I’m writing this in a hotel room in Thessaloniki, after 10 days of exploring Greece – proof, if needed, that life can have extremely unexpected plans for you. As J is now working in Athens, I will most likely be coming to Greece often, something I’m looking forward to. This long-distance relationship is surely one of the worst things we could have done for the planet, but for the moment, this is how it is.

I have said before that September usually feels more New Year-ish to me than January, but that’s not the case this time. Autumn was overshadowed by uncertainty about my job and when in a limbo, it’s difficult to think about fresh starts and new plans. I am very much in the mood for reflection and clean slates now, though, and want to write down a few aims for 2020. This includes things I want to keep doing: sometimes it feels like a failure when you haven’t ticked off every item on your resolutions list, while in fact everything you HAVE ticked off is a win and half-ticks are important, too. Overall, 2019 was – personally speaking – an middle year where nothing earthshattering happened, but progress was made; many things crystallised for me and helped me, I hope, to set the scene for more to come in 2020.

This year, I plan to:

1. Keep writing. It is no secret that I have been thinking about writing – beyond the blog – for what seems like an eternity. In 2019, I finally got more serious about it. I didn’t make much progress with my urban fantasy novel, but I made some. Towards the end of the year, I wrote a short story that I don’t feel massively embarrassed about, so that’s been a major step for my self-confidence and drive. I desperately want to continue and will find a way to do it.

2. Keep exercising. 2019 was not the year when I started working out, but it was the year I increased the frequency and intensity and really saw results. I have written about this ad nauseam, so I’m just going to say that I’m currently doing weight training three times and boxing once a week. I am not entirely sure whether this schedule is feasible in the context of my new job, and it’s OK if I have to adjust it somewhat. Still, I’ll do what I can to stick to it, as exercise is the foundation of many other things on this list.

3. Keep learning French. This was probably the biggest thing I started in 2019 – I did an intensive course in July and then kept studying, relatively regularly, in the autumn. The work situation ruined my rhythm somewhat, so the challenge is to find it again and increase the frequency in 2020. I have learned that an hour a week is not enough, I lose the momentum (and sometimes what I learned) in the days between lessons. The good news is I’m not as useless at it as I thought I would be.

4. Keep saving. Another thing I started last year, although with less determination, was to properly save money. It seems a bit too early to celebrate, as obviously the whole point of saving is to do it regularly, but some progress is much better than no progress at all. I will also keep watching The Financial Diet on Youtube, to keep me on track.

5. Keep waking up early and eating breakfast. These two I owe almost entirely to exercise – when I have to work out at 7am, I obviously need to get up early. And there is no way I can go without breakfast on days when I exercise: I need to eat something before, to have energy, and I absolutely MUST eat soon after, unless I want to feel like my body is digesting itself. Further refinement is needed, however. Ideally, I would like to wake up broadly at the same time every morning and I’m not there yet. I also need to figure out what exactly to eat after I exercise, so that I don’t grab a croissant or something equally unhelpful.

I am also going to:

1. Sleep. That’s a tricky one, as I also want to wake up earlier, which means I absolutely need to go to bed earlier than I usually do. Which in turn means less reading and evening me-time in general. I know it’s going to be difficult, as I have been trying to adjust my sleep schedule already, with mixed results. I have been more-or-less successful with ensuring I don’t get less than six hours of sleep per night. That’s of course still way too little, though, so I’m going to slowly move towards 7 hours. I can reread bits of Why We Sleep in case I need additional motivation.

2. Cut down screen time. Another tricky one, as I need to make it work with my job that kind of demands constant connectivity. That doesn’t mean I have to be checking my e-mail every 5 minutes in the evenings, however, and the scrolling can definitely be slashed significantly. The pre-bed slot is the best contender for cuts and would work well with the plan to get to bed earlier.

3. Use what I have and shop less. This has possibly been on one of my lists already and I could have included in the first section of this one. I am putting it here, however, as I want to emphasise it and especially with books, I really feel I want to focus this year on reading things I already own. With clothes and beauty, the main goal is to be more considerate in what I’m buying – I don’t need to try every new trend and product, even if the desire to be well-informed is pushing me in that direction.

4. Refresh my music library. This is obviously a small one compared to the big lifestyle changes listed above, but I wanted to include something that is not restrictive and can be accomplished fast. I listen to quite a bit of music when walking and have exhausted most of the songs currently in rotation. I am going to take a look at some of the best-of lists of 2019 and put together a playlist or two, starting with Lana del Rey’s recent album. If you have suggestions, leave them in the comments!

5. Maybe watch a TV series… I do not watch TV, partly because I don’t own one (although that’s less of a reason these days), partly because it would eat into my reading time. Unfortunately, this means I have not been part of what is clearly a very good time for television and I feel that I’m missing out. There are a couple of things I really want to see, Watchmen being number one among them, Fleabag and Killing Eve also high on the list.

I apologise if this feels like a mundane life admin list: it really is mostly for my own benefit that I do this exercise, as writing things down clarifies them for me. I have not been in the mood for packaging my thoughts in a witty or ironic form, hence the boringness – but you have been very patient with my inner monologues, so I’m sharing it regardless of these misgivings.

There are other things on my mind and I’m going to do a separate post on the future of the blog (a million thanks for your comments, they have been – and I truly mean it – extremely helpful!) and possibly on reading and travelling. Those who are interested in my book recommendations: rest assured, best of 2019 is coming once I have returned to Brussels.

I wish you a happy, fulfilling 2020 and thank you for sticking around!

The picture is of winter sun in Thessaloniki on 31 December.