As we go into a new year and a new term, I wanted to reflect on how my second year has gone so far for me and set some new intentions to take into 2026.
Setting goals can be really helpful for creating focus for your habits and also good reminders for why you should stay motivated and committed. While I believe they are good for helping better yourself and progress your habits, I think it’s important not to be too harsh on ourselves with our expectations – goals need to be smart and achievable. They shouldn’t become definitive rules to live by; they should be nice intentions to inspire you, but with enough flexibility to be practical and applicable to changing situations.
My biggest goal for Term One of 2026 is to continue posting regularly on my textiles social media account. I would really like to show more of my journey in drawing and trialling, not just imagery of final resolutions and mounting. Through posting more, I also hope to demonstrate a bit of my personality in my account, so it has an authentic feel and shows my interests to whoever is looking. While I’m getting better at photographing and videoing my work more consistently, what I would like to focus more on is posting specifically about individual tasks instead of general ‘weekly catch-ups’ of my project. Not only will this give me more content, but I can also post to my stories and highlights to show progression and development. Maybe you haven’t set up a course social media account yet, or you have one but haven’t posted on it, and could have a similar goal yourself!
My second priority for starting the new term is to focus on placement applications too. After completing a month-long work placement last year, in the summer, I would love to have the opportunity again this year. However, they can take a lot of preparation and attention to detail, so I want to begin early. My goal is to send a minimum of five applications to various fashion and interior companies before the end of term. Not only do I hope another placement will continue building confidence in my skills, ability and work style, but also help establish what avenue I might want to develop further or enjoy most at Level 6 or for a career, to guide my work.
Finally, my last goal for the term is to continue exploring the local area with my housemates, making the most of my weekends living with friends. My goal is to have a healthier balance of study, rest and social activities, as I feel throughout last term I sometimes yo-yoed between studying lots or lots of social activities and didn't always have as much time for relaxing or a good balance of both. I would like to try complete one new activity each weekend, either a full day or a few hours, as I have a list of places to explore around Dorset and I want to get stuck in! I think if I have something fun planned for each weekend, I will feel more motivated to complete my work quickly and efficiently, as I’m filling my time with other things too, hence improving my work-life balance.
Overall, I’m really excited to go into 2026 with excitement and love for my studies and people close to me. I hope my goals will help to keep me focused and grounded, inspiring me to move forward, but not feel stressed as they aren’t lots of work or particularly pressurising. I have set goals that are manageable each week. Regular social media updates can be done easily; I just need to be accountable for doing them. Contacting companies for placements is exciting but I must prioritise the time for it. And exploring Dorset is good fun; I need to improve balancing my workload and giving myself rest time.
I really hope this has inspired some ideas of goals you could set yourself too. This could be anything from sticking to a new society you want to join at AUB, going on beach walks, joining park runs, doing weekly extra reading or practice for your course or something different. Maybe have a brainstorm and see what you come up with, ponder them for a few days, then pick your favourites. It would be good to write them down, too – somewhere prominent where you will see them, so you don’t forget what you're working towards.
Building new habits into your routine isn’t an overnight thing or ‘fix’ either, though, so remember you have to be intentional with it. Normally, it takes around 65 days to establish a habit, so be patient and enjoy the process.
