Content
January felt like a ketchup bottle. Stay with me here.
You get a nice, new, glistening ketchup bottle, and you can't wait to add it to your food. You take off the protective cap, tip it upside down and squeeze/pat the sauce out.
Instead of enjoying that delicious ketchup, you get a load of watered-down pre-ketchup. Disappointing, to say the least.
Introduction
I started January 2022 all optimistic; however, we quickly got to the end of the month, and I felt like I had achieved nothing. I had big expectations, which meant that the small, fun activities and achievements got overlooked.
That is why I love doing monthly roundups; they force you to reflect and see what you actually did accomplish and do.
After all, once you get rid of the water-down ketchup, you are left with brand new sauce to improve your food. You just have to look beyond the bad bit and enjoy the good.
I'll drop the sauce analogy now - it got slightly weird.
Mindset
'The reason why we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind the scenes with everyone else's highlight reel'. - Steven Furtick
This past month, I've struggled with my mindset, as I keep feeling like nothing I do will amount to anything. I've been struggling to motivate myself to get out of bed, but I am determined to move forward. I've spent some time researching ways to improve my mindset and mental health, which I hope to share in February.
I thought maybe I shouldn't include this section, but I wanted to be honest, to show that others struggle, even when it looks idyllic from the outside.
Activities
I started 2022 surrounded by a few friends, as we had a few people over to celebrate the New Year. We made pizza's, played drinking games and watched the fireworks at midnight. Although the cleanup was extensive, it was a lovely way to start the year.
I downloaded an app named Finch, which is a self-care widget pet. It looked good, but I didn't have high hopes. After using it for just under a month, I love it. It works for me and encourages me to tick off daily tasks and write down my thoughts and feelings. Each time you open the app, you are greeted with a thoughtful quote and a rating to see how you feel. It might not be for everyone, but it has helped me so much so far. I read that back and realised how salesy it sounds; I swear I just like the app.
My partner and I invested in a new coffee table to work from the couch without having to slouch or rest my laptop on my knees. Exciting adulthood tidbit.
Of course, I can't have a monthly roundup without mentioning cross-stitch. In January 2022, I finished a little Loki cross-stitch after finding the pattern on Pinterest. My thread is slightly too bright, but I still like it. I think I might make him into another bookmark for my personal use.
Finally, I want to mention what happened at the end of January 2022. I stepped out of my comfort zone and went out for brunch with some lovely people! I know this might not sound like much of an accomplishment to many people, but I was really nervous before this event. I wasn't sure if I would fit in or if they would like talking to me one-on-one, but it was such a good afternoon/evening! I am considering writing a blog post about it or just writing about it for myself.
After writing all of the above, I do feel better about how I spent January! I do encourage you to round up your month, as it can help you focus on the little things you might have missed.
Wellbeing
My partner and I are also still on our cooking hype and have found a process that works well for us. We are now doing a monthly shop to stock up on non-perishable items and a weekly shop for fresh food. On Sunday, we talk about what meals we want the following week and write down the food we need for our shop on Monday.
I am trying to exercise more throughout the week and reach the target of 150 minutes of activity a week as well. I am doing activities I enjoy and varying my routines, which keeps me motivated and more likely to continue.
Career
I started small in January in regards to my career. I've started making headway in an online course directly related to my career path. Imposter syndrome does creep in occasionally, but I am trying to overcome that feeling.
Blogging
January 2022 started well in terms of blogging, as I scheduled blog posts and Twitter posts; however, it did falter towards the end of the month. It felt good having tweets for my blog posts scheduled, as it allowed me to focus on in the moment tweets.
I have recorded my end of month statistics to build on these in February. In terms of my blog posts, I am really excited about the content I have planned for February.
February Goals
For February, I have a few goals:
- Finish the online course
- Update all my information on job sites
- Plan out blogging content for the rest of February and March
- Build on blogging figures
- Write more research-based blog posts
- Work on nurturing friendships
- Read more blog posts and support other bloggers
Summary
I do love roundup blog posts as it is a great way to reflect on what happened during the month. These roundup posts are also a perfect way to start the month, as they can help narrow my focus and highlight what I need to work on in the following month.
How was your January? Let me know in the comments, as I always love to read through them. 
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