It would be fair to say that October didn’t really go to plan. I knew it was going to be a busy month – there is a big project going on at work currently and my team were on holiday meaning I had their work to pick up. I had my college assignment to get stuck into, and that involves a lot of research and critiquing of papers. That’s without the usual challenge of just trying to fit it all in!

Unfortunately Mum was hospitalised again this month. Needless to say that it’s been a difficult time for everyone and means juggling of priorities. She did come home briefly, but has been readmitted. We’ll just have to take it one day at a time.

The month finished on a high with a lovely short break to Weymouth at the end of half term. We were lucky with the weather, particularly on Sunday where the sun came out and we enjoyed a lovely walk along the seafront.

My goals for the month were as follows:

• Successfully complete next 31 days of real food challenge
• Complete first college assignment
• Keep house tidy in anticipation of many viewings

Well, there was some progress. I didn’t quite manage the food challenge whilst I was away. I didn’t go mad, but quite a few refined carbs, mainly in the form of bread, were consumed. If nothing else, it did reconfirm to me why eating a less processed diet is good for me – I felt really bloated and uncomfortable after the weekend, and I had a slight upset stomach too (sorry, TMI). However, I’m not going to beat myself up about that, life is for living and a few days is not going to make a big difference to my long term goals.

I also fell behind on my assignment. I had hoped to finish it by the end of the month, or at least be pretty close, but I’m actually only about half way through. There are six separate questions, and whilst they don’t require really long answers (between 300 – 500 words per question), there are basically 6 topics to research and read on, so it’s by no means quick and easy! I think I need to change how I approach the work too. Generally, I get home from work, put the girls to bed and don’t actually start working until about 7.30pm. Then it’s a question of how much I actually get done before I’m too hungry and need to cook. So I probably only manage about 45 mins at a time, which is really hard to get any momentum on, plus it means we eat really late. This month, I’m going to try cooking and eating straight away, then getting 60 – 90 solid minutes done. Hopefully that will speed things up a bit!

Keeping the house tidy has gone a bit by the way side too, but we’ve just had a viewing confirmed for Friday, so that’ll be a forcing function this week!

So on to November! There are a few areas I want to focus on this month. I’ve realised that I’m feeling quite anxious at the moment. There is a lot going on which can feel quite overwhelming. Work is busy, and I have an upcoming trip to Sweden which I’m not looking forward to. I’m concerned about my assignments as I don’t feel that I’ve focussed as much as I should have. I also feel there is just a lot to get done in life currently – Christmas is looming and I’m away a lot with work this month!

Early last year I really struggled with anxiety issues and I want to stop things getting to that point again. I love the motto “The best cure for anxiety is action”, so this month I’m going to take control – get a list of my worries and some practical things I could do to alleviate them. I need to learn to take some down time and enjoy it, rather than feeling that I have a constant list of things I should be doing. But to do that, I need to at least feel in control of the other things that are going on.

The second thing is around fitness goals (I know what you’re thinking – isn’t that at odds with being overwhelmed? Stay with me on this!). I’m pretty disciplined about exercise. I usually train 6 times a week, and although that sounds like a lot, most of my workouts are only about 30 mins. Plus it makes me feel good, I don’t usually have to drag myself out (although sometimes I don’t do it if I’m not feeling like it). It actually helps me deal with everything else as it gives me some headspace and time where I’m not thinking about anything else.

However, I’ve been thinking recently that a lot of the time I spend working out is currently what I’d call “junk exercise”, I’m sort of going through the motions. I’ve added more strength into my routine, but I don’t think I’m pushing myself that hard and with only one race done this year (goal: finish it), I’ve just been running around aimlessly. So I’m going to plan out some fitness goals for the next few months, not because I want to work out more, but that I want to work out smarter. If I’m spending the time doing it anyway, I might as well make it count!