Updates :0)

Budget update
Saved money on different items over the weekend so any area that I had over-spent on is now evened out so we're back on track!

Jane Austen update
Loving Sense and Sensibility! Got through four chapters today! Jane Austen writes her characters so well, even though it is set hundreds of years ago I can still see aspects of her characters in people I know today. It's uncanny!

Health & Fitness update
Unfortunately I haven't managed a lot of activity as yet. I can't run around my area while it's dark so I have to leave that one for Saturdays. And the Pilates? I can honestly say I haven't been at home properly since Saturday (sometimes I feel like I just sleep here!). BUT now I'm back at work I'm drinking a lot more water which makes me feel so much better!

Being organised
I love it! I love the feeling of crossing something off my list. In fact, this evening I did such a lot of housework and worked really hard, but then when I opened my diary, none of what I had done was on my list! And I felt a bit gutted that I couldn't cross anything off! And all of this productivity at home has had an awesome effect on my work. I was dreading returning to work because we are on deadline this week and in studio with another mag so I was sure I would be rushed off my feet - not to mention I had to write a whole feature before Friday too! But then because of all my organising I felt so ready to go back to work and I went through the whole day with no distractions and finished every piece of work I had left to do! Now I just have to tie up a few loose ends and hey presto! All my work is done! I love that feeling!

Area 4: Becoming more Organised

At work I am super-organised. My desk-top diary is full of lists and tick charts which are all colour coded using my trusty highlighter pens. Everything that lives on, in or around my desk has a dedicated home and I regularly throw away items that are of no use, avoiding the build up of clutter.

My personal life is surprisingly a totally different story! I always have a whole bunch of things that I 'should' or 'need' to do - whether that be home chores, church organisation (I am a leader on two teams which keeps me fairly busy), or general life stuff really. Some things are big tasks like my wedding album (16 months down the line and the photos are still in a box with an album nearby never fulfilling its purpose!). Or small tasks, like sending a text to my team reminding them of an up-coming event.

I run around, always leaving things til the last minute, or letting them build up until everything just seems massive. I get stressed really easily and it's probably because I have a lot to do within a short space of time.

So, I have bought myself a diary:

I've decided that if I can work towards organising my personal life in the same way I organise my work life then I'll be a huge step further towards super-organised! I will fill it with 'Things to do' lists, and will highlight each item as I do it until the whole pae is neon pink. (I love it at work when a whole page of my diary turns pink!). Also noted will be important dates, like when my credit card payment is due, what I spend my money on and what my budget allows me for that day.

This is what today looks like:

Hmmm, still a fair amount to do then?!

Goals:

- Anything that can be done immediately, do immediately! You can send texts and answer messages anywhere, why don't you?!
- Write everything, even the smallest things, into the list so you don't forget.
- If something doesn't get done, just transfer it to another day's list - it doesn't have to be the next day, do it when it's convenient and when you have time.
- Don't burn out! It's ok to leave less urgent things 'til tomorrow if you're tired. Curl up with a book instead.

Budgeting Update

So it's a slippery slope isn't it? Today I met a friend for coffee, which turned into lunch and then bought a magazine... spending a total of £16 that's not in the budget. Still not in the danger zone but this needs to stop. Once I go back to work On Monday it'll be easier as my social life will have to cease!

Area 3: Becoming a well-rounded person

It occurred to me the other day that I don't give an awful lot of time to personal interests. I am a very task focussed person and so unless what I am doing is task-oriented, I don't tend to do it. The flip-side to this is that I waste an awful lot of time doing nothing, because I don't have any tasks, rather than doing something just for fun, just for me, so that I might develop into a more interesting, varied character.

So my next goals, are going to focus on doing things for fun. Developing personal interests.

Now, for those of you who don't know, I am a journalism graduate who studied English Language and Literature up to A-Level and achieve very good grades. What most people don't know, is that I've probably never read a classic piece of literature in my life. The closest I came is Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, which we studied in A-Level English Lit. However, I skipped class a lot and to this day do not know what happened at the end of the book - I never finished it. (Thankfully, the exam question centred around the first chapter, and I got an A for that paper!).

So, now at the age of 23 in a bid to become a more well-rounded person, I have decided to rectify this terrifying fact of my life and re-educate myself in some classic literature. And where better to start, than Jane Austen? Having enjoyed the various dramatisations I at least have a starting point of knowledge, so getting my head around the style shouldn't prove to be too difficult.

I found these gorgeous new editions in Smiths the other day and couldn't resist (so now I've invested £15 I have to read them!).

I started with Sense and Sensibility 'cause that's the first one she published. I'm up to chapter 11 already, it's a bit confusing because there are several 'Miss Dashwoods' and I have to re-read paragraphs to work out which one she's referring to (why couldn't they just address each other by their first names eh?). Would love to hear what anyone else thinks of Jane Austen, I'm enjoying it so far.

But, of course, the reading doesn't stop at classic literature. I have an awful lot of other books that I am midway through. They can be seen in the background of this picture:

Destined to Reign, Joseph Prince: Joseph Prince is a Christian author / pastor / preacher who has come to speak at our church and related conferences. He has an amazing understanding of the power of grace in our relationship with God and this is his book which outlines that. I started it a while ago and haven't gone back to it. It's actually my flatmate's copy so I must finish it!

Finding Favour with the King, Tommy Tenney: Another Christian book which I got for Christmas. It's about the Biblical story of Esther - a Jewish peasant girl who is chosen to be Queen after her 'One night with this King'. She then goes on to save the Jews from persecution because maybe she was bought into the Palace 'for such a time as this'. The book uses this story to talk about what happens when you find favour with the King and the long process of preparation that goes before that 'one night'. It's the type of book that you read in small chunks, just so you 'get it'. So I'm now up to chapter 3.

Knitting Yarns and Spinning Tales, Edited by Kari Cornell: I got this book from work when we has a massive clear out. It's a collection of essays by various writers who have been impacted by or have special memories of knitting. How it's helped them etc. I'm probably about half way through, but it's the type of book where you can pick up where you left off because you just start a new story. Fun and amusing.

Classic Christianity, Bob George: We have been reading this book as a church. It goes right back to basics about Christianity and the foundations of the faith. The author talks from his own experiences starting from when he was working so hard in ministry that he burned out and forgot what it's actually all about - God! It's a great reality check and also great for new Christians who have a lot of questions.

The Message, Eugene H. Peterson: This is kind of an ongoing project! It's the Bible in contemporary language. Sometimes you read sections of a traditional Bible and you're just like "huh?", but then you read the same passage in the Message and it really comes alive and you totally get what it's saying and the spirit in which it was said. This one will definitely always be on my bedside table to be read alongside my normal Bible.

So.... Goals:

- To read all of Jane Austen's books and then move on to other classics. (Sense and Sensibility - read!)

- To finish reading the other books on this list.

- To read a bit of The Message daily.

- To enjoy all of them!

Health and Fitness update:

I managed a 10minute Pilates this morning before I went out. My legs are aching from yesterday's run - I love that achey feeling!

Budgeting Update:

Ok, so I havn't quite stuck to it what with a couple of things that needed to be spent - but there is some spare cash for those occasions so nothing to worry about. I did get to go shopping for free today though and spend all those lovely Christmas gift vouchers. I came away with a new pair of jeans, some cord trousers and a new jumper and I only had to spend £12! Plus, there's more vouchers to be spent once the crappy end of the sales are over.

I also went to the bank and reduced my student overdraft limit by £50! It might not seem like much but this a big occasion for me, I've been out of Uni for 18 months now and this was the first time I had the courage to reduce it! Every little helps! I'm aiming to do that every month now - I'm hoping to actually pay off more than that, but by reducing the actual limit means I can't delve back into it when times are tight. It's all progress ladies and gentlemen!

Area 2: Budget and finance

Ok, so I am a self-confessed shop-a-holic. Some people read a book when they're bored, I go shopping. I go shopping as a means of entertaiment, as well as a social activity. I spend money on a whim. I only ever go to the supermarket when I'm hungry because I know that if I plan in advance I won't feel like the food that I've bought later on. I'll stare at the cupboards, decide there's nothing worth eating, and drag everyone out to Nandos.

And it's not just clothes shopping that I like. I mostly just like being out the house. I get bored easily at home so eating out in the evenings is a great social activity. I go shopping to kill time - I arrive at work 45 mins early every day, so I saunter off to the nearby Tesco superstore to see what delights I can find. Even if it's just a magazine. On average I probably spend £5 a day in tesco alone - which may not sound like much, but... "every little helps" as they say, and £25 a week adds up to a lot of pennies!

I've never budgeted in my life, and the few times I've tried, I've failed miserably - or I've spent so much money on organisational budgeting tools ('cause everything has to be colour coded!), that it's kind of defeated the object!

I also live with a manageable sized amount of debt - both from my student days and beyond. I dutifully pay off the minimum every month, sometimes a little bit more, but with interest rates rising it's like chipping away at a huge block of concrete. It makes no difference what-so-ever.

BUT all this is about to change. Because ladies and gentleman.... I have drawn up a budget! Now, this month is a little tighter than usual, what with the effects of Christmas, and hubby got paid mid-December instead of New Years.... so we spent half of it too early! Ooops!! However, I was surprised to find that seeing as we had spent most of his pay packet, we could still survive until January 31st without using Credit. Cool huh? I've pinned it up on the wall so we don't forget about it:

So, the immediate challenge is to get to the end of January. Once February arrives, we're going to start paying off those debt monsters!

Goals:

- Stick strictly to the budget by withdrawing cash every Monday and making it last all week.

- Keeping a close check on finances by regularly looking at our accounts and re-assessing the situation.

- Start to make a massive hole in that credit card which charges a ridiculous amount of interest, and aim to reduce my student overdraft by £500 by May.

- Don't buy any new clothes, and only eat out on Sundays for the foreseeable future.

So, with no prospects of buying any more new shoes for a long while, I will leave you to adore a picture of my last purchase of 2008. Some gorgeously purple bootees - I got dressed up yesterday just so I could wear them to the supermarket. :0)