the first draft podcast structure in summer 2018 and I had my first meetings with producers that autumn. But then life got a little mad in January with my surgery and recovery and the podcast got pushed to the back of my mind. When I came back to full health I felt like I was playing catch up after being off work for a couple of months. The podcast wasn’t an urgent project. And now? I have such a crazy schedule over the next few months that I get worried I won’t be able to give it the time and attention it requires and deserves. I have the podcast structure, I have all my guests planned, I even have a name – but put simply I haven’t made it a priority to put it into production just yet. Here’s hoping I get my act together before the end of the year!
I think it is so important to re-visit your goals every 6-8 weeks to ensure that you are on track to achieve them. Writing out this honest update on my progress has made me realise how much this year has turned around since my rocky start, but also how much I have left to achieve! Stay tuned!
Zanna x
