My New Year's Resolutions for 2013

As another year has ended I have jumped on the bandwagon of making some promises to myself for the new year ahead. I do this every year and I am not sure I have ever stuck to them for more than a few hours. But I was hoping by writing them down here for you all to see you could help me keep on track. I would also love to hear what your guys news year's resolutions are and maybe I can motivate y'all to achieve your goals for 2013!

Following the sound advice from one of my work colleagues I am not going to just name my resolutions for the year, but give a brief step-by-step plan, lets call them tactics, on how I am going to achieve them. I have split these up into bookish blogging resolutions and personal ones, so if you are not interested in my general drivel that isn't talking about books you can just skip the end of the post. This might be a bit of a long'un as I have posted in a while, so I have added some cute animal pictures along the way to say thanks for reading and give you a break :P

So here goes....

BOOKISH BLOGGING RESOLUTIONS

1. Finish at least two books a month: I have a terrible habit of starting lots of books in my excitement of their release, cover or a great recommendation. However I am failing miserably at finishing... well any of them! They just keep adding up and adding up until I now have 6 books on the go and have become a little scared to pick any of them back up. So my tactics for finishing 24 books in 2013 are -

• From today I will not start a book until I have finished at least one from my bedside table.
• Only read books I enjoy, and not being scared of abandoning a book that I am not impressed with. Life is too short for reading books you don't enjoy!
• Find time for reading during the day, such as my lunch break or after dinner in the evenings. I tend to only read in bed meaning when I get a wee bit sleepy reading just gets forgotten when my hearts not in it.
2. Post at least one post a week: December was a horribly busy month for me, and I neglected the one thing I love the most... blogging about my beloved books! To help my tactics are -

• Remember not every blog post has to be a book review and bring in different content.
• Try not to write 1,000 word essays about books. Instead I will focus on writing short, snappy and sexy reviews.
• Ask for help. I have had some fantastic people contribute to Rie Reviews in 2012 and I would love to invite them all back to write more!
  
  
  
3. Proof read more: Often in my haste to get a blog post out I fail to proof read and spot the most obvious errors. Not only does this look awful to you guys that take the time out of your day to read this, but it makes me so mad at myself when I go back and look at these posts a few days later! TACTICS....
• Always read posts at least twice before pressing publish.
• Proof read in the preview mode as well as in editing mode. The change in background should help me spot formatting errors.
• When I have finished a post and not feeling up to proof reading, I will save it and publish it the next day once I have had the time to read it again.

PERSONAL ONES

1. No more snacking! I can take a pretty good guess that over half my calorie intake is from snacking alone. I am grazer and will often stretch my lunch at work over 2 hours as I pick and nibble of different food. Then there is elevenses, afternoon tea, post work binge and late night... well.... snacks! My tactics -

• Eat more at meal times, especially breakfast to keep me going the whole morning. That's right Rie you are going to start eating fruit after your cereal!
• Eat regular meals, even at the weekends.
• Get some will power! I don't think I am even hungry when I snack. Its a habit that I just need the will power to kick!
  
  
  
  
2. Save money: When I have money I spend it. You have to treat yourself every so often but daily treats no longer make them treat like. I have a future ahead of me that needs funding! My tactics -

• Set monthly goals for saving money and most importantly stick to them
• Less snacking will mean less money spent on snack food! But also making sure I prepare breakfast and lunch to take with me will save those precious pennies.
• Remember what I am saving for!
  
  
  
  
  
3. Work life balance. When I was studying I could blame essays and looming deadlines for my late nights at the computer whilst knowing it was really the laying in till lunch time and the 3 hours wasted watching YouTube videos. Now I am in the real world and work in an office that is where I should work, and not take so much home with me. My social life has seriously falters the last few months and I have missed out on a lot of things that I used to love to do. I need to learn balance so that neither my work or personal life suffers...
• Plan my work time more efficiently. 
• Spend at least one evening a week doing something I really enjoy. Sims, reading, taking a long bath. They are also important to me!
• Take a day out every now and then with an old friend. I have missed some guys from days gone by due to my neglect. I am going to dedicate a whole day to each of my girls and guys out there that I love so much just to catch up. You know who you are :)

Leave me your resolutions in the comments please! Here's to a happy, healthy and successful 2013!

Thanks for reading,

Love Rie x