New year goals

I'm not a huge one for resolutions but this year I've been thinking a lot about 2017 and I want to do better in 2018.

These are the things I want to do and achieve in 2018 in no particular order. All of them are linked to me wanting to be healthier, use my time better and save money.

1. Run 5k faster.
   I started couch to 5k in September 2016. It took a lot longer than the nine weeks promised to get to the point where I could run 5k, 16 months to be exact, but considering how slow I run and my previously broken leg I'm quite happy that I've finally got to the point where I can actually run 5k. Ideally I want to start doing park run but I want to get my time down from the 48 mins I'm currently running 5k in to closer to 30 mins so that I'm not the last over the line by a long margin.
   
2. Swim more
   I have a swim membership. I love swimming. I need to make time to go at least once a week.
   
3. Eat healthier
   I'm generally pretty good with the meals we prepare at home in the evenings but I'd like to be better with what I eat for lunches and snacks so I don't default to eating cake or chocolate. I'm hoping to try to cook new things from my neglected cook books, find more vegetarian dishes that I like and eat less sugary rubbish for the sake of it. I also need look at how I adapt what we eat at home to make them gluten free after the recent discovery that my husband is probably gluten intolerant. I also want to ensure to continue to be thrifty with my food shop and ensure any meat we eat is good quality and from my local butchers.
   
4.  Drink more water
   I am rubbish at this especially term time and need to get better at it.
   
5. Go for more walks
   I live in a beautiful part of the world and I need to get out into it more and walk. I need to walk in the evenings on the beach or use my national trust membership to walk around their grounds.
   
6. Use my free time better
   I am very guilty of working my way through to the weekend and then hermitting up for the weekend and spending it in PJs hiding from the world. I need to get out and use my Saturdays and evenings better and get a bit more out of life.
   
7. Waste less time online
   I need to curb my social media habits somewhat. I'm never going to quite completely but I want to get out of the habit of mindless scrolling and free up more time to do more productive things be those things online like blogging or offline like knitting, reading or exercisng.
   
8. Continue to use my local library
   One of the best things I did in 2017 was rejoin my local library service and I have loved every second of it. I love how it has broadened the range of things I read and I love how much money is saves me.
   
9. Declutter
   I am a hoarder. I've always been one and my husband is too. We need to be ruthless and clear out stuff we don't use so that we have more space and don't end up featured on one of those extreme hoarders programmes when we are old.
   
10. Buy less stuff for the sake of it
    I need to stop buying things on a whim for the sake of it just because I can and really think about whether I need. I'm so guilty of doing this and just need to stop. Using the library has helped me with this a lot. I'm not going to buy any books this year for myself unless I've borrowed them from the library first and completely loved them and even then I'll put them on a wishlist and wait until I find a signed edition or a good second hand copy.
    
11. Buy more second hand
    If I am buying things more thoughtfully I want to try and buy the things I do decide I need secondhand (obviously excluding new underwear or tights). I love shopping in charity shops or on ebay or etsy so this shouldn't really be a hardship and will save me money and help the environment. I'm actually looking forward to the challenge of this especially with regards to buying clothes for myself.
    
12. Listen to more music
    I need to get into the habit of using my spotify account more and putting on music whilst I'm cooking or doing housework.