Rounding up the year
Hi everyone,
I don’t have a particularly long update for you today. It's the end of the year and I’m trying to take some time off to recover (relax, haha) and prepare for next year. My out of office is set still and I'm stopping myself from habitually checking the inbox.
Planning without Goals
At this time of year, I try to work out what I want next year to be. Or at least to contain. If I’m not careful I find the whole year runs away with me and I end up doing lots of cool things but not necessarily the important ones. So a little bit of planning goes a long way.
That said, so much of new year planning seems to revolve around goal setting and frankly, that doesn’t inspire me at all right now. Sure it works for projects and trips and singular events. But what about the everyday? There are lots of things I’d like my life to be more like or include more of without the need for a specific outcome /goal. And I’m wondering if I’d get more done and enjoy myself more if the entire point was the process, the doing, rather than the end goal. For example, going for more walks vs training for a specific trip length or speed. Plus no guilt when you inevitably don’t achieve the unreasonable number of lofty goals set.
So this year I'm experimenting with a new way of planning. I’ve still got a small number of goal based ones (3 main projects for the year that I call quests). But I’m also going to see if I can design a lifestyle around what I want to BE in the coming year, not just do.
I’ve split a page into 7 areas: money, people, soul food, creative fuel/fun, environment, body and mind. Then I’m writing down all the words and ideas I can relating to these areas. For example, environment is where I spend my days so I've included words like uncluttered, simple, relaxing but also outdoors, offline etc. I’m going to try to use these to design a day, week, month schedule that takes all these aspects into account…
If that made any sense you’re welcome to have a try too. Definitely still a work in progress but I’ll let you know how I get on!
The normal bits in brief
Sooo let’s see. Adventures wise I'm well into planning the first few months of the year: Winter Mountain Leader Training at Glenmore Lodge (round 2, thanks Covid); Lakes trip as always; maybe another Scottish Winter trip and Morocco for a winter ascent of Toubkal and the surrounding peaks.
Work wise my winter gear guides on Outdoors Magic are starting to come out (here are some gloves) and I imagine on Advnture.com too although I haven’t looked. Meant to be on holiday. I’m also going to be reviewing some waterproof jackets for BBC Countryfile. But I don’t want to be typecast in gear reviewing, so will be pitching articles and open for SEO work in the new year.
And finally…
I hope you have a lovely end to the year and manage to have a little bit of time off at some point with friends and family. If you are looking for a Dartmoor related gift may I humbly suggest my book All the Tors (search on or ask in your favourite bookshop) - but realistically most of you are probably here because you have read it already. So thank you :)
I’m unlikely to blog much this month, but I always do my year in pictures on the last Thursday of the year. It’s a fun round up that I enjoy writing even if no one reads it! If you're curious it’ll be up at 7pm UK time.
Otherwise, have a wonderful end to the year and I’ll see you in 2023.
Emily