New Year and New Goals is probably the same for most people. We all set goals, there’s something that happens when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st.
Myself and Mr Fitz did not go out and celebrate, it was a cosy PJ night for us with a curry cooked by him. I have been unwell for most of Christmas developing a nasty chest infection 1 week before. I spent the week before Christmas on the sofa, I missed final shopping days and my hair appointment! I’m sat typing with horrendous roots, hopefully to be fixed tomorrow! Even after Christmas I had so little energy that I still spent a lot of time relaxing. The only thing I really felt like doing was reading and watching TV – I didn’t even pick up my beloved laptop for nearly 2 weeks! Shock! Horror!
Anyway I’m rambling a little but the point is that this enforced rest helped me to format my goals for the New Year and evaluate where I am now to where I want to be.
As you may have read in my About Me page I retired from my nursing career in 2015 after 36 years. I fulfilled some part time shifts for a further 18 months but then I finally hung up my stethoscope.
Since then I have been a part time Ebay reseller this has helped me learn new things, I had no idea before how to run a small business or complete HMRC Accounts! Also I think the secret to happy retirement is keeping active both physically and mentally. After years of working to strict shift hours and guidelines and protocols I still like some structure to my days and weeks. However I do not want to go out to work for someone else at this stage in my life, with one exception which I will come to later.
I have fallen a little out of love with my reselling lately, I think one of the main things is the clutter and stock that builds up in the house. I try to keep it contained to my home office and the garage, which are both really untidy and it does spread occasionally. I want the home office that you see images of on Instagram – not my cluttered mess. Running down my reselling life has been driven by this and then after compiling my HMRC Tax return I think the figures are an eye opener. I only want to spend 10-15 hours a week on this and yes I have a reasonable side income to supplement my NHS Pension but there are so many expenses and outgoings involved too that I think I can make this amount up by other methods. This is where my new challenges arise from for the New Year. So here goes!
Reading
As a child I spent a lot of time on my own and filed my time reading, this continued but progresses to text books at various stages in my career. When I retired I promised I would read all the books I’d wanted to and watch all the films I had missed. I haven’t managed either. So after my enforced rest I managed 2 books on my kindle in 10 days and realised how much I’d missed reading. So my goal is to read at least 2 books per month – I have set my reading target to 30 books for the year.
Ebay Reselling
As mentioned earlier one of my new year intentions is to wind down my Ebay shop. This will not take immediate effect as I still have around 300-400 items yet to sell. I will continue until this is gone but will reevaluate my pricing to help in quick sales. Once my shop is closed I will return to just selling personal items. I have to add that being part of the reselling community has been a fabulous experience. There are so many fabulous characters out there who will help. Especially on YouTube – so many re-sellers producing quality videos to hep and always with humour. I will continue to follow them even when I close my shop later in the year.
Competitions
Entering competitions has been my main hobby after watching football for over 10 years. I have won some fabulous prizes including money can’t buy experiences, including getting to interview Ant and Dec behind the scenes of Britain’s Got Talent. Following my retirement my intention was to up my game on this front and devote more time to this hobby. Yes there is a lot of luck involved but it is a hobby where you make your own luck by your efforts and hard work. Also it is a numbers game – the more competitions you enter the more chances you have of being a winner. However, this never happened and due to other distractions, including, Ebay reselling, I found I was entering less than when I was in full time work. Most compers maintain their stats, prizes, values, methods of entry etc. Again I managed this when I was working but somehow haven’t managed this is in retirement. For the life of me I don’t know why! At the end of one year or beginning of next some compers share their stats, often via YouTube. There are a few who I follow every month and after seeing their stats and yearly total of prizes I have decided that this is the main focus of my attention this year. I intend to devote the time previously allocated to Ebay reselling back to this and some more!
Work as a Background Artist
A background artist is the current name for a TV Extra. I am registered with a local Casting agency and have gained some experience in this field. The work is sporadic and not well paid at all. Probably minimum wage for the hours worked. However, I find it interesting, the food and catering is excellent, which is free and there is a lot of time hanging around between scenes. Plus you meet some interesting people. There are people from many backgrounds who work in this role. I hope to increase the amount of work I get from my agent – ooh! That sounds grand doesn’t it. If necessary I will join a different agency and see if that makes a difference to the amount of work I receive. I know I’ve said the pay is very poor but there is a lot of time hanging around which will allow me to work on my Blog and competition entries, with pay!
Blogging
I am really enjoying my blogging career that I have tried to pick up in ernest. I am still learning all the time and want to grow and monetise my blog. Therefore this New Year working on networking and growing my blog will be a big goal.
Fitness
This is my final and ever perpetual goal. To maintain fitness and lose weight. I have been attending the gym and discovered Yoga but no weight loss follows. I have written about my health goals before. Starting the New Year I want to carry on at the same level but build on my exercise regime and increase my yoga classes. As I have a chronic back condition I find that this is fabulous for my well being.
Well that’s enough to be going on with! What about you? Have you got any exciting new goals this New Year. I realise we’re approaching the middle of the month before I publish this post, however I was laid up with a nasty chest infection and bug from before Christmas plus a family bereavement which has slowed my progress. But it’s now onwards and upwards! I already know that I have some regular work as a background artist from the end of the month.
Exciting times!
