Welcome to my next set of monthly goals! Can you believe it's nearly the end of February? Time is going quickly, but I've actually been really looking forward to the end of this month, mainly because this weekend I'll be living it up in Newcastle. It's always really refreshing to get a new change of scenery and it's also a great time for reflection.

Good thing:

Ever since the new year I've been sticking to a fitness and healthy eating routine that's really making a difference. I can feel my body becoming stronger, fitter and more capable after every single workout I complete. Not only that, but I've also found exercising to be really beneficial for my mind. It allows me to concentrate on my form and the way I'm training my body to be able to perform these shapes and do these movements. For me, exercising isn't a way to lose weight - it's a way to strengthen the whole of myself.

Bad thing:

I've been having major afternoon dips recently. So much so that I get a really bad headache and just can't concentrate. When I'm writing or working on something by myself, I have to be silent. I can't listen to music - it would have to be instrumental, but even that can distract me. But it seems as soon as I finish my lunch, I have a complete slump. I'm unsure why this is, but I'm hoping to try and change this somehow.

Good thing:

At lunchtime I work on my blog. But for fifteen minutes, I've been taking a walk outside by the canal. It's quiet, peaceful and somewhere where I can just walk and not think about anything. I've found that it's really making a difference - just that bit of fresh air and movement is a nice way to break up the day.

February Goals Review

1. Push myself creatively [done] - This is something I'm really proud to say I've achieved this month. I've been pushing myself in terms of my ideas, both at work and for my personal brand; and I've also grown in terms of my design skills. I've been creating a lot more graphic based designs lately which I've really been enjoying. I'm really glad I set this as a goal for myself, because it's definitely something I'll continue.

2. Find some freelance work [in progress] - Let me tell you something - finding freelance work is hard. I follow so many inspirational women on Twitter who are all freelancers and I honestly wonder how they do it. Where do you even start with something like that? I’ve tried to source freelance jobs and find websites and online publications to write for, but nothing seems to follow through. I don’t know if that’s a bad reflection on me, but let’s just say this is a work in progress goal for now. If anyone has any freelance tips, please feel free to hit me up.

3. Learn to control my overthinking [not done] - This is quite a funny situation to be in. I set this as a goal at the start of the month. I then write a blog post about it, and yet 28 days later, I’ve still not achieved this goal. Overthinking is something that I’ve always struggled with. Some parts of my life have seen less overthinking than others, but it still manages to resurface. So this will be a work in progress too. I’m just trying to take my own tips on board. And I did predict that I wouldn’t be marking this with [done]!

4. Start planning a holiday [in progress] - Well, this weekend we’ll be in Newcastle, and at the end of March we’re going for a long weekend in the Cotswolds, so in that sense, this should be marked as done. But this goal was with the aim of planning a summer holiday, which we’ve just not gotten round to yet. February is a very short month, isn’t it?

March Goals

1. Further my career - I’m the type of person that is always pushing myself to do more, and be more. This is especially true since I started my career. I also have very high expectations. So put those two things together and it means I want huge things in terms of my professional life. So in terms of furthering my career this month as a goal, it needs to be broken down into smaller goals, which I still need to work out. But I’m hoping to be able to share my progress with you along the way.

2. Build my minimal wardrobe - I can bet you’ve heard the words ‘minimal wardrobe’ being thrown around this community but honestly, I don’t know why I’ve not done it before. Simple, structural pieces that you can wear with anything and wear for lots of different occasions that fit our busy, creative lives. I’ve started slowly, with my camel coat and a great new pair of jeans, but now I need to take it to the next level.

3. Make another DIY project with flowers - In my February Favourites post on Monday, I showed you a picture of the flower arrangement I created for my mum for Valentine’s Day. Now when it comes to the written word, I know that’s where my creativity lies. I’ve never been a pro at design. But for the past year or so, I’ve been loving design work. With DIY projects, they never usually work. Until I made this. And I loved doing it. So I’m going to do it again, in daylight so I can make a tutorial so I can share it with you.

4. Keep up my five minute journal - I know you can purchase the five minute journal but I’ve decided to create my own. Every morning I’ve started answering the following questions:

Name three things you are grateful for
Name three things that would make today amazing
Daily affirmation – today I am…

And in the evening I answer these questions:

Name three great things that happened today
How could I have made today better?

It’s amazing. It lets me note down the highlights of my day in such a concise yet detailed way. I’ve always been bad at keeping journals so I’m hoping I’ll be able to keep this one up.

I'd love to know, what goals are you making for March?