2021 and my focus for the next year

It’s January, It’s 2021 and I decided that my word of the year is…...

SIMPLICITY 

SIMPLICITY word of the year.jpg

I’ve decided that this year I want to intentionally slow down and really think about what I’m doing and WHY I’m doing things. This is NOT the same as mindless overthinking. If you know me, you know I’m totally capable over overthinking until I’m blue in the face. I worry and I rationalise things until I no longer know what I’m doing in the first place! But this year I’m going back to basics.

I’m looking forward to a year of simplicity and that actually came about from doing the prep work in my @CultivateWhatMatters Powersheets goal planner. As I was doing the prep work pages for 2021 a word and theme that kept popping up was slowing down and simplifying. In a way I’d already started doing this back in November when I started to tackle each room of the apartment and decluttering it. The house is tidy now but what about my mind? Hmmm….

2020 brought up so many things and it some ways I felt totally blindsided by lockdown because of feeling like I lost control. Whilst at times it got REALLY frustrating, I finally saw what I really value in life and it’s peace.

Peace for me means so many things. It’s the opposite of spending money on books or pretty pieces of stationery to fill a gap. It’s also the opposite of ordering things to enjoy opening them and get the Christmas feeling every day. 

Peace to me means enjoying things that money can’t buy (literally). It’s spending time with the people you care about: giggling over silly things, hanging out and seeing people’s faces, making the days count and not wasting them mindlessly binging on social media. Social media is powerful when used wisely but it’s not a place for spending every minute of the day. It’s a great connection tool when it’s used that way!

 

Peace comes from so many things in life – in particular internal things that cost nothing:

  • Going for a walk in the sunshine

  • Laughter with those you love (that heart felt deep in your tummy laughter that makes you feel like you’re doing ab crunches)

  • Reshuffling your home to make space for breathing (recently I’ve really got into doing weekly stretch sessions on @Blogilates YouTube channel)

  • Reading books by doing book exchanges with friends, virtually on kindle app or in person through libraries.

 

This led me to thinking how I can make room for a little more peace in my every day by leading a simplified life. Here are the three big things I’m implementing for 2021 as part of my simplified life:

 

1.     Screen-free time/ No-screen time:

For this means no TV, Social Media and anything screen related really. If I’m going to be strict then this will include WhatsApp too (Note: if you plan to do this let people know that you will be offline for certain times just to manage expectation and avoid unwanted surprises!)

 

2.     Switching my phone off:

When was the last time you completely switched your phone off? Not turn it to silent/sleep mode but actually turn it off so that when people ring it goes to voicemail? When I attended Cultivate Your Year Live in December, they prompted us to completely turn our phone off for short time and I did this. It was really strange because I would tap my phone, and nothing would happen. Talk about being addicted to smartphones!! But the amazing thing was that with no alerts and no constant notifications I was able to concentrate for THREE whole hours in the blink of an eye!

 

3.     Intentional Spending:

if you read my blog post from last year in September this will come as no surprise to you (check out My No Spend month post here). I tried a no spend month and it went really well. It helped me to realise that I was spending on shiny things TOO OFTEN. The prompt for this goal came about when I ordered some sticker kits a while back and was looking forward to receiving them. When they finally arrived, I was completely underwhelmed and instead of being on a high I felt deflated. I didn’t feel as happy as I thought I would. I was using spending to make myself happy instead of spending from a place of already being happy and buying things intentionally. 

 

What is your main focus for the next 12 months? 

 

Uma Mani-BabuComment