Resolutions review #3:

It's that time again!  We're nine months into 2013 and it won't be long before we're all making new resolutions for a brand new year.

You can read my original resolutions post here, review number one here and review number two here.  (But I'll forgive you if you don't.  Who really has time for all that?)

Source: here

1. Write:

A couple of months ago, I briefly mentioned in a post that I had started doing some freelance writing.  It's been going quite well, and I've been writing about two or three online articles per week!  It can be quite time consuming, but it's also helped me to get back into the swing of working to deadlines (useful for going back to uni!) and reminded me not to procrastinate too much when I need to get work done.

2. Read:

Oh, the shame!  I'm still working my way through Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson, which I started reading while we were in Paris in April...  I am very nearly finished it though, and I have a blog related idea to encourage me (and the rest of you, hopefully!) to read at least one book per month, which I'll post about very soon.  Very mysterious, I know.

3. Blog:

As the modern philosopher, Bridget Jones, said: 'It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces.'  Although I haven't given up on blogging by any means, my blog has begun to suffer a little since I started freelance writing.  Because I enjoy blogging so much, I consider it to be more of a hobby than a job, and therefore I've started putting my 'work' ahead of it, which isn't good!  I'll be making more of a conscious effort to make time for blogging, and to plan ahead from now on.  Hopefully I will also be heading to another blogger event in the near future, which is exciting!  Of course, you guys will be the first to hear about it.

4. Decorate:

I haven't done well with decorating the flat in the last few months, which is a bit ridiculous considering it's meant to be the main focus of Inferior Design!  I have lots of projects I want to get on with, I just haven't been able to find the time lately.  The temptation to watch Netflix on the sofa has obviously been too strong on my days off!  Hopefully I'll be able to motivate myself to get more done - we still have boxes from when we moved in sitting in the spare room!  My aim (as it was last year) is to have the flat sorted out before Christmas.  Only three months to go!

5. Save:

I am about to become a penniless student again, so saving is high on my list of priorities right now.  Craig and I have been making an effort to eat a healthier diet, and also to plan our meals better, which has already been saving us both quite a bit of cash!  Although I'm not a reckless spender, and no longer allow myself to go on Primark binges like I used to, I will now have to start keeping an eye on the pennies in a way I never have before.  I'm assuming that the run up to Christmas will be tough, but I hope to give myself a budget and stick to it.  You'd better all be prepared to pretend if I decide to make handmade Christmas presents!

6. Travel:

It's unlikely that I'll be doing any international travelling this year, but I do have a trip to Bristol (with Craig and my sister) arranged for November to visit some old family friends.  Craig and I are also hoping to start planning a trip to the US very soon, although that will involve some serious saving!  In the meantime, I'm living vicariously through Margaret, who blogs over at Roaring Twenties and is currently on the trip of a lifetime, travelling around Asia for three months!  You can see her amazing travel photos on her Instagram (her username is @exxploring) and imagine you're there too, just like I'm doing on this rainy Edinburgh morning.

7. Waste less time:

I think I'm doing better with this resolution these days.  I am still totally addicted to the internet, and to all my social networking apps, there's no denying it.  Craig will literally try to prise my phone from my hands now and again, when he thinks I'm getting too obsessed.  However, I'm also managing to meet deadlines with my articles and to (mostly) maintain my blog.  The next challenge will be adding the pressures of uni work into the mix, but my hours at work will be significantly lower, so it all evens out.  The task that always ends up on the back burner is housework, but it always gets done eventually.  Usually in the fifteen minutes before someone is coming to stay!