Weekly Reads – January 4th

Welcome to the first Weekly Reads of 2021! I hope you’ve had a wonderful break close to your loved ones – whether physically or via Zoom – and got to rest and recharge your batteries for the start of the year.

I’ve had a truly magical time. It was just the two of us celebrating but we built a festive atmosphere throughout the whole December which ramped up perfectly for the holidays. We opened quite a few presents each, cooked a lot of delicious food and just enjoyed ourselves. I also spent the end of year reflecting on 2020 and the lessons it taught me, so if you haven’t yet, do give it a read.

Truth is, I am not very much looking forward to getting back to work, but I am energized for getting things done. I’ve set a few goals for 2021, and I am excited to put the work in, no matter where the year takes us.

Weekly Reads

Guide to manifesting your dreams. Some people believe in manifesting and some don’t. Whether you believe in it or not, going through the exercise of setting goals in a detailed way is undoubtedly helpful as it helps you break them down, and reflect on how to achieve them. Career Contessa has an easy to follow guide on how to manifest your dreams.

Staying grounded. No one can say where the new year will take us, so having a breathing exercise to keep you grounded throughout 2021 won’t do you harm.

Tech backgrounds. You know I love having a cute and fresh background on my laptop. The Every Girl’s downloadable tech backgrounds for January are now available to start the year on a fresh note.

Job search strategy. I loved this article from Career Contessa on how to approach your job search strategy; a refreshing perspective. They recommend aligning your job search with your goals and vision, such as searching by company – a place where you would see yourself working, with growth potential and with values that you believe in.

6 realistic New Year’s resolutions for 2021. I’ve personally already taken stock of what 2020 taught me and it felt right to also set up some goals for 2021. The exercise energised me and helped me understand where should I put my energy and focus. If you are looking for less pressure when it comes to setting goals and taking a more realistic and sustainable approach, this list of resolutions for 2021 might be the right thing to read.

+ What I am reading. I have a very special post coming out this week with my reading list for 2021. In the meantime, my current read is Giulia Enders’ Gut: The inside story of our body’s most underrated organ a book that has been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years now, yet I only ever made it about 1/3 of it. I think digestive health dictates a lot in our bodies, more than we undestand and give it credit for today, and understanding a bit more around it is proving extremely interesting. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to know more about how their digestive system works.

+ What I am baking. For Christmas as well as New Year’s I made these chocolate orange shortbread cookies and oh my, they were so delicious and also last very well in the fridge; they taste much better cool. I also made cinnamon rolls for Christmas lunch and they turned out delicious. I substituted the eggnog with milk and I am still in awe that I was able to pull it off. These two recipes are definitely going into my mental cookbook.

Thank you for reading and I hope you are having a wonderful start into the workweek and the year!