Monthly Recap: December 2015

As part of wanting to be more reflective, I decided I wanted to do some sort of monthly recap. I also have been thinking about ways I wanted to change in the past few weeks, and I've decided I want to also be better at looking at my goals more frequently and working more consistently towards them. So, in order to tackle both of these at once (to work towards another goal of streamlining my life), I've decided to start a monthly series on the blog, wherein I reflect on my month and look towards what I am going to do in the next month.

December 2015

Places I Went

Barcelona, Spain
St. Andrews, Melrose, and Pitlochry, Scotland
Dublin, Ireland

Books I Read

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari
I can't remember exactly when I finished this book, but I think it was either at the end of November or the beginning of December. I thought it was a really interesting book. Apart from the parts about romance, I found observations about this generation really interesting. I quoted it at my friends for weeks after, which is a pretty good indication of a good and interesting book.

Best on the Blog

And That's a Wrap - this was the post I wrote at the end of the semester basically to explain why I hadn't blogged that much. I wrote about all the things I accomplished this past semester.

Best on Instagram

Inspirations and Favorites

This month one of my inspirations and favorites actually recommended the other. My favorite illustrator is @frannerd, She also has a YouTube channel by the same name. I ordered one of her books from Etsy this month and read it after my exams. I absolutely loved it. I can't wait to read her full-length book, A Punto de Partir, which came out this month.

In one of her videos this month, she mentioned that she was listening to a podcast called Being Boss. I have listened to about 10 episodes so far and I absolutely love it. It's great to listen to while I run at the gym or if I have to walk across town to do an errand. It's a podcast for creative entrepreneurs. I'm not an entrepreneur, but I find the podcast so motivating and inspirational. It does kind of make me want to start my own business!

The last favorite/inspiration has been Casey Neistat's vlogs. I mentioned in the post about the blogging challenge that his vlogs were my inspiration for blogging every day. I really liked his idea about making more content just to force himself to do more, to not let perfection stand in his way, and make time for his passion. I thought all of that applied to my blog, and additionally I had been thinking about experimenting with content on here. It seemed like a crazy, but good, idea, so here I am.

Highlights of the Month

Without a doubt, the best thing this month was having my family visit. They right after my exams and stayed until New Years Eve. We went around Scotland, celebrated Christmas, and went to Dublin for a few days. It was so nice to get to be with them again!

The other huge thing this month was finishing my exams and wrapping up a long and hard semester. I am already itching to get back to the grind, but I definitely need to recharge my batteries before taking on all my responsibilities again.

Finally, I am so glad I went to Hogmanay. It was absolutely insane. You can read more in the blog post I wrote about it.

January 2016

Cleaning Up

This month I am planning to continue the work I did last month and finish clearing out all the junk in my life. I've been reading a lot of blog posts about minimalism. I wouldn't say I want to be a minimalist - at least not straight away - but I think a toned-down version of that could make a big difference in my life. I've already gone through most of the things on my list I wanted to clear out, so there's not a whole lot to do there.

Fitness

Fitness-wise, I want to run 3 km without stopping, be able to do 1 really good push up, and work out 3 times a week, and keep a fitness log.

Habits and Routines

I really want to work on a morning routine that involves less time on the internet wasting time. I want the morning to be a time to get organized and get motivated for the day. I want to focus on drinking more water in the morning and eating healthier. I also hope to work on getting out of bed sooner after waking up instead of playing on my phone for half an hour.


So that's everything! Hopefully I'll be checking in next month with something similar!