For a long time, I didn’t quite feel my age. I felt like time was flying before my eyes and more candles were being added to my birthday cake yet in my head I still felt 22. I don’t know what caused a shift in my mind, or when it happened, but I finally feel my age. I’m happy being in my late 20’s and I’m ready for the next bracket, my 30’s. With less than six months to go until I turn 30, it has got me thinking about what I’d like to tick off my list before November 1st.
We’re about to head on our Bali honeymoon and we’ve booked Greece for later in the year, so I can happily tick travel off the list. I can also tick live performances, as in the past six months I will have seen NAO, Drake, Kevin Hart and Jimmy Carr perform and next week I’m taking Michael to see The Lion King in the theatre. I couldn’t believe he’d never seen it so I just had to rectify that for him! Anyway I digress, here are five more things I would love to do in the six months before I turn 30…
Feel the fear and do it anyway. I’ve had a certain idea and spoken about it to friends, family and colleagues for about 2 or 3 years now, yet it’s remained just that, an idea. There have been genuine reasons why I haven’t acted on said idea yet, but if I’m being honest, its been mostly excuses that have stopped me. To start something new, something different and take that leap of faith is scary, but this year I need to feel the fear and do it anyway. I’m in a good place to put in the time and do this now so I feel like it’s now or never. I’m sorry for being quite vague here but I don’t want to tell you about this idea and then not act on it. I promise you’ll be the first to know once it’s in action!
Geek out over budgeting. This one is already a work in progress. I love a spreadsheet, so it was only a matter of time before I delved head-first into the world of budgeting. I started by joining Monzo, which categorises my spending to show where my money is going and calculates my rate of spending to see if I’ll run out of money before the end of the month. I’ve already convinced several friends to sign up to Monzo and they love it too. However, I wanted more when it came to budgeting and so I found YNAB aka ‘You Need A Budget’. A great name, for a great tool. It’s a clever, nicely designed, easy-to-use, sophisticated budgeting spreadsheet on steroids, which you can access via any device – what’s not to love?! Not convinced? We’re just getting started with YNAB and it has already helped Michael and I both make decisions about what our money should do for us, what’s worth spending our money on and what areas need cutting back on. I could write so much more about budgeting, finances and YNAB, so I’ll delve into it all in a post soon!
Run. I’ve said it before but in case you missed it, I hate running. I’ve tried it. I don’t like it. Never have. Not for me. Nope. However, Michael has signed me up to do a 10K Obstacle Course Race in October the cheeky little… There will be a bunch of our friends doing it with us, so I can’t even plod along, walk-jogging my way around the course to the finish line as I don’t want to get left behind or hold my friends back. I’ve never run a 10K before, let alone a 10K packed with obstacles. So by force, I am going to have to build up my running fitness from a solid zero to a level where I can at least keep up with my friends. I figured the Couch to 5K app would be a good place to start and then go from there. If you have any tips, workouts or words of encouragement for a complete and utter novice runner, please send them my way. I’ll need all the help I can get!
Nurture relationships. Michael and I are really happy together and still in that newlywed bubble, but we’d both like children in our 30’s so we need to make the most of this time as a family of two. I’m thinking amping up the spontaneous date nights and travelling more together, you know, the things that will be harder to do once a little one comes along. On top of that, my friends are having babies, buying houses, making moves in their careers, travelling, changing their career paths, just generally doing some pretty cool things, but all of that can get in the way of regularly meeting up and catching up. Earlier in the year I’d got into a good routine of arranging regular girly dates but we haven’t maintained that, so I want to get it going again. Catching up over WhatsApp just doesn’t compare to catching up over a cuppa or brunch.
Celebrate! I’ll be in Greece on my actual birthday, thanks to a certain husband of mine entering the Spartan World Championship in Sparta, Greece and we’re turning it into a mini holiday by staying on a few days after the event. However, I’ve been thinking about what to do back in London. I share my birthday with one of my friends and another friend is only 2 days after us, so we’ve alluded to the idea of a joint 30th birthday party. I haven’t had a birthday party in years and I loved planning our wedding day so much that I’m just itching to plan another event. What better excuse than a joint 30th with my nearest and dearest?! You’re only 30 once, right?
Narrowing this list down to five was pretty hard as there are skills I think I should really learn before 30 such as how to put up a shelf and how to swim (yes, really) as well as some random things I want to do like dyeing my hair balayage style and getting a second tattoo. However, I’m not sure I want any of these things enough to ensure I do them come November 1st. Hopefully, my top five is focused enough to motivate me to achieve all of them. Watch this space.
What would you love to do before your next birthday and why? Are there any fellow November babies out there? Let me know in the comments below
Pin for Later
Definitely start with couch to 5K and don’t be afraid to repeat a session if you didn’t feel it went well.
Thank you! I’ve downloaded the app, now I just need to get cracking :) Repeating a session is good advice, I think that will help me stick to the program x