Set achievable goals to learn new skills

Every year I choose a goal for that year, a new year resolution that will help me in my daily life, a skill that I want to learn but find a bit daunting. I find that this helps with motivation because focusing on things you want to gain brings more peace to your life than when you focus on losing or quitting things.

Focus on gaining instead of losing

So many New Year resolutions revolve around losing things or stopping things. But the problem with that, I feel, is that you can fail. But if you learn something new, you will know more at the end of the year than you did at the beginning of the year. The goal is not to be really good at it, it is simply, to know a bit more than you did before.

New year resolutions of past years

In previous years I would have baking bread or biscuits as a goal. Last year I set myself 3 big goals and managed to check off 2 of the 3, you can read all about it in the post top 3 goals. I also did a year where I focused on being able to completely cut up a chicken. Then there was the year I wanted to learn about dairy and how to make simple cheeses. Some of these new skills stick with me, and I still do them others kind of get lost in daily life.

But the main thing is that you will be able to focus on a small thing every year. And by focusing on one thing, you won’t become overwhelmed or stressed out.

My own new year resolutions

Brewing beer

Last year, I got a brewing starter kit, technically it was for brewing wine, but mead is much the same process. I find that mead, since it is just honey and water, with a bit of yeast mixed in, is the easiest brew to start with. And we managed to get some tasty brews, some I would even call delicious. But even though we love our mead, we also really love a good beer now and then.

So our new year’s resolution for this year is to learn to brew beer. At the moment of writing this post, I still know next to nothing about brewing beer. It seems like a very complicated process with lots of equipment involved. But before I knew how to bake bread, I found that just as intimidating. But now it seems like the easiest thing in the world, and I’m sure someday it will be that way with brewing beer.

New year resolution ideas

Now, if you’re inspired to give it a go and learn a new skill for yourself this year, here are some ideas.

Only eat homemade biscuits for the year. (I did this too, and it was great fun and very tasty.)
Learn to bake breads, whether it’s soda bread, standard yeast bread, or a sourdough. Heck, if you want to learn to make quickbreads like banana bread, go for it.
Learn to make yoghurt from scratch. (Just buy that yoghurt maker and give it a go, if it fails, don’t worry, you have a whole year to perfect it.)
Learn to knit, simply start with a straight scarf or some square coasters. (Next year, you can do a more difficult project)
Learn to sew whether, by hand or machine, you start off with something easy like a pillowcase. (No difficult projects remember, you want to take small steps.)
Learn to grow some herbs, buy some healthy herbs from your local garden store. Then plant them in some nice pots or in your garden. (The cheap plants from the grocery store tend to die too easily. So why not get some proper healthy plants, and make life easier)
Learn how to can, canning can feel very daunting but in a year you’re sure to be able to make 1 jar filled with some jam. (You can even buy concentrated marmalade tins for extra easy marmalade canning.)
Why not learn to brew some wine or mead for yourself this year, it’s easier than it looks. (I learned to brew last year and am very happy with the results.)

No matter what skill you want to learn this year, just keep in mind that you put the bar low. Because if the goal is easy to reach, you’re more likely to feel good about yourself and continue learning more about your newfound skill.