Daylight Saving Time is fast approaching, dear reader, and I am thrilled to finally get my new year in high gear. Stepping into 2025 felt overwhelming but oddly familiar to stepping into 2024. I was playing catch-up from the previous year while having a vague idea of my plans for this year. I had adjusted my mindset last year and started my 2024 on the Lunar New Year. So, that plan was put into place again this year, but the Lunar New Year has come and gone with barely any progress. Why? I am still stuck in catch-up mode because of a few tasks I cannot let go. With that being said, I am seeing a bright light at the end of the tunnel, and I have a project in place that I think will make 2025 my best year, yet.
PHOENIX is my word for 2025. My friend Kelsi actually came up with my word. On a car ride together in November, I shared with her that I was thinking about my one-word theme for the new year and what I was leaning towards, and she offered the Phoenix (a mythological creature that is reborn from its ashes) as a suggestion. After wearing out RESET in 2024 and desperately wanting my season of sorrow to end, I needed a strong word to get back on course. My plans for this year focus on self-care, organization, reading, creative pursuits, and fun.
In addition to my one-word theme, I created a 25 for 2025 list with my aims for the new year. Almost all of the items on my list are new; however, I did carry over six items from last year that I did not complete but really want to accomplish this year. Take a look at what I have planned for myself for 2025.
Kat’s 25 for 2025 List
- 1. Contact SPA 728 for health assessment information.
- 2. Strength train 2-3 times per week.
- 3. Walk at least 30 minutes daily, preferably outside.
- 4. Reduce reflux meds to 20 mg.
- 5. Keep a JOY journal.
- 6. Create a Book of Life.
- 7. Clear the clutter in my scrapbook room.
- 8. Clear the clutter in my bedroom closet.
- 9. Buy a comfortable chair for my home office.
- 10. Organize home library.
- 11. Keep track of spending on books.
- 12. Start a new booktube project. (Saturday Morning Momentum: Thrive in 2025)
- 13. Organize videos on Kat’s Novel Adventures (create playlists).
- 14. Read 25 Books that have been on my shelves for 5 years or more.
- 15. Read The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King.
- 16. Read Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix.
- 17. Write 25 blog posts on The Kat Files.
- 18. Scrapbook 25 times in 2025.
- 19. Attend TAC Scrapbook Event in June with Donna and Heather.
- 20. Volunteer at the Friends of the Library store during the summer.
- 21. Visit the New Orleans Vampire Café in New Orleans.
- 22. Visit the English Tea Room in Covington.
- 23. Visit the Hammond Farmers & Artisans Market at least 5 times.
- 24. Attend The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at The Columbia Theatre in March.
- 25. Put a deposit down on running The Open Book in Scotland.
I made a bingo board with my aims! Several members in the Happier in Hollywood Facebook group shared their bingo boards at the beginning of the year, so I decided to do one as well. Fun project!
Other Fun Plans for 2025:
- Participate in Gretchen Rubin’s #Read25in25. The challenge is to spend 25 minutes reading daily in 2025. This challenge is the third element of Rubin’s Design Your Year: 2025 with the one-word theme and list of aims being the other two elements. According to Gretchen Rubin, “Research shows that reading is good for us: it benefits mental health, sharpens the brain, makes us more empathetic, helps us learn, and increases our tolerance for uncertainty. And most importantly, it’s fun!” Reading at least 25 minutes every day will be an easy daily challenge for me because I LOVE reading. It is my favorite activity, and I already read every day much more than 25 minutes; therefore, I have designated my daily 25-minute reading time for this challenge to read nonfiction.
- Join the 2025 Reading Challenge on Goodreads. My goal is to read 100 books this year. Follow me on Goodreads (Katherine Loyacano).
- Host three readathons on my YouTube channel: Nevermore, Folklore February, and Zombiethon.
- Interact with members of the Chills, Thrills, and Kills Book Club on Facebook.
- Participate in Booktube Book Clubs (FOMO, MGM, Cozy Cottage, and Book Wyrm).
- Continue doing Collabs with Kelsi. Our collabs can be viewed on her YouTube channel, Slime and Slashers – A Nostalgia & Horror Channel as well as her new movie YouTube channel, Nightmares and Nostalgia. Please consider subscribing to Kelsi’s channels in 2025.
- Participate in Frugal February. This is a NO spend month.
- Keep a TA-DA list for 2025. This list is for goals or activities that I accomplished throughout the year but were not included on my original list. These accomplishments should be celebrated, too.
Additionally, I will continue creating videos for my Youtube channel, Kat’s Novel Adventures. I passed my two-year anniversary of releasing my first video on 28 October 2024. As of the writing of this post, I have 1.19K subscribers and 270 videos for public viewing. My channel was monetized in May 2024, and I received my first check in January of this year. Happiness Boost! My channel growth is a slow-going process, dear reader, and I am fine with it. I love my small community of friends; they bring me so much joy. I have included a video about Designing My Year: 2025 below if you are interested in hearing more about my plans for 2025. Please consider subscribing to my channel, giving me a like, and leaving a comment.
As you can see, dear reader, I have planned another year of adventures for 2025. All of these aims and activities give me hope of getting my life back on track. I am excited about tackling my aims while also exploring other opportunities that might crop up this year. Happiness!
The Kat Files 