If you're not on the list...

There are two types of people in life: those that like making lists and those that don't. Ok, so that is a bit of a generalisation, very vague and a fairly inadequate way to categorise people, but for the purpose of this post I'm going to say you either fit into list-maker lovers or haters. Me, well I'm definitely in the former group.

Some say that people who make lists are just trying to put off the stuff on the list they need to do for longer, and sometimes they may be right - I've been guilty of doing that on more than one occasion, but there's one list I've made that I can't ignore.

I'm particularly into organising my life into lists at the moment I suppose to give myself some sort of structure when everything else seems a little bit chaotic. I swear I don't suffer from OCD and I'm not usually a control freak (although I'm sure my fella would argue otherwise), but right now jotting everything down that I want to get done seems to be a good way to keep myself motivated.

The most important one I've got pinned up on my board right now is titled (yes, you read that right I do indeed sometimes title my lists) 'Things I'd like to achieve in 2011' and has, at the moment, eight items on there of things I'd like to get done - or start to work on - before the year is out. My main reason for putting this together was because at the beginning of the year I was stuck in a job I didn't like and I kept talking about leaving and sorting myself out, but I never actually put it into action. As I'm not a psychologist I can't explain why then as soon as I put down on a list that I need to get a new job that I find interesting and fulfilling, it made it feel more official and I knew that if I didn't do it by the end of the year then I'd be a bit of a failure, I'd only have myself to blame and I'm all mouth. I guess I felt that if I wasn't actually doing anything about it then I had no right to complain about the situation I found myself in day after day. That went down as priority number one.

So anyway, I added a few more things that I needed a kick up the arse to do and put them down on my inventory and this is now how it looks:

2. Start a blog that's interesting, unique and reflects my writing style
   2.1 Define writing style
3. Go on holiday with the boyfriend 
4. Get fit
   4.1 Join a gym or class
   4.2 Walk or jog more
5. Go to Australia
6. Start to learn German
7. Have a feature/article commissioned by another publication
8. Go to Download festival to see System Of A Down play

So the last one was a bit of a whim and a bit indulgent as it won't improve my life long-term in any way, but I felt determined to see them although now that ain't going to happen as I have a more important engagement on the same day. Hey ho, maybe next time.

I'd like to think these are all achievable goals. Today I brought my bike down from Leicester to London so I can definitely tick number four off as that coupled with all the gym stuff I did at the beginning of the year means I've been able to work off the unhealthy lifestyle I had when I was a bit of a desk monkey and chained to my computer.

For two and three we'll have to wait and see, I don't suppose I've written enough on this thing to decide if it fills the quota of interesting yet.

Three may sound like a simple one to have on there, but until this year I'd never been away on holiday with a boyfriend. Crazy hey? So that was something I wanted to experience and so off me and The Boy went to Portugal and I discovered that going on holiday with someone you connect with so well means you have an awesome time - even if all it involved was lazing on the beach, drinking and eating. Astonishing that I'd never tried it sooner!

As for number one about the job, I guess that's the biggie. Although I achieved my original aim of getting out of the job I was in I still don't feel satisfied enough to tick that one off. Don't get me wrong my work as a teaching assistant is fulfilling in many ways and I enjoy it, but it's not the career for me, so I don't feel like I can justifiably cross it off yet.

Anyway, they're all the hopefully life/career changing things I'd like to experience before December 31st rolls round and with a bit of luck as this blog goes on you'll see me able to cross off the rest. For now though, the next thing on my slightly smaller and less important list for this evening is to cook me some dinner.

Bon Appetite!

RoseC