Rachna says

It’s almost been a month-long break here on Rachna says I have been very sluggish on this blog, and my kids are complaining. I promise to post more here in this year, starting with this post.

I can’t step into the New Year without reflecting on the past year. I do that pretty often, BTW (the reflection bit)! So, well this is not a round-up post but a looking ahead post.

I’ve never done the Word of the Year or Resolutions thing, (not that there is anything wrong with that). So, let me just share what I am going to focus on in the coming weeks and months. And I have already put many of these in motion. I find that starting in late November for whatever you are planning for the next year is a better strategy. This is because, you have already got a few weeks of sustained effort under the belt by the time the new year has come by. That is motivating, isn’t it?

In no order of preference, these are my focus areas this year:

Health

So my focus this year is getting back to optimum health. The knee injury I had in April 2018 haunted most of the year last year. But with physiotherapy, loads of positive thinking and a new exercise regimen, I am looking forward to getting back to the level of fitness and body toning that I had pre-injury. Along with exercise, I have also started doing a more organized job of meal planning. After all, fitness and nutrition do go hand in hand.

I am also going to work to better other issues like respiratory allergies and headaches. Have charted a more holistic approach towards tackling these chronic issues. And of course, work on mental health by continuing gratitude and positive thinking.

Nutrition

Most of you know that I love cooking. On Rachna cooks I share my food love and wisdom. I bought Healthy Meal Planning Bundle in December. With its amazing recipes, meal plans and specialised courses, I am truly doing so much when it comes to cooking. Let me tell you that you don’t really need to spend hours in your kitchen for a full meal. If you prep and plan in advance, you can be out within 30 minutes. Seriously, I am not joking. But you need to invest in your meal planning in a more methodical manner You can click here to understand more about this Bundle. It has been helping me a lot.

Reading

I had not been reading much for most months in 2018 but this changed in the last quarter. I went out and bought more books and received a few as gifts. And I managed to read 4 books in the last two months. I am planning to continue reading regularly, maybe restart my library membership once I have exhausted these books. Reading gives me immense joy, and I realized that I need to read regularly for a more calm state of mind.

Parenting

Parenting promises to be even more challenging as the younger son steps into teenage this year. The older boy also has a lot on his plate with classes and planning for undergraduate life. So, I see myself being around more often to motivate them and be there for them. Also a visit to the good old therapist never hurts. I tell all my friends, reach out to your therapist a few times in a year. The best way to vent and seek solutions when you feel stuck. And trust me parenting throws challenges at you like nothing else.

Happiness

I know this sounds rather abstract but one lesson that the last year taught me is that no matter how tough the going gets; we can still strive to be happy. Often all it needs is a little tweak in perspective. I have seen that work for me. At the end of the day, all the worries about what may happen just eat up your time and energy. Rather spend that effort into tackling what life throws at you. The most important things in life are your close family and friends. If they are by your side, you can live through pretty much anything. So I will continue to be responsible for my own happiness. Validation is good, but self validation is the best kind!

Work

I am very grateful for my work as an Editor of a corporate blog and other regular writing assignments that I take up with clients. I will continue to blog, but I do wish to cut down on sponsored campaigns. I want to rediscover the joy of blogging for the sake of writing. So while stats and reader love are great, I am not going to obsess over them. I am not going to over organise my life, stressing myself to death over blog schedules and page views. Thank God, blogging is not my career, just something that lets me make money while I do what I like to do.

Social Media

I see myself cutting down further on FB. Apart from certain groups, I genuinely find FB boring now. I like Instagram these days, such a fuss-free medium, and twitter to a small extent. Pinterest is mostly from blog point of view so that will continue. It has emerged as the single biggest traffic medium after SEO for me. I will continue to read blogs that interest me. More human tales and musings for sure. Time is finite, and all of us wish to utilise it better.

Entertainment

I continue to love the series I watch on online platforms. I wish to keep that under control as I balance that time with reading.

On that note, I wish all of you a wonderful new year. Let us all invest in ourselves and our dreams and aspirations. Tell me what you are focusing on this year?

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