2016 intentions | starting new habits

2016 blog goals


after a few weeks off over christmas and new year (nice to meet you 2016.) I'm really excited about the year ahead!

having some time away from the computer has been really refreshing -it gave me the opportunity to evaluate what makes me happy and what I'd like to achieve in 2016. as cliche as new years resolutions are I still love the ambition behind them, a fresh start is good for the mind and setting yourself goals can be a great way to stay focused.

I have a list of things I want to work on, I like to think of them as intentions rather than targets (I guess I don't like to set myself up to fail.) I'm basically just trying to adopt a few new habits ..sounds easy enough right?

so here are my 2016 intentions!


-start a new morning routine.

get up earlier. this is a big one for me, I started adopting this late last year and it's made a huge difference already. ignoring the snooze button means I have a little time to myself before the day begins. it's been especially great over winter as my day can revolve around shooting when the light is best so being up and organised a few hours earlier means I'm under less pressure. being able to plan my day and tackle my emails before it's bright outside is a huge win. over christmas I abandoned my early starts so now I'm keen to start over as having so many lie in's left me feeling lethargic and unmotivated.

-eat less, move more.

when it comes to my diet I'm just going to focus on portion control not faddy eating. I don't believe in cutting out food groups or making myself miserable- if I go out for a huge meal once a week so be it, that's my treat. on the other days I'll simply be eating in moderation and getting back to a more balanced approach. when it comes to exercise I'm going to stick to a realistic approach- move more. I'll be taking the stairs, walking instead of driving, and setting aside 10-15minutes to work on toning and weights in the morning. simple little changes that I'll incorporate into my daily life that will make me feel a little better.

-have more adventures.

I don't tend to book holidays in advance, instead I love to take lots of shorter trips to give me lots to look forward to over the course of a year. this year the only confirmed trip we have is santorini so I'll soon be getting into city break scouting mode- if you have any suggestions let me know!

-be organised.

over the christmas break I've been on a mission to reorganise my house and my life! in terms of the house- so far so good. we've moved out the old furniture and even cleaned our kitchen cupboards from top to bottom (I won't tell you how many out of date containers of food we found... gah.)
a fresh start feels great and nothing beats the arrival of a new yearly planner, I'm going to keep mine focused on my daily schedule. I've started using the wunderlist app again to help keep me on top of the to do's -from people I need to email, items I need to shoot and even materials I need to order for DIY projects.

-interact more.

I'm a bit of a social media lurker. I often find myself laughing at peoples tweets or admiring a blog post but I don't always let those people know. this is one thing I really want to address in 2016- I'd like to be more active, from posting, commenting or even just hitting the like button.

-blog selectively.

last year I put the focus onto DIY and interior posts on burkatron and immediately felt like I'd found my niche. having such wonderful feedback and seeing people try my projects was inspiring- it pushed me to be more creative and always put a smile on my face. I've always tried to blog about what I'm excited about but occasionally I grew bored of the repetition of outfit posts or painting my nails and cutting back on that content helped me grow this blog in other ways. james and I go for coffee now without having to schedule it around the best lighting/weather/wind conditions. a weekend away doesn't always mean 7 outfit changes and endless photo ops- now I'll only shoot those type of posts when I feel like I want to share them- not because it's expected. this year I intend to continue working on the creative things I love most, DIY's, interior advice and lifestyle posts- maybe even a few recipes along the way!

-be more selfish.

I often find myself running around after people or agreeing to things that leave me stressed or under pressure. I'm really going to try and be firm about my workload and setting periods of time out (be it evenings off or just switching my phone onto airplane mode!) saying no can be a really good thing and it's something I intend to do a little more often.


so those are my intentions for the year ahead- what are yours?

back soon

caroline x



ps. I hope you all had a wicked christmas and happy ny!



16 comments

  1. Now that is a great list of constructive additions to your lifestyle! Good luck with the update, wishing you many an adventure in this shiny new year!! : )

    Gemma

    Faded Windmills

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    1. thanks so much gemma- wishing you the BEST 2016!!! :) xx

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  2. Happy New Year lovely! Being more selfish is actually one of mine, as I always put people first and doing it around the house all the time and always fretting over tidying and cleaning or making tea means I have no time for myself! Good Luck :) xx

    www.lurchhoundloves.com

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    1. haha SNAP! that's so me too- lets be more selfish haha- happy ny pretty lady :) xx

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  3. I absolutely adore all of these and can really relate to them, I really like the idea of having a morning routine and have been thinking about setting myself a time that I should wake up by everyday I heard it makes a great difference, I even agree with not cutting food groups out of your diet just having moderation, except I am really keen to spiralize vegetables instead of using pasta and things! I also love the idea of taking shorter breaks to places so that you see more places instead of taking one long one, I never really thought of doing something like that! I can't wait to here about all the adventures you take! I hope you have had a lovely christmas and a good beginning to the new year, I look forward to seeing what the blog brings this year!
    http://www.elzbthchlmrspps.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. YES! so agree- I love carbs so much I won't cut them out! I love the idea of replacing them more often- tried the courgette spaghetti recently and loved it! so so happy you enjoyed this post- I hope you have lots of adventures this year beth :) xx

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  4. I need to start getting up early too! I'm getting up at like 12 every day, and it's frustrating me having less hours in my day haha! I'm excited to see what posts you'll come up with this year, as I know what you mean, I felt like people expected I should do Mental Health posts, but doing them all the time made me less motivated! x

    www.beckieeschle.com

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    1. haha it's so hard to get up early at first but it gets easier and it totally helps clear my head! mental health is such an important topic- I love that you post about it but you should definitely add in posts that make you excited again- a break really helps sometimes :) xx

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  5. Happy 2016! I hope it brings great things for you and that you achieve all your goals x
    Maddy, xo

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    1. thanks so much maddy- ditto! happy new year girl! :) xx

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  6. I love this post and you've set yourself some really insightful and achievable goals here, I'm all about having more time to yourself and I think being more selfish is something we could all afford to do!

    Isabelle | www.isabellekategm.co.uk ♡

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    1. yep- just want to prioritise how I use my time and make sure it's spent on the right people! I think now I'm getting older spending time with my family is more important than stressing over blog deadlines :) xx

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  7. I love these resolutions, especially being more selfish, I can sometimes be too accommodating!

    Maria xxx

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    1. haha it's the british thing I think- I hate to let people down! being accommodating is a great thing as long as people treat you the same way :) happy 2016 maria! xx

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  8. I think blog selectively and be more selfish are two incredible resolutions - I totally agree with them x

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    1. yay- thanks vicky! happy new year lady :) xx

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