The ‘This Time Next Year’ Tag

My home town – St Ives – I haven’t visited much this year but I still love it very much.

I don’t very often get the chance to get involved in tags but this one takes my fancy and was given to me by one of the most inspiring and fun bloggers that I regularly read. Also, I was looking for a way to tie together everything from 2021 so this fits the bill perfectly.

RULES

  • Thank the person who tagged you. So thank you funny and entertaining blogger Smelly Socks and Garden Peas .
  • Write your goals for next year.
  • Write how you’re going to achieve these goals.
  • Tag at least five blogger friends.
  • This last one is optional, but in 365 days, write a post about whether or not you’ve been successful!

GOALS – Writing

I have always enjoyed putting pen to paper, although nowadays it tends to be more pressing my fingers onto an iPad. Beginning writing short stories in 2017, I have had fun experimenting with my fiction. Originally I attended an evening class about story writing but I found it a bit boring (sorry) and so I went off on my own and simply went for it. ‘Short Dates’ was produced and then my first novella, ‘The Father, the Sons and the Anxious Ghost’. At the same time I opened a blog but I rarely used it. May 2021 changed all that and now I am a very active blogger who loves being part of the blogging community.

I was proud to work on some collaborations already and guest post on other blogs. Eleanor taught me a lot about guest posting and how to engage with brands – thank you so much! Similarly, I have learned so much from other bloggers. Passing 500 followers was a great milestone and I hope to continue making connections, writing guest posts and trying to get the hang of Pinterest (still baffles me).

My first proper YA novel comes out this spring and I hope I have learned lessons from my previous release. I am not going to waste hundreds on blog tours (apart from my favourite one). I am just going to publish blog extracts and hope that enough people take an interest and pass on a liking for it.

Holidays

I live for my holidays. Being a teacher, I am always looking forward to spending half terms in different places, looking at places of interest such as castles or waterfalls. As a geographer I am obsessed with physical features such as glaciers and I hope to see more. The pandemic has really hacked into my plans and I have cancelled four holidays now due to restrictions.

This year, if nothing else, I intend to go to Amsterdam by train and then onward to Copenhagen. If I ever get my money back from this week’s cancelled trip to Paris I may eventually go to the studio part of Paris Disney too. Having found out this year that my DNA is partly Norwegian, I also intend to spend more time there in the near future, as I am obsessed with it.

Fitness

My fitness journey has been up and down this year but I have managed to always do at least two short workouts a week. I love doing cardio sessions such as combat or aerobics ones, which I mainly get from the Davina MCall app ‘Own Your Own Goals’. I know I am a guy but I really enjoy the range of sessions available on this affordable app (not an advert). Next Year I aim to do two cardio sessions a week, one dumbbells or kettle bell activity and a good, long stretch.

Climate Change

As well as continuing to change my own behaviour and make the most of my position as an educator to widen awareness of environmental problems, I aim to consistently fight for more climate education as well as real political change. I totally support Greta Thunberg in her urgent plan to make real changes as soon as possible. As a blogger, I see my place as a voice for this movement. I want to make sure I keep passing on information about global warming and celebrating initiatives that combat such issues.

TAGS – Optional

I do not expect you wonderful bloggers to do this, but wanted to give you the option.

Kayleigh – Confidently Kayleigh

The Grumpy Olive

Monodreame

Rachel Foy

NotSoModernGirl

Thank you so much for reading my blog this year. I really hope you will join me on my writing journey in 2022 and check out my book and TV reviews, new writing and climate change articles.

10 thoughts on “The ‘This Time Next Year’ Tag

  1. Congrats on your YA novel! That’s some accomplishment! I’m also hoping to up my travel in 2022, having had to cancel numerous trips the past 2 years. Here’s hoping!

  2. What a lovely post. I didn’t know you were a teacher that is awesome. It is great you utilise your holidays. I hope you had a lovely Christmas! Congratulations on your YA novel. Sounds like you had some great achievements. It is great you are using your platform to share information about climate change and sustainability. Thank you for sharing. Happy New Year. I hope 2022 is good for you!
    Lauren – http://www.bournemouthgirl.com

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