New Beginnings

by Ruth Leigh

It’s January, the month of good intentions, muffin tops, spare tyres and awful weather. It is also the time when self-employed people like me think, “Heck, time’s running out. I’d better do my tax return.” Gentle reader, I am halfway through entering data in my interminable spreadsheet as we speak, but it’s boring and horrible and I hate it and I’d much rather be chatting to you.

I was thinking about New Year’s resolutions this morning and feeling good about the fact that I haven’t made any. However, it’s an interesting concept, so I thought I’d do a bit of research.

For 2023, the Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions are as follow:

1. Exercise more

2. Eat healthier

3. Lose weight

4. Save more money

5. Spend more time with family/friends

Don’t worry. This isn’t going to be one of those articles where I share my annoying tips on detoxing and getting that youthful glow back. Far from it. The first four are all bang on for me. For quite some time now, and especially since I went full-time as a writer last January, I’ve been fairly sedentary. We writers do spend an awful lot of time sitting on our derrieres waiting for inspiration to strike. There may be people out there who go for an invigorating five mile run first thing and return to their writing studio with their next bestseller all planned out. If you are such a person, do tell us your secret.

I would like to eat healthier. Since I went back to work on 4th January, porridge has been my breakfast of choice, so filling that I can last until teatime without snacking. We still have a mountain of satsumas in the fruit bowl and I believe they contain virtually no calories, so that’s good. The Bailey’s is nearly all gone (thank goodness) and there is no chocolate in the house. But while I don’t smoke or do recreational drugs (such a drain on the household budget) and I could easily live without alcohol, food is the one thing I simply can’t resist.

Losing weight goes hand in hand with eating healthier and, like many of us, I’ve been toying with the idea of joining a gym. Again. But this is not the time to do it. March maybe. Or April. (Note to self. Resolution number 6. Try to stop procrastinating).

Only the richest and most privileged of us aren’t worrying about money in 2023. As bills soar, my tips are the same as they’ve always been. Turn the lights off when you’re not in the room. Wear lots of layers and turn the heating down. Buy food in bulk and add cheap nutritious fillers like lentils and peas. Buy your stuff in the charity shop. This year, this advice is a bit like trying to empty Lake Windermere with a teaspoon, but it’s a start.

As for the family, I’m self-employed. I work in the Palace of Creativity, my writing studio situated twenty feet from the house. I do the school run every day and my children would probably like to see a bit less of me. I’m never not around. But friends – that’s a different matter. I was a bit of a hermit in 2022, working my ample rear end off and I miss my friends. So this year, if I have a resolution, it’s this.

Do more of what makes me happy.

That includes seeing my friends on a regular basis. Four of us are meeting for breakfast at our local café tomorrow morning. There will be cackling, guffawing and fun to be had, and I simply can’t wait.

Because we all need some more laughter in our lives.

Ruth is a novelist and freelance writer, the author of “The Diary of Isabella M Smugge”, “The Trials of Isabella M Smugge” and “The Continued Times of Isabella M Smugge”. She writes for a number of businesses and charities and blogs at ruthleighwrites.co.uk. She has abnormally narrow sinuses and a morbid fear of raw tomatoes, but has decided not to let this get in the way of a meaningful life. You can find her on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter at ruthleighwrites and at her website, www.ruthleighwrites.co.uk.