52-in-52 list: 2023 edition

I think I blinked and 2022 was over. And to be honest, I think this was the fastest I’ve ever written a 52 list. Only a couple of days ago it had two items on it, and one of them got removed.

I like this list. It’s a mix of fun, goal-setting, and addressing things that I keep putting off. Yes, I shouldn’t need a list for those, but nothing quite beats the satisfaction of crossing something off a list, am I right? Also yes, I am that person that I write a list, then do something not on the list, so I add it to the list and then cross it off.

Welcome to how I do my weekend chores.

And also my brain. I am a list maker, and a list crosser-outerer.

Anyways…onto the list.

Hobbies

• Learn calligraphy/lettering on the iPad – I had this on the list last year but didn’t get it done. I really want to learn lettering and get better handwriting in general.
• Read 5 books – I’m not making enough time to sit and read, and I really want to try to focus on that for a period this year.
• Finish an online course – my brain craves new and interesting things, and I want to combine it with some skill-building at the same time. I’ve seen there are some free courses through Google, and also some monthly subscriptions for university-offered courses, so there’s some great options out there.
• Create a photo book of photos from 2022 – remember that feeling of leafing through a photo album, looking at pictures? I miss that feeling. Time to bring the photo albums back.
• Get back into the habit of blogging regularly – I miss making the time to write and reflect. My therapist once said to me “don’t ever stop writing”. Last year I stopped writing, and the second half of the year was a really tough one for me. Coincidence? Probably, but it’s still a good excuse to get back into writing.
• Watch the sunrise once a month – there is nothing better than the stillness of morning, and I want to make the time to embrace that.
• Reorganise my craft drawers – those things are a MESS. Stuff everywhere, offcuts, and a lot of supplies I should be using but forget they even exist.
• Finish a project that I’ve been putting off – there is a specific project that I wrote this one for. A sewing project, a kimono. It’s one of those ones that I keep thinking it’s too hard and put off. Well, it’s time for me to tackle it head on and finish this project. Let’s just hope that all the patterns I had cut and pinned are still attached properly. Otherwise I guess I’m finding another project to do!
• Frame my word of the year – last year, I put the word “enough” in a photo frame and hung it from the wall in front of my treadmill. It was super effective, and I want to do the same this year.
• Finish hanging up photos at home – I have only a few photos on the walls around the house, and I’ve noticed that Luca does have a sense of pride when he looks at them. So why not celebrate our family and our friends with more photos?
• Use my SUP (stand up paddleboard) – last year we bought an inflatable SUP on a whim, and then didn’t make the time or take the opportunity to use it. This year I want to change that. It’s a great workout, and so much fun.
• Focus on learning about a different country one night each month – this one I think will be one of the toughest on the list to achieve, but so much fun! A huge thanks to my friend Kim for this suggestion. The plan is to pick a different country each month. We’ll research them, possibly cook a meal from one of the cultures from that nation, watch a youtube video…whatever we feel like! It’s a great opportunity to teach Luca, and ourselves, about the world we live in.
• Take a painting class – I have wanted to go to a sip & paint class for so long and have never bothered. This is my chance. Also, a big thanks to Erica for reminding me that I’ve wanted to learn how to paint.
• Start an Italian course on Duolingo – A friend suggested sign language, which I would absolutely love to do, but unfortunately, I feel like I wouldn’t get to practice it often enough. So I’m re-adding my goal to learn Italian so that if we ever make it to Italy to visit my husband’s family I’ll be able to talk to them.

Fitness

• Run 5k nonstop – This is a carryover from last year, but something I still very much want to achieve. I’m halfway there, and running for 20mins continuously at the moment so it’s well within my reach. I’ve enjoyed taking it slowly and not pushing the limit, and for once, not getting injured!
• Finish a run training program – this goes hand-in-hand with my 5k running. I’m following a 5k training program on iFit, but after that, I would like to tackle the 10k one. There are a lot of run training programs I have in sight for this year actually.
• Add yoga to regular exercise – my flexibility and my posture is disgusting from working at a desk job. I’d love to add yoga to stretch everything out and build more stability so that my body is more equipped and capable for running.
• Add strength to regular exercise – this one is more about toning, physical appearance and injury-prevention. I do the odd strength session on a whim, I’d love to increase this to be regularly a couple of times a week. I know I’ll really benefit from this.
• Start a 1km intentional streak – I have a friend who started a 1 mile run streak over a year ago, and I’m so inspired by it! I thought about tracking based on mileage instead of kilometres, and then remembered it’s much easier to track everything in kilometres (since that’s what my stuff is set to) instead of 1.6km to figure out a mile. So, a kilometre it is. Also it can be a run or walk. I don’t want to put pressure on my body just yet while I’m coming back from a run, so I’ll just ease it in. And I can always run if I want to!
• Log more kilometres in 2023 than I did during 2022 Run Downunder – Remember that run that I’m doing to virtually run around Australia? Last year I was terrible at going for walks and tracking them for this event. As a result I had a low’ish year, and my finish date has blown out to 2030. Yikes! I barely did 1/4 of the mileage I did during 2021, so it’s time to pick that right back up.

Health and Well Being

• Try to consistently meal plan – I’m at my best when I am organised, and I know what I have to do. Cooking and food is scary to me, and the idea of just making a meal on a whim gives me panic attacks (seriously – that happened last week). So to try and better at cooking, to take the pressure off my husband at home, and to get healthier, I’m introducing regular meal planning.
• Buy flattering new clothes – I wear the same clothes all the time, and they’re not the most flattering for my body shape. I need to start understanding my curves, and buying clothing that accentuates all the right areas. Something that gives me confidence, not anxiety and feel embarrassed when I leave the house.
• Complete a meditation program – learning how to meditate was a recommendation from my therapist. As someone with high-functioning anxiety, being able to give my brain a break and just enjoy the silence, will go a long way to helping me with introducing healthier coping mechanisms and shift gears away from my eating disorder.
• Get a breast scan – ladies, a reminder to check for breast cancer. I’m grossly overdue on this one, and I’m using it as a public service announcement. I’ve had lumps taken before, thankfully benign, but I need to get everything scanned to make sure nothing bad is happening there. My mum defeated breast cancer, and I want to make sure that if anything happens to me, I’m onto it early.
• Visit the dentist again – ahhhh, my nemesis. I think sometimes the only reason I go is because it’s on this list. They terrify me. But I need to get the remaining holes in my mouth fixed. I need to conquer this fear.
• Stay binge free for 60 days – I want to start this year off right, and in control. I’m still facing some stressful situations, and if the motivation to not give in to the urges comes purely from this list, then so be it. Whatever it takes.
• Check-in with myself weekly – I need to start spending time just really looking at myself, how do I feel. What do I need? Is there an issue I’m avoiding? How can I change something to make life better?
• Get a massage – yeah look not a lot of reasons for this one, other than I like them and I want one.
• Get a pedicure – with all the running training I’m doing my poor feet are abused. They need a bit of love.
• Get my eyebrows done – also a rollover from last year. I’d love to get them tidied up a bit!

Family and Relationships

• Have a weekend away with my husband – it’s so nice to just spend some one-on-one time together, and remember ourselves as individuals instead of mum and dad.
• Reinstate regular date nights – we used to have a date night once a month, and that’s been missing for a while now. I’d love for us to start making more time for each other on the regular again instead of the everyday admin mode of life. A friend kindly reminded me this can be as simple as just sitting and talking to each other, not going out (which sounds perfect to me).
• Go hiking with Drew and Luca – we did this last year, and I really wanted to do it again. Luca has been asking to climb a nearby mountain, and I know the chances are slim of him making it the first time, but it would be a lot of fun.
• Get professional family photos – Morgan, get ready, I’m doing it this time. I hope. Time to conquer my fear of being in front of the camera again, and more importantly, capture the love and fun that our family has.
• Create a list of activities to be completed with Luca (written with Luca) – part of my desire to be more present and make some wonderful memories with him.
• Have a mummy/son date – it would be nice to spend the day out and about with Luca doing some fun things together that are outside of the norm!
• Have a weekend away with family – I’m craving a bit of a trip with my family, extended cousins, aunts etc. Maybe it’s time to book in another Golden Girls trip?
• Go for a family bike ride – as Luca gets older I want to encourage him to get more confidence on his bike. Going together on a family bike ride is a great way to help build his strength, spend time outdoors, and do something healthy and fit together.
• Participate in a scavenger hunt with Luca – how much fun are scavenger hunts?! I’m blatantly using my child for my own personal gain in this one, but no regrets.

Travel

• Visit a friend I haven’t seen for a long time – I’m hanging out to see some friends in particular that it’s been years, so hopefully I can coordinate a time to see them this year.
• Travel interstate – holiday tiiiime! But there is one key event this year that I have in mind to fulfil this goal, and I can’t wait to tick it off! You’ll just have to wait and see what it is.
• Go camping somewhere we’ve not been before – another carryover from last year, but it was so much fun researching new places!
• Visit Seaworld – I’ve been wanting to take Luca here for a long time now, and we were lucky enough to receive vouchers for entry for Christmas. Unfortunately, the timing of publishing this list is poor, as there was a devastating accident there yesterday with the helicopters. Sending love and thoughts to the families of the victims x

Finance

• Do Christmas shopping online, early – every year I’m so jealous of my sister-in-law’s organisation skills, and every year I swear I’m going to do it. This is the year….that I swear to do it…again.
• Buy new running sunglasses – I have been running indoors for so long now this hasn’t been a worry, but the next time I have to run outside I’m going to cry. The only sunglasses I have left are ones that fall off your face as soon as you look any direction other than straight ahead. They are not meant for running. I’ve wanted some Goodr ones for so long that I might indulge myself, but given I use prescription glasses, they would only be good for short stints (5ks etc). Which is fine, because they’re just so damn nice.
• Buy recovery thongs – this has been on my wishlist for so long, and last year I thought I had ticked it off. Until they cancelled my order and refunded the money as they weren’t able to get the items in stock, nooooooo! This year will be my year.
• Review my Superannuation – big shoutout to Elizabeth for this one. This is a level of adulting that I never do, and I absolutely should. Public service announcement for everyone else too! I’ll quote Elizabeth directly for this one for reasons: “A boring but necessary thing: Check your superannuation. Make sure it’s performing. Check that it’s not invested in anything you find morally objectionable. Consolidate into one account if applicable.”
• Increase my savings – I have family savings, and then I have personal savings. And my personal savings stands at a massive $10. Yep, I’m not buying much anytime soon. Time to actually improve that.

Social Kindness/Giving Back

• Donate Blood – goes without saying how important and necessary this is. Last year I didn’t put enough effort into this, and the only time I thought about it was when I got COVID and thought “phew, I should have donated blood but I didn’t, glad I didn’t because I might have been positive!”. So anyway, I’m making more of an effort this year.
• Do something kind for a stranger – we all know how much this means when someone does something unexpectedly, and sometimes how well-timed it is. Last year I distinctly remember having a morning where I just wanted to bawl. I was venting to my friends online, then drove to the coffee shop. I pulled up, and was informed that the car ahead of me had just paid for my coffee. I cried. That small act of kindness changed my whole day around. I’d love to do that for someone else.
• Volunteer somewhere – not sure where, or how, or when. But I want to just give back.
• Pay for something for a stranger – see the coffee example above. I want to change someone’s day by doing something small. And yes, this is technically a duplicate on the list but just re-worded differently. Shut up, I want to be nice. You’re not being nice. Go buy someone a coffee.

So, what do you think of the list!? Did anyone else give into the temptation of doing a list this year? Or if you did one last year, how did you go?

I’m looking forward to crossing these off and having a great 2023. Happy new year everyone, let’s kick some goals!