Lifestyle changes #1 - beginnings.

It is a new year after all. I thought I'd give myself a week or so to really decide which direction I wanted my life to travel in this year, and then make a big push to go for it. I'm going to keep a journal of how things are going here for self motivational purposes. If people start getting behind me on this then I'll feel more compelled to keep going. I may even post images of how I'm doing to keep myself motivated. more on that later.

I want to make a few changes to the way I live my life. Here they are, and how they're going so far:

I want to get bigger. Not in a 'want to get fatter' way - as in more muscular and fit. I started going to the gym about two months ago, so that the new year wouldn't feel like a forced start: that I'd already have momentum. It's hard work, but I'm starting to see some results!

Eat healthier. Eh, I'm doing alright. Scrap that, I'm doing terrible. My intake of fruit and veg has increased, but so has my intake of crappy foods. I need to cut them out and quickly. But it's so difficult. Every time I eat fruit I find myself craving chocolate or crisps. I need some kind of rewards system.

Find a full time, permanent job. I have a couple of part time jobs, but they're only temporary at the moment. I need a career that will pay decent money and offer me security. I don't have that yet. I need to get my life started.

Become tidier. I cleaned the kitchen in my house today completely unprompted. This was a top-to-bottom job. Every surface, pot, pan, cupboard etc. That place fucking sparkled. My bedroom's still a mess, mind.

Write more, and push to get more work published. I write a lot of poems and have started a novel. I need structured time with which to continue these. I feel I could make a career from this with some luck, so it need to start feeling more like a priority rather than a part-time hobby. I also need to start thinking of myself as a 'writer' to help motivation.

Work through my reading list. I have 15 unread books in my pile which have become neglected, as well as a £30 Waterstones gift card in back-up. I need to restart my reading. As I writer it's really the only thing I can work from to improve, so reading more is almost as important as the writing.

Improve my personal appearance. Usually I'm OK leaving the house with unshaven, messy stubble or with a slightly dirty coat on. For my own self respect's sake I need to take more bloody pride in my appearance.

Improve my sleeping pattern. It's bloody awful. I need to get to bed at more reasonable hours and wake up earlier. I'm wasting too much time in bed at the minute.


In in ideal world I'd look for a mentor to help me with these things. Someone to keep a watch over me to ensure that I'm doing OK. They can hand out punishments for failing and rewards for passing. If anyone is interested in this mentorship role then do get in touch, I'd be grateful. We can talk more about the specifics then.

Final thing from me, I guess, is to keep this updated semi-regularly. Every time I feel I'm making progress in something, but also make sure I update everything so that I can see (and feel bad about) things I'm not doing so well at.

I feel it appropriate to mention here a recent life success: I passed my driving test a couple of days ago at the second time of asking. This makes me very happy indeed. Now I need to work towards being able to afford a car.

Tomorrow's jobs: Wake up early, apply for more full-time positions, go to the gym, tidy my room from top to bottom, improve my eating, read and write a bit, get to bed at a reasonable time knackered.

Until next time, my friends.