#1 Let's do this: one of my #25 in 2025 goals

(which is starting this Substack :))

hello from a hot Johannesburg

I guess that’s the end of the lovely stretch of overcast days and rainy weather we enjoyed over the last two weeks.

I always say that the only thing hot and sunny weather is good for is drying clothes! So of course, I did two loads of laundry today. Do you love or loathe doing laundry? (I like the “having done” part of laundry but my favourite part is smelling the clean laundry from the machine and then, at the end, folding it. I don’t like putting it away; this is when I usually decide I have too many _____ and declutter)

I’ve wanted to start a Substack for many, many months. I am subscribed to so many great newsletters on here and I love the “old-school blogging” feel where you can like posts (so the author knows people are actually reading) and also chat back and engage with the author. It’s so fun to talk to people in comments!

I participated in Gretchen Rubin’s #write24in2024 last year but I did it in my own way. I wrote at least 24 minutes every single Sunday. I used this writing session mainly for blog posts, but also to write the monthly newsletters. I probably only wrote exactly 24 minutes on the days I was travelling and if I was not well, maybe 6 Sundays in all. On all other days I wrote for multiple sessions of 24 minutes.

I so enjoyed building the writing practice and getting writing fit again, especially for blog posts. I can churn them out very quickly now and it is a delight to put words on a page, add some photos and feel done with a mini-project. I hope to continue the same rhythm here, every weekend, but let’s see how that goes. Maybe I should call it a #write25in2025 just for Substack every week so that stakes are low and very achievable.

the rest of my 25 in 2025 goals

I did these in categories. I’ve just counted and there are 6 - family, health, this (I call it organisingqueen), work, fun and finance (this is very loosely financial).

family

1. go on a 30th anniversary trip with Dion (we were supposed to go on a 25th anniversary trip but then you know what happened in 2020)

2. Ballito holiday

3. October holiday (I always feel like the stretch of year from July to December is soooo long and I want to break that up this year)

4. monthly date with Dion

5. fun family thing every month

health

1. schedule all appointments relating to breast cancer so I just have to attend

2. lose 5 kg

3. hire a personal trainer to work on core, strength overall and knees

4. exercise 3 x a week - Zumba, Spanish and Personal Training

5. get three Brazilian hair appointments done

Work

1. settle into work changes

2. CT trip in March

Organising Queen

1. coach 10 amazing women (if you’re an amazing woman, let’s work together)

2. work on website 25 minutes per week until project plan is done

3. start a substack for monthly newsletter (!!!)

Fun

1. plan a birthday celebration (last year’s one was scuppered by the cancer diagnosis)

2. watch my shows on Sundays and don’t waste my subscriptions

3. say yes to invitations from friends

4. have 25 one-on-one friend dates (phone calls count)

5. see Marc Lottering (comedian) or someone else if he’s not doing Jhb this year

6. Read 100 books and DNF often

7. Read 25 in 2025 - non-fiction and focus on my actual bookshelf

Financial

1. spend all my vouchers (I have 7 I need to spend)

2. one in, three out (as a concept, not necessarily literally)

3. give 25 stationery gifts or sell on Yaga

And that’s it! I would love to hear what some of your goals for this year are.

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