Lorna Cole

I'm not really sure how we're already halfway through the year but here we are! I thought I'd take a look at the plans/goals I wrote in January and have a think about the latter half of 2021. You can read my initial 2021 goals and plans post here ! Goals & Plans I set in January The first goal I shared was to choose a university course and I'm pleased to say I did that and am now really looking forward to starting at The University of Brighton to study Media Studies in September! Going on from this, are the ongoing university preparations but things have definitely progressed! I've sorted my student finance loan and applied for accommodation which I'm currently waiting to hear back about and have got a few things that I'll be taking with me. I'm glad I joined a few university group chats with others starting at Brighton, it's been great getting to know people and it's nice knowing I've connected with some people before moving somewhere ne...

I'm not sure if I'll make this a monthly thing but I wanted to reflect on the progress of my goals and habits through January and I've actually got an exciting update!  This year I spent some time to properly think about my goals and plans so thought it would be good to reflect upon them after a month! I think I'm fairly good at being self-aware and acknowledging areas I'd like to improve or change but hopefully this will help me to stick to the goals I set myself.  Let's start with the update then, as I mentioned in my 2021 goals post, I decided to apply to start a new university degree this year. If you want to know a little more about why then you can find that post here . After hearing back from one of the universities within a few days, I couldn't help but check for any updates all the time... I'm not a fan of waiting for things! A couple of months later and I've now received unconditional offers for all 5 courses which I couldn't be happier...

At the beginning of 2021, I started using Notion and I wish I'd done sooner! It's a productivity/planning/organisation tool but can be used to store any information - from study notes to meal plans to finances and lists for pretty much anything you need. There are loads of tutorials on YouTube to help set up your Notion which I definitely used for inspiration, as well as tips and ideas on TikTok, These videos from Unjaded Jade , Twirling Pages , Om & The City helped me particularly! I've also added some quick videos of my Notion pages at the bottom of this post if you want to see what it looks like in use. This post isn't an ad but as you'll see pretty quickly, I'm a fan of Notion so far! App & Quick Notes Notion also has an app that is compatible with iOS 14 - this makes it even easier to access any daily to-do lists or whatever content you want to access quickly. I have a widget that takes me to my Notion homepage, it has links to any of my pages so I...

I'm writing this just as it's been announced that we are back in lockdown (as was expected!) Knowing this, setting goals, or making plans for the upcoming year may seem pretty pointless and I fully get why people won't bother this year. For me, it's a way to be somewhat productive, something that boosts my mood if  I've been feeling uninspired. I'm not making any huge goals this year, many are short term things that should be relatively easy to achieve. I'll revisit them later in the year and make additional ones if necessary! Choose a university course My main goal for 2021 is to start a new university degree. If you've read any of my previous posts, you might know I was studying with the OCA and doing a Creative Arts course. Since completing (and passing!) the first course, I realised I want to focus on a more specific avenue, rather than creative arts as a whole. Another reason I want to change courses is so that I'm able to move to a new location...

You don’t have to wait for a new year to make better decisions, habits or goals but I think it does motivate people to reflect on what they want to do over the next 12 months.  After the Christmas period and when no one really knows what day it is, it can often be a relief when January rolls around! It’s an opportunity to get back into a routine and be a bit more organised again. I took some time to have a think about my goals and plans for 2020 so thought I’d share them here! Creative Arts degree  In late April 2019, I started studying for a Creative Arts open degree (you can read more about it here). I’ve made a lot of progress and am really getting into it now. Obviously studying is something that is a priority and I want to dedicate a lot of time to over the next year so I can continue learning and working my way through the degree. I’ve enjoyed it so far and am looking forward to the upcoming stages!  Regular exercise  ...

I'm not one to make resolutions particularly but I do think it's quite useful to make some goals, though it doesn't necessarily have to be January!  →   Start a Creative Arts degree - This year I plan to begin studying with the OCA, this is part of the University for the Creative Arts but you can do it from home which will allow me to continue working as well! →  Work with more companies - I've had a couple companies reach out to me already this year so I'm really looking forward to working with more brands to create content. → Create a list of book ideas - Writing a book is on my bucket list and although it's not something I plan to do yet, I would like to think of some potential ideas and themes. → Guest posts - I've done a few guest posts previously and would like to do more to build up my portfolio. I'd also like to contribute to places like Buzzfeed since it's a platform I use frequently. → 4000 followers on Twitter - I'm al...

Since we're halfway through the year I thought I'd do some reflecting and wanted to refocus on some goals to work towards for the rest of 2018. I like having something to work towards whether it's more short-term or something that I'd like to improve over time. I've tried to include a range of things so I can target different aspects of my life! Blogging Goals Hit 2000 followers on Twitter - I just hit 1.5k so 2000 is my next goal! I'm really pleased with how my Twitter following is growing as it's my favourite social media and way to connect! Hit 500 followers on Instagram - My blog account is pretty new & I'm still learning to use it for blogging but I hope to reach at least 500 followers. Work with more companies - It's so rewarding when brands contact and want to work with you so I'd love to work with more companies, I've not had much experience of it but have done a couple of reviews! Schedule more posts - It...

Each and everyone has a different opinion of New Year's resolutions, personally I don't think you should put too much pressure on them, as you can't always achieve them! However I do think setting yourself some sort of goal to help better yourself and to open up new opportunities is a great thing to do! Here are 10 resolutions or goals I have set myself for 2018! Be healthier A fairly common one here and one of the hardest to stick to I'd say! I really want to start being healthier in general, for instance I'm planning to make smoothies as a replacement for breakfast or lunch on some occasions, as well as making sure I drink enough water. One of my biggest downfalls is snacking so that is also something I want to work on! I've recently made a Pinterest board with some ideas for smoothies, you can find it  here ! Start exercising more I definitely want to start being more active again, I used to love sport so this is something I hope to get b...