My to-do list for 2015

Oh man, resolutions are so terrible. We all hate them, yet we all still make them. Last year I made the resolution (ha!) to instead of making vague new years resolutions like 'eat better', make a specific running list of goals that I will cross off and update as I go. And I reached most of the goals. I read more than 15 books, I was able to run 5K and I managed to reach my savings and weight goal. This is what works for me, and this is what I'll keep doing. It's like a big 'to do' list, and the satisfaction of crossing items off is amazing.

So what's on my list this year?

Take more photos
It's easy to make resolutions in the category of 'more', but it's hard to define whether you've stuck to them or not. In order to succeed in this resolution, I think I need a project, but I haven't quite figured out what that is yet. Maybe I'll finally launch this blog, finally take the time to shoot and edit in RAW, or make a point to explore new areas in Melbourne and take my camera along for the journey. Either way, it's time to stop my photo equipment from gathering dust, and pick up my passion for photography again.

Try a new recipe every week
Over the past few years I have developed a slight obsession with food. Last year I was constantly trying new recipes, but since I arrived in Melbourne my meals have been little adventurous. Maybe it's the different supermarkets, the fact that groceries are a lot more expensive here, or just the realisation that I don't enjoy cooking just for me as much. I still believe food is important, and I know it will make me happy to eat good food, so it's time to make use of those endless bookmarks in my browser labeled 'recipes'. Hopefully I'll end up with some winning dishes I can use to break the potato/pasta/rice cycle, but at the very least I'll be trying new things.

Be positive
I'm currently reading The Happiness Project. Even though I normally get laughing fits, get nauseous, or run away from anything that even remotely smells like spiritual self help crap, this book has already given me some useful insights. The main resolution I want to copy from it is to just think positively, smile more, and by doing so convince myself - and others - that I'm a light, happy person. 'Act the way I want to feel'. Life isn't always easy and things aren't always great, which makes it all the more important to just focus on the things that are good.

Land a 'serious' job
The minute I finished university, I set off to travel. This is not a decision I regret in the slightest, but that does mean I haven't had a lot of time to gain professional experience. Though I've never particularly minded working unskilled retail jobs, I think it's time to prove I can do more than that. Most of all: I want to stay in the country, and to be able to get a work visa, I'm going to have to do more than sell donuts. This is the highest goal of them all, a lifechanging one at that, one that might not be easy to achieve, and I therefor probably will be focussing on the most.

I'll probably come up with more goals I want to achieve and add them to the running to-do list, but that's all I've got to share with you for now. Probably the most personal posts I've shared with you until now. So tell me: what are your goals for this year? And how are you going to make sure you reach them?