I was listening to the Let It Be podcast on my recent trip to Brisbane and Kelly and Brooke talked about a ‘Year in Review’ workbook they’d discovered and liked. It sounded ideal for someone like me who already overanalyses anything and everything.

The workbook is available over at Better than Busy and focuses on a couple of key questions (such as ‘what’s worked for you and what hasn’t’ and includes some helpful prompts). I won’t go into detail here, cos you can get the workbook yourself but on the whole….

2016: The highlights

• I finally managed to secure an okay-paying part-time job so I have some financial security
• I sold my apartment and bought a house I love that feels like home
• My health has improved as I’ve lost weight
• Spending time with my dear mother, and my best local friend and her little boy Pickle and the arrival of another blogger and avid social media user into my little circle of friends
• Connecting with like-minded peeps at a blogging conference and their ongoing online companionship
• Catching up with my BFF in New Zealand (along with her partner and their dogs!).

2016: The lowlights

•  My old apartment and toxic living environment which meant I stayed away from home as much as possible
• My weight loss surgery – though resulting in a 35kg loss (so far) – was far more traumatic than I could have imagined
• I pretty much flatlined in terms of my writing and blogging. I didn’t add anything to the novels I’d started and – though I grew my blog readership a little – I did not pitch a single thing to a paid source / outlet in 2016.

Much of what I do is consistent with my values, but there have been a few mistakes along the way…. I enrolled in Italian lessons, thinking they’d be fun, offer a mental challenge and help me meet new and exciting people. That wasn’t the case and I need to rethink options for ‘fun’ and ‘friendships’.

2016: The lessons

I want to spend more time on my writing over the next year. I suspect this might mean less time allocated to blogging or book reviewing but am not sure. I seem to be busy doing nothing much of the time.

And despite my constant changes I’m a lover of routine and really REALLY need to settle into a routine in the new year. I particularly want to develop more sustainable habits on the work, writing, food and exercise fronts.

I’m now heading into a little end of year blogging break, but – international politics and celebrity deaths aside – 2016 has been a pretty BIG but good year for me, with the positives significantly outweighing the negatives: something that hasn’t happened in a long long time.

What’s worked for you this year? What hasn’t?

I’ve joined Leanne from Deep Fried Fruit and some other bloggers to help promote “ageing positively” and the Lovin’ Life mindset across the interwebs. You can link up via any one of us! This is our last link-up for 2016, but we’ll be back in 2017!!!