Tag Archives: Reading

A month has passed…

Posted on February 2, 2012 | 4 Comments

We’re now into the second month of 2012 and boy has the time flown by! I thought I’d give you guys an update on how things are going with my New Years resolutions. Generally speaking, we’re almost at the stage where lots of people start breaking their resolutions and going back to the same old daily routine. I’d love to say that I’m far from that… but one of the biggest, most tasking changes I wanted to make I’ve barely even started on; swimming.

I’ve been meaning to get back into a routine of exercising but this has yet to materialise and so I’m sad that I’ve missed out on a whole months worth of swimming but I do have 11 more months to make up for it. None of us are perfect, but we do have the ability to make a decision on what we want to do as of NOW. So I’m not going to let this resolution slip away.

That’s enough of the bad, lets talk about the good!

Reading

As my readers will know I pledged that I would read a target of 50 books this year (about a book a week), a task that I would find difficult as I read a measly 3 books in 2011. Within the first month of 2012 I have read 5 books! Huzzah! I’m going to put up a page at the top of my reading list so you guys can keep track of what I’ve read and maybe give some suggestions about what to read next. Maybe you’ve just read a really interesting book that you want to share? Or if you fancy reading a book at the same time that would be fun as well!

A website that I’ve found very useful for keeping track on my reading is Goodreads - check it out!

Travel

I haven’t visited any new countries yet although me and my good friend Chris are booking a trip to Paris to fly in the Easter break so that should be an exciting adventure! I shall keep you posted when the time comes. I also plan on visiting Scotland soon. I shall be taking the train up from Cardiff to Edinburgh so the views shall be magnificent and whether that technically counts as visiting a new country I shall leave that up to you!

How have your new years resolutions going? Are you finding any old habits impossible to break? 

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Posted in Change, Reflection

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Happy New Year!

Posted on January 4, 2012 | 9 Comments

Another year has passed and this one is just beginning and I’m filled with such positive vibes because not only do I think that I’m going to achieve some amazing things this year but I’m pretty certain that my friends will do so too.

In all honesty, after each year passes I’m usually pretty indifferent about what I’ve achieved in a space of a year but looking back over 2011 I cannot help but feel proud of myself and what I’ve accomplished.

Here’s a list of them:

  • I’ve reduced a lot of clutter from my life.
  • I’ve started a blog which is open for any of my friends or family to read in an attempt to be as open as possible.
  • I’ve stopped my uncontrollable spending habits and developed a serious saving mentality to start a travel fund.
  • I’ve met some of the most interesting people in my life and am proud to call them my friends.
  • I’ve managed to raise over £5000 for charities by creating and managing fundraising events.
  • I’ve committed over 100 hours volunteering to help the community I lived in.
  • I’ve graduated from university!
  • I’ve been on TV!
  • I’ve become an uncle :)

Having acknowledged those achievements I have been starting to think about what it is I want to do for this year. I’m not entirely naive and I’m fully aware that so many people make New Year’s resolutions that fall flat in a month but I’ve come this far and managed to make so many new changes that I’m positive on making the following goals happen:

  • Start to exercise more – get back into a decent swimming routine.
  • Read at least 50 books this year. I’ve not read much (outside of course material) since going to university and feel that I have so much to catch up on… last year I only read 3 books (I feel sorry admitting that!) so 50 is a massive increase.
  • Continue blogging routinely (and replying to all of your emails as soon as possible!)
  • Travel to 3 new countries that I’ve never been to before.
  • Breaking habits and being more spontaneous with what I do.
  • Have as much fun along the way as possible!

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful holiday season and look forward to hearing your plans for 2012.

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Posted in Reflection

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Taking a break from the digital world

Posted on August 30, 2011 | 3 Comments

Life is really hectic, we seem to need to do a hundred things at once and technology has enabled us to do that. But sometimes the technology that we rely on our day to day tasks actually gets in the way of us doing what we actually want to do. I can recall countless times when me and my friends are all sitting around a table together – a perfect opportunity for any interesting or meaningful conversation. However, instead of conversation flowing we are sat there on our smart phones – checking email, texts etc until someone makes a comment about it and all one can hear are faint smirks from everyone around the room. Obviously this sort of behaviour doesn’t happen all the time, and we are not inept of conversation but sometimes I feel mobile phones can get in the way.

My mobile phone usually stops me from focusing on the task at hand. So today I decided to continue reading my book but I’m going to leave my mobile at home today as well as my iPod and my laptop. How often have you had days when you’ve just switched off from your digital self? From my experience today it was very beneficial. I spent 5 hours in a coffee shop with uninterrupted reading from updates, calls and texts. The hot chocolate and carrot cake was yummy too! But aren’t you afraid that you’ll miss out on something? I hear you say. Well, I was a little bit worried but when I came back to turn on my laptop I had not missed out on anything important and I saved myself hours of endlessly refreshing my Facebook/emails. Instead it gave me three benefits:

  1. Less stuff to carry; all I had on me was my book and a £10 note for drinks.
  2. Complete focus on what I love doing; without the needless distractions.
  3. A more productive and fulfilling day.

I believe everyone should give their digital selves a rest every so often. It allows us to reflect and calm our minds and inner soul. Are you ready to unplug?

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Posted in Technology

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