New Years Resolutions for Busy Mums

AD| I always set myself new year resolutions or yearly goals. The start of a new year is a great time to look back on the previous year and reflect on everything that we have achieved and those things we could do a bit better on.

Reflecting on my New Year Resolutions 2021

At the start of 2021, I didn’t set any new years resolutions or goals. This is unusual for me, but I had a 5-week old baby and was still recovering from a traumatic birth. I was struggling to find time to do anything for myself at this point, so it’s not surprising that I didn’t set any new year resolutions during this time. It was a time for me to just exist and work out how to function with a new baby. It was one hell of a life change and I needed time to adjust without setting any unrealistic expectations on myself.

Despite not having any goals as I entered 2021, I’m still happy with what I’ve achieved this year. Once I was able to function a bit more, I pulled my finger out with my blog and managed to scale up my earnings so I didn’t go back to work after my maternity ended. I now blog full-time. Which has been a goal of mine since around 2014!

I also reached 1 year of exclusively breastfeeding Leo. I have had an easier journey than most, but it has been tough at times. The sleepless nights, sore nipples and feeling touched out have been a challenge. But overall, I love breastfeeding my baby so much and it makes me sad to think that our journey will probably end in 2022. I’m hoping that Leo will self-wean at some point. As he eats more food now, he does feed less. It’s mostly before naps and nighttime that he wants boob.

Anyway, here’s my new year resolutions ideas for the next year.

My New Year resolutions 2022

As 2021 comes to an end, I have to be completely honest with myself and admit something. I am exhausted. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends. I spend all day looking after my baby, I spend the evenings working on my blog and I’m awake during the night many times with Leo. My only rest is when I’m cooking tea or washing the pots while my partner watches/baths Leo.

As a busy Mum who works from home, I can often get stressed and overwhelmed with everything I need to do. This usually leads to me not having much time to relax and do things I want to do. So here are the resolutions I want to achieve this year.

Have one evening off a week

I work when Leo is in bed, this is usually around 9 pm until midnight (it’s currently 22:52 as I type this). There are times when Leo wakes many times so I don’t get as much done as I had hoped. This makes it impossible to take time off. Some nights I just want to go to bed and catch up on sleep. Other times I want to sit and play on my phone or laptop doing what I please, other times I want to watch some TV. I hardly do any of these things now so I really need to plan some time off. Ideally, this would be on a Saturday evening.

Use deadlines to plan a realistic workload

When I get collaborations there’s usually a long deadline or I negotiate the deadline. Some might want a quick turn away, but most are very reasonable.

The problem is that I struggle to use the time appropriately. I just want to complete the work and get paid. I worry that if I leave it too late, I’ll suddenly get loads of things to do at once and will struggle to meet all the deadlines. I also worry about the work falling through. Then there’s the payment. I don’t get paid until the work is done, so the quicker it’s done, the quicker I can send the invoice and get paid.

I really need to relax a little bit with this and stop putting pressure on myself to get everything done as soon as possible. In my 9 years of blogging, I’ve only had one collaboration fall through and I’ve always been paid, so I should stop panicking about it.

Let go of the imposter syndrome

I’m quite confident with my blog, to be honest. I’ve been blogging for 9 years and blogging is my favourite platform. I’ve recently done some Instagram collaborations and I’ve felt really out of my depth. For years, I didn’t put any effort into Instagram. I just posted workout videos and used Instagram as a fitness diary. But since March, I’ve been really mindful about what I post and trying to make my feed something to be proud of.

It’s so nice to get paid for on my Instagram (I’ve been so keen to add more income streams!) but I feel so self-conscious about it! I’m always worried the posts will flop or they won’t like the content I put out. I need to just relax and know that my best is good enough. These types of feelings are something I’ve suffered with ever since I can remember so if I’m unable to find some peace, I will look into some private psychiatry to see there are some tools I can use to help me overcome the stress this causes me.

Play more piano

My piano playing has taken such a hit since Leo was born and I need to figure out a way to play a bit more often. It brings me so much joy to sit and play and I am lucky if I get 30 minutes a week. I’ve still got lots to learn and I need to improve my playing. But I’m not going to be able to if I don’t practice more.

Make time to exercise

Exercise makes me feel so good. But it’s impossible when you have a baby to look after. I used to go to the gym 5 or 6 times a week. I’ve recently invested in a running pram which should arrive in a few weeks. I just need to commit to getting out in it! I’m so excited for it to arrive. I just need to do 20 minutes to start with and then build up to 30 minutes.

Spend less time on my phone

I often sit and just cycle through the usual apps. Emails, Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp. I’m not really being productive, but just doing it out of habit.

I really want to spend less time on my phone. Especially now Leo is getting older. I don’t want him to see me fixated on my phone and influence him to do the same. I want to spend more quality time where I am focusing purely on my child. I need to get into the habit of putting my phone out of sight so I can play with him without being tempted to check my email.

Continue my work on SEO

I’ve been working hard on my SEO plan but I need to keep the momentum going. It’s time-consuming but I know it will be worth it. I’ve already seen improvement. My downfall is usually taking time to research the right keywords and not giving up when I can’t find one that I can rank for. I often end up just then targeting one that’s got too much competition.

I know working on SEO will be great for my blog as it can help bring traffic in passively and I can charge more for collaborations! I’ll probably write a separate post with my blog goals for 2021.

Hopefully, I’ll be successful in achieving these simple new year’s resolutions!

What are your resolutions for 2022?