May's Goals & Intentions

My monthly reflections are a chance for me to look back over the last month, and plan for the month ahead. They allow me to share more personal and intimate details of my life. These posts are like a monthly journal or diary for me, and their aim is to keep me accountable on my journey to being debt free, but also to reflect on how I’m doing/ feeling, and what we’ve been up to as a family.

April was such a busy month for me and it seemed to fly by. We have 8 birthday’s in April and so we’ve pretty much spent the month celebrating, which has been equally as lovely as it has been stressful. The children also had half term holidays from school for 2 weeks which has meant that the house has been busier than usual too. I’m no good with lots of dates in my diary so April always tends to be the month that makes me overwhelmed and overstimulated. I’m hoping to spend May taking more time for myself and having less commitments.

I’ve loved the lighter nights that the spring months are now bringing. We have spent many evenings walking the dogs, stretching our legs and enjoying the fresh air which has been so welcome after what has felt like the longest winter.

How was your April? Are you looking forward to May and what the new month brings? I’m always a sucker for a new month. It’s like a new chapter, a do-over, like a mini version of the new year and it’s a chance to start fresh - something I love doing.

So, on to my goals and intentions for May…

Personal Life & Health:

I’m feeling quite overwhelmed at the moment. Like I mentioned above, having lots of commitments as well as having the children home for 2 weeks, coupled with a newborn has taken a lot of my energy this month.

I’m really looking forward to having less commitments in May, and I’m going to prioritise myself and my health.

I definitely know I need to eat better as I feel so groggy lately. Having copious amounts of chocolate from Easter has not helped this feeling. So, I’m thinking of trying Hello Fresh to help get more healthy meals in me. Cooking is not something I enjoy, in fact, I’d go so far as to say I actually hate it. Therefore, I tend to stick to the same 3 or 4 meals that I know how to cook quite quickly. Having all of the ingredients and recipe cards delivered to your door, should hopefully make cooking, and eating healthier so much easier, especially with a newborn.

Have you ever tried a Hello Fresh box? What are your thoughts? Do you have a favourite recipe?

I also have my postpartum check up with my doctor at the start of May, and I’m hoping to be signed off ready to start exercising again. Exercising has always been something that I’ve enjoyed for my mental health, rather than to improve my physical appearance.

Obviously, being an introvert and now a new mum again, I didn’t want to go out to a gym surrounded by lots of people to exercise, so I use The Body Coach App by Joe Wicks. This means that I can do all of my workouts at home (with no one else watching), with very little equipment. I’m going to start with the postpartum series within the app to slowly wean myself back into exercise, without overdoing it. As soon as I’m strong enough, I’m going to restart the app from the very beginning with the normal workout plan.

Do you find that exercise helps you mentally too? It’s something I never thought I’d be into, but I actually really love it.

Work Life:

I can’t quite believe that May is the month that I’ve been writing on Substack for 6 whole months! It has gone so fast, and I’ve loved every minute. I certainly surprised myself with just how much I enjoy writing to say that I’ve never considered myself a writer per se.

But, after a discussion in the comments section of this post by

Claire Venus

, I discovered that there are quite a few of us here on Substack that have the ‘I’m not a writer’ block. In fact, I think I'll write a post all about this at some point, but I'd be interested to know if you have this block too

Finances:

• Current debt: £10,700.51 (£590.40 paid off in April)

• Plan of action: Pay off £600 towards debt in May.

The aim was to pay off £300 in April due to the amount of commitments and birthdays we needed to celebrate, but we managed to pay off more!

The next few months are much quieter for us so we plan to start to save for Christmas, and pay off the remaining debt (£760.48 - not including the car finance) before autumn. Hopefully we can achieve this much sooner, but I really want to save for Christmas so I’m not putting too much pressure on myself to get this cleared quickly.

I’m using my trusty spreadsheet to track my income and outgoings, and to see where I can save money for Christmas. I taught my paid subscribers how to create their own spreadsheet in Lesson 15 of my Simple & Calm course. You can read a small snippet of that post below, and consider becoming a paid subscriber if you’d like help, support and accountability with becoming debt free (or living a simple, slower life) too:

Lesson Fifteen: Finances

Home Life & Possessions:

I’ll be honest, the house is in a sorry state right now. On the surface, everything looks fine. The house is tidy and the older 2 children are great at keeping their bedrooms tidy, but the house just needs a good deep clean, and I still haven’t managed to do my full spring clean yet.

I have, however, sorted through and organised our wardrobes. I’ve listed our unwanted or outgrown clothes on Vinted to sell which has been very cleansing and satisfying for me. Sort of like a job ticked off, I felt very productive.

I’ll continue this slow and steady spring clean, and I may enlist help with the housework from my younger sister. This will take some pressure off of me until baby William is in a better routine through the day, and I can get more done.

Technology & Social Media:

Ok, I have to admit that I’m LOVING being away from social media. If you missed last months reflection post, I spoke about deleting the Instagram and Facebook apps from my phone. It’s been a wonderful month and I’ve only checked in on Instagram once to give my followers an update, and let them know that I’m no longer going to be posting on there regularly.

I haven’t checked in with Facebook at all, and so I plan to delete it in May. I’m going to move my Simple & Calm Facebook group over to Substack chat for my paid subscribers, and then my Facebook account will be deleted permanently.

As for Instagram, I worry that having no social media presence as a creative business (I sell prints on Etsy) will negatively impact my business, and so I don’t dare delete it. What do you think? Is it ok to keep going as I am with Instagram, not having the app on my phone, only using the desktop version to check messages, and only posting an update every couple of months?

Family & Relationships:

April saw us celebrate Charlie’s 8th birthday and enjoy the Easter holidays together. We even managed a trip to the cinema with baby William which was much easier than I expected it to be with a newborn.

We’re going to be spending much more time outdoors in May now that the evenings are lighter and warmer. We love exploring as a family, and so we’ll be heading back to our favourite nature spots very soon. My husband in particular has had a few stressful months at work, and nature always helps to bring us some calm and quiet.

If you have any suggestions for places to visit in Yorkshire, or further afield, we don’t mind, then let me know in the comments section.

It’s also my 30th birthday in July and I really want to take the family away for a few nights somewhere to celebrate. I’ve been looking and looking, but I can’t seem to find anything that isn’t thousands of pounds, and so I’m turning to you lovely readers here for help.

I’d love to visit Scotland, it’s definitely on my bucket list, but I also wouldn’t mind heading back to the Lake District - a place we haven’t been back to since the week we went into lockdown in 2020. To be honest, I’m open to anywhere that is surrounded by nature, where we can explore and rest and unwind. I’m thinking of lodges, or quirky places to stay for a family of 5 and 2 dogs. If you know of anywhere like that, please let me know

And so those are my goals and intentions for May. I’m going to be prioritising my health and fitness, as well as planning for my 30th in July.

Before I sign off, I just want to remind you that you can enjoy full access to the Simple & Calm course for free, for 7 days. Simply click below to sign up, and feel free to cancel before the 7 days are up to avoid being charged. Although, it would mean a great deal to me if you were able to continue with a paid subscription and support me and my writing.

Until next month,
Sophie