Here is the final 5 things on my list. As simple as they may be concept wise I realise just how overwhelming these changes can be. This is why I split the list into two so I hope you find the second half as interesting as the first.

6. Reading more and watching less

I have always said that I wanted to read more. I love a good book and have got lots of them that I constantly tell myself I will get round to reading at some point. But typically there was excuse after excuse and generally life got in the way. Well I say life, I realise that actually it was more like the television got in the way. I had become hooked on a plethora of television dramas and would spend my evenings catching up on all the different series. Now don’t get me wrong, I haven’t ditched the television completely and am still anxiously awaiting the new Game of Thrones to start! That being said I have also made more time to not have the television on.

What I had found is that the television was on all day in my house regardless of whether it was being watched or not. I was spending “quality time” with the children by watching Peppa Pig instead of playing a game with them and talking to them. Or it was an easy distraction from doing anything. I didn’t feel stimulated and I realised my girls weren’t getting that much enjoyment out of it either.

Nowadays we listen to music more and play together, or if I have time to myself I prefer to put on soft music and read a book or do a crossword. I feel much more relaxed in myself and feel I am keeping my brain a lot more active compared to how I have been in the past.

7. Sorting out my finances

I am nowhere near perfect when it comes to money. In fact I am the complete opposite! I have lots of debt, and at the start of 2018 no foreseeable way of getting out of that debt. I was in a lot of trouble I just knew it. Obviously this hasn’t completely changed however my mindset over the problem has.

I realised that by changing my life and living within my means, limiting certain spending meant I could start paying back my debts and regardless of how small these payments back were I was still paying money back. I also set up various bank accounts for different things (which I will go into more detail in another post) which helped me keep better track on my spending as well.

By the end of the year I have found myself now being able to spend money without feeling guilty or worrying that I may miss a bill because I wanted some new item of stationery. So yes I still have debts, but they are being paid back. I am on top of all household bills and for the first time in a very long time, I can say I have money in savings! So though not perfect, I am happier about my financial situation now better than I have ever been.

8. Daily journaling

I am not referring the mundane weekly planning that some of us do, or even the style of writing down absolutely everything about my day. I do have both electronic and paper planners from the mundane stuff and after trying over and over with the general splurge about my day I never could get on with this constant writing.

I now have a journaling app on my phone and make a note to put a short entry in on a daily basis. I aim to make this about gratitude more than anything, but also use it for general brain dumping too if need be. The great thing about the app I use is that I can take photos, so there are times when I want to capture an image and write a bit about that (especially with the children). The app then allows me to re-visit these happy memories which keep me smiling.

This method of journaling really helps me stay focused on the positives of life. What I am truly thankful and grateful for. Not the generalised things like friends and family, but actually being specific about it. For example, when my car died on me last month I could have stressed about the situation but instead my partner and I figured it out, and got the repair work done. That day instead of focusing on the stress of not having a car I focused on being grateful for having such a supportive partner; having a mechanic who could come out and fix the problem and for my mum who came to collect the children so they were kept entertained and didn’t miss out on their time with the grandparents.

9. Dealing with situations not problems

I was listening to a brilliant podcast towards the latter end of this year and was inspired by the following phrase

There are no such thing as a problem, this is a label you give to a situation

This really did make me stop and think about how I viewed life and areas where I was getting stressed which people had said was unnecessary. I quickly realised that actually this phrase was so true and so easy to implement as long as I paused and noticed when I was beginning to label something as a problem.

The label problem would lead me to stress about something, and overthink what I was doing. I would go through every possible “what if” scenario I could think of and I would then stress about what would happen. By removing the label I found myself analysing a situation and coming up with practical solutions instead.

10. Meditating more

I wouldn’t go as far as to say I have go e hippy with this one but I do feel that by making this a more regular practise in my life I am a much calmer person. I know it’s the one thing people bark on about doing but there’s obviously good reason for it.

I have found a great app to help me with a range of guided meditations. I still don’t do it every day as routine but just when I can. The beauty of the app is that I can choose something to suit not only my mood but also the amount of time I have available. Some can be done in 5 minutes and a lot of the time that’s all I need.

I hope this has been inspirational for you. Please do let me know in the comments what you think.