…And it has definitely helped to improve my mood! I felt as though the winter this year dragged on more than usual, although this could just be the combined effects of being on a career break, feeling “stuck” at home for part of that time, and having issues overcoming a tough end of 2023. I am very pleased to report that I am in a much better place now, and I fully intend to capitalize on this throughout the rest of the year, through both my travels and through a new career adventure.

Plans for this year

I was thinking that perhaps if I write down a list of my personal and professional goals for the year, this may spur me on further to achieve these! So here goes…

• Canada! My dream holiday is getting closer and I cannot wait!
• Plan my next trip away (post-Canada!)
• Complete my CIM Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Professional Marketing.
• Post to my blog at least once every couple of weeks.
• Return to the world of work with a clearer focus and motivation on what I am looking for.
• Potentially re-attempt my final ACCA exam (Advanced Audit & Assurance) to become fully qualified/chartered.

I don’t want to make many more big plans as I feel the above is already quite a lot for one year. I have made the mistake of trying to do too much in a short space of time before, and have learnt that this doesn’t end well!

Current travel thinkings

My travel plans are constantly evolving, with the plans that I had even a couple of months ago having already changed. Right now my thinking is to do another big trip akin to Canada next year, more than likely to the US, and maybe a trip or two in Europe in-between. The US would likely include a western state or two (California + ??), whereas my current leanings for Europe are towards Prague, Lisbon & Seville, but we will see! For the US I am expecting that I will probably embark on a group tour type holiday, since I will more than likely be soloing it and I don’t feel confident enough to hire a car and do it all myself yet! If my readers have any suggestions of good tours in western US, please do let me know! Of particular interest to me are the national parks and in particular Yosemite National Park in California.

Life as things stand

Partly covered above, but I thought that I would write about this in a bit more detail here too. I am still on my career break since the end of last year, with no solid plan as of yet for my return to work date, although I am thinking that I will probably start looking after my Canadian adventure, in June/July time. In the time between now and then, I will continue to study, volunteer, go to my usual social meetup events, and generally enjoy my time off. I have not yet felt bored or unfulfilled in my time off, which I am taking to mean that I must be doing something right! I expect to finish my marketing qualification mid-year, then I have a decision to make as to whether to move onto the next level, or whether to re-attempt my final ACCA exam. My decision for this will likely depend upon how my return to work pans out and what I may be doing in my future job/career. One thing for sure is that it will be another busy year – albeit hopefully not the overload that it turned out to be last year!

Future content

My content so far has been somewhat varied between travel lists, product reviews, life updates and future plans. I have personally enjoyed writing around all these areas, however, I would also like to publish the sort of content that my reader’s would enjoy the most. If you have any preferences or suggestions for me, these will be gratefully received and taken on board. It can be difficult sometimes to gauge reader reception to different types of content, having a relatively low overall readership level, so I am certainly interested in anything that I can do to put the best and most interesting content out there that I can!

Feedback, as always, is welcome, and I will endeavour to keep publishing to my blog as often as I can. All that remains is to wish you all a happy spring, and happy future travel planning!