When the year 2014 ended, I knew there was something missing in my life. Yes! My goals! For that one particular year, I wasn’t obliged to do anything and just to focus on my work as a broadcaster. It was fun, but I knew I could experience a lil bit more of what life has to offer if only I had spent a day carving out those 40 goals a year list on my wall! (not literally!)

And so, for 2015, I didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes again of feeling the emptiness in me without goals. Although 40 is a big number and seems too much, you have no idea how happy and enthusiastic I am by just looking at the goals on the paper and imagining myself already enjoying and achieving those goals. Aaahhh bliss.

It may be June and 6 more months to make those goals work, it’s ok! Making goals coming true is a process and I am programming myself to make it happen. Not easy for someone who has short attention span (like me) and a master procrastinator. But, it’s not impossible either. It does take time.

Therefore, it is my utmost pleasure to share with you again the things that I’m doing this year 🙂 (Copied from my Instagram account) Happy reading!

My #40things to do in 2015 aka#nawal2015goals begins with goal No 2: HAVE A SIX PACK ABS. This dream is 10 years old now. Been wanting it for ages. Almost had it when I was 15 but determination wasn’t that strong. So this year I’m renewing this goal. (No rolling eyes please!Haha) Why? – A strong core leads to a strong mind. It shows how strong you are to endure it to get it. Besides it’s a sunnah to have a healthy body and to keep fit anyway. So let’s do this together gether! **Share the same goal? Tag#nak6packsbeb

Goal no 9 is to LEARN SOLAT-SOLAT SUNAT or Sunnah prayers and instill it in my daily lives. Daily Dhuha and Tahajjud prayers in my life would be an eternal bliss I would say. To be closer to your creator is part of self discovery. Makes you calmer, more composed and happy. I want to be able to do this and to learn more about my #Deen. I want to depend on HIM on every decision making, wishes and every part of my life. I envy those who wake up at night to prostrate their Tahajjud and also spent 5 minutes for Dhuha everyday. Sounds easy rite? Key word : Will. Small steps baby.#40things#nawal2015goals #solatsunatmadeeasy

Goal 44 : HAVE MY OWN HIJAB BRAND. Since I like to wear my hijab the way I wear it, might as well make myself one and put a stamp on it. I’m amazed with the versatility of a scarf. You can express your personality with it and at the same time fulfilling part of the #Deen. The scarf industry is so huge now compared to 5-6 years before. You’ll either make it or break it but hey it’s a billion dollar industry worldwide and you gotta keep on innovating. #nawal2015goals #40things#Funkyriffic! #tudungnawalfunky

This goal no 53 has been my dream since forever. Start small but with a bang. I’ve been designing bits and pieces here and there but not really thinking that Hey! I can make money out of this. Time to put that business mode on and start selling my collections. Watching #sharktank for hours was like a shoe thrown at my face for me to wake up and claim my destiny!#nawal2015goals #40things

#skillstolearn this year. Goal 62 is to learn crochet. Simply because it is awesome and cute. I wanna spread my craft skill to a broader spectrum. So crocheting is definitely part of it.#nawal2015goals #40things

New language to learn this year is definitely SPANISH! Yeap this goal no 76 added up to my language list. I’m a sucker at learning languages! It is a must to take this opportunity as Spanish is widely spoken in the USA and I have wonderful people that can guide me all the way. Free tutorials, library resources, native speaker gosh! Time to whip up my La Usurpadora and Maria Mercedez days to good use. Excited! #learnspanish #nawal2015goals#40things

Yeeehaaa! I love this goal because I know it can be achieved almost instantly! Errr… 3 months tops! Goal 81 : Be a swimmer will challenge me on the 4 basic swimming strokes, doing the flip-turn, water treading, 25m underwater swim, diving and speed. After I pass these standard set by yours truly, then I can move on to being a mermaid and perhaps continue my Bronze cross? #nawal2015goals #40things #swim#nak6packsbeb

Another crafty skill I want to learn this year peeps! Goal 147: LEARN KNITTING.  #nawal2015goals  #40things#knitting

To bring #Funkyriffic! to another level is my ultimate mission. Goal 149: HAVE MY OWN FASHION LABEL is all related to my previous fashion and craft goals. #Funkyriffic! Is the home of it all. Please dear God, let this year be great and prosperous for my baby. Can’t wait to share it with y’all!  #nawal2015goals #40things

Goal 211 : SEW MY OWN JACKET came from a box full of jacket patterns need to be made. You can follow my jacket inspiration via pinterest.com/ nadewas#nawal2015goals #40things

#tatyana and #aryannah inspired me to take up this goal really 🙂 Goal 219 : LEARN HAIRSTYLING is about learning some simple hairstyles for kiddos and women. I’m targeting 50 different styles for me to work on. Braids, cornrows and stuff like that. Simple simple ones for everyday convenience. #nawal2015goals #40things#learnhairstyling

My promise to myself is to capture beautiful / creative photographs should I wanna put em on my social media. Hence Goal 235: DO PHOTOGRAPHY will be a series of challenges to push my creativity to do the unthinkable. The world of photography is so vast and there are loads of resources online. Learn the basics and go from there. #photographychallenge#nawal2015goals #40things

I believe that entrepreneurs are#selfmade. Therefore I want to educate myself about the business world. Goal no 277: READ ABOUT ENTREPRENEURSHIP is a lifetime pursuit. You’ll never stop learning about it though. Let’s begin with 10 books for now shall we? Any reccomendation?#entrepreneurship

A skill that you should have if you are targeting to read the whole library or perhaps to save time. Goal 278 : LEARN SPEED READING is something that I should have learned in school. By now I would probably be a master reader already. Sigh. Nevertheless, don’t despair. It’s never too late to start anything. Got this speed reading book from the library. Gonna do the exercises and hopefully my reading speed will improve. Insyaallah.#speedreading #nawal2015goals

I’m channeling my inner Bruce Lee with Goal no 286 : LEARN SELF DEFENSE. Why? Cuz I like to cook. I guess dumb question leads to dumb answer. In today’s world, it’s imperative to know a bit of self-defense at least. When you’re out of pepper spray you gotta kick and chop and boom boom pow if you know what I mean. So basic self-defense is a must. I regret that I didn’t complete my Taekwondo lessons but I’ve learned some kickboxing, MMA and 2 classes of Muay Thai. Again, you need to know what to do if someone pointed a gun at you. Gotta learn some techniques.#selfdefense #nawal2015goals

How do you memorize a song let alone hundreds of song? Repetition right? I’m gonna use the same technique for Goal 404 : MEMORIZE THE YAASIN. I got it on my iPod and gonna play it everyday until I get it. Repeating every verse and know the meaning by hard. Such would be a great accomplishment. #memorizeyaasin#nawal2015goals

Never underestimate the power of blogging! I would categorize myself as an inconsistent blogger as I blog whenever I feel like it. From that experience I have learned that If you want to have a strong follower or increase your blog readers, you can’t wait for that right moment to write that post. You need a routine and consistencies in writing. Goal 455 : BECOME A SUCCESSFUL BLOGGER is about picking up where I have left off and restructure my blog post towards building my brand. My aim : 4 posts every month – doesn’t sound that bad right? Well If you have 3 blogs that need to be updated regularly, that’s a total of 12 posts a month. Still manageable. Shucks..let’s do this!! #blogging#nawal2015goals

#nawalsketch365 will be my official hashtag for this challenge. Goal 458 : CREATE A 365 DAYS OF SKETCHING CHALLENGE is part of my goal 533 and that is learning to draw. The reason why I want to do this is to see the progression of my sketching skills. Yeah it has been a love hate relationship between me and drawing but I realize that the more you do it the more you’re getting better and better at it. This challenge will start this month and ends 365 days later. Time to spend on each drawing : 1 hour. #sketching

If you wanna be a Fashion Designer you gotta have some knowledge about fabric. Can you use a Chiffon for your underwear or Corduroy for your #hijab ? Well to answer that you got to LEARN ABOUT FABRIC : Goal 511. Different fabric drapes differently and it might not suit your design. So Nawal, you gotta learn em.#nawal2015goals

Goal 523 : LEARN ABOUT FILM TECHNICALITIES (PRODUCTION) a.k.a#broadcasting is so so dear to my heart. Although I may have spent 5 yrs in Uni studying Film, never occurred to me that I would actually love broadcasting until I joined @bellantv7 . I have learned so much and I have fallen in love with cameras, light, action. I want to keep on learning.

Acquiring wealth is no longer a myth. Wanting to be rich is not a crime. You got to be vigilant and of course .. smart. Goal no 527 : STUDY THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM ON INCREASING WEALTH doesn’t ask you to sign up for a 4 year degree course. It’s basically to understand economic variables that you could utilize to your own advantage and that’s what I’m planning to do. #increasewealth#financialsystem

Goal 533 : CREATE MY OWN COOL AND FUNKY WALLET was something that I wanted to do late last year but didn’t manage to complete it. So this year, I just have to do this. I was inspired by Desigual’s bags and wallets besides, It’ll be awesome to use your own creation wouldn’t it? #wallet #nawal2015goals

Goal 538 : LEARN DRAWING AND SKETCHING is about knowing the fundamental aspect of drawing. Lights, perspective, texture, different medium, etc. Youtube, Udemy, Craftsy are among the platform that will help me to accomplish this goal. You can see my progress through#nawalsketch365 #nawal2015goals

Goal 583 : READ AL QURAN AND ENGAGE IN DEBATE, FORUMS AND TALKS will be very interesting. With Islamophobia spreading around the world and the self proclaimed ustaz and ustazah busy shunning people across the social media has prompted me to execute this goal. It’s good to educate yourself first before you talk, debate or even preach to other people. Talk is cheap through my perspective. You got to build some sort of credibility and be knowledgeable not merely cut and copy from the internet and quote so and so said it. I have learned my lessons from the past about sharing or commenting anything on social media. It boils down to Knowledge. Without it, you might say something foolish and will be imprinted on people forever. So..Iqra’. #holyquran #alquran

Wouldn’t it be great to wear your own creation no matter how #mightyuglyit’ll look? I WOULD! Goal 595 : CREATE MY OWN DRESSES is part of my Fashion goals where I’ll create 12 dresses this year solely for me. Some of the dresses will be a revamp from what I already have. Just gonna make it nicer than before.

Arts and crafts are the indispensable part of me. Therefore, Goal no 625 : KNOW IN DEPTH ABOUT ARTS AND CRAFTS is basically exploring all sorts of arts and crafts avenue such as crochet, knitting, carpentry, papier-mache, pottery etc. Till this day, I asked myself why didn’t I take Fine Art in UiTM and took Broadcasting instead? In fact, I wasn’t accepted in any design courses for my Uni intake but I guess God has better plans for me and you don’t need a degree if you’re super passionate about it anyway. Ever heard of self-taught?#artsandcraftsmovement

Goal 633 : CREATE MY OWN HOW-TO SERIES was a dream that I had since the existence of@threadbangerstudios I must say it has influenced and inspired me a lot! Alhamdulillah when I was at @bellantv7 I was given the opportunity to do this and BELLA DIY was born. This year, I’m coming up with a Youtube How-To show and blog called BUATSENDIRI where I’ll make stuff, recipes and all sort what not for you guys DIY addicts. Stay tuned for that.

Home is where the heart is and so Goal 671 : KNOW ABOUT HOME DECORATING is about learning to create aesthetic at home. You can have a simple, small house but the moment you style and decorate them…VOILA! AWESOME! It’s important to know about positioning furniture, window treatment and flow. I can’t wait to create my new home! Insyaallah. This is also part of #buatsendiri#homedecorating

I know one good scrapbook artist in my family and that person is@pasteldaisies Her work is superb and she’s been doing this ages ago. For Goal 688 : BE AN ACTIVE SCRAPBOOK-ER, I’m not gonna be too ambitious about this because I know how crazy a scrapbook addict can be. However, I’m gonna start small with #projectlife. Since I got the kit already, might as well just focus on that and document my life with my family

Since I’m in America now, I guess Goal 728 : KNOW ALL 50 STATES OF AMERICA is pretty relevant. Having kiddos in kindergarten and 1st grade, knowing this is crucial as you don’t want to look clueless when they ask you. Besides, they are learning States and Capitals. They have it in a song as well …..Montgomery,Alabama Juneau, Alaska, Little Rock, Arkansas…..bla bla bla (yankee doodle song) Killing 2 birds with a stone, I’m learning American Geography too! Thanks kiddos! #america #nawal2015goals

What’s exciting about fashion is it’s history. Goal 745 : READ ABOUT THE HISTORY OF FASHION is a must. You know that old trends are coming back and vintage style is ‘IN’. It would be a good inspiration for budding designers …like me 🙂 Who knows that you could recreate Victorian look, mode or stone age.#fashionhistory #nawal2015goals

Goal 778 : LEARN TO THINK CRITICALLY AND ANALYTICALLY will put my emotions at rest. Somehow, the opposite sex are good at this. I married one so I know. Women tend to put their emotions first rather than looking at a bigger picture. I’m talking about me. I do that and sometimes say something that I would regret. I want to be able to look at problems at multi different perspective and how to counter/ overcome or make it better. Even dealing with difficult people, you got to think and analyze multiple situation before you even say anything. That’s hard work I tell you but I love it.#thinkcritically #nawal2015goals

I’m going to put drawing and sketching skills to good use by doing FASHION DRAWING : Goal 852. Thank you YouTube.There’s a complete fashion drawing course that I could focus on.#fashiondrawing #nawal2015goals

Goal 875 : LEARN BOOKKEEPING won’t do any harm to entrepreneurs. In fact, you need basic knowledge to manage your cash, do some business decision, reduce risk, avoid being cheated, etc. It’s all in the numbers. I’ve learned that without it, your business is going to suffer. so learn dear entrepreneurs.. #bookkeeping#nawal2015goals

As I mentioned in goal 633 that#threadbanger was my inspiration to start a How-to DIY series. Been a big fan since they first started out! I always love watching their videos but didn’t get the chance to actually make them. Therefore, I’m going to dedicate this year to do their DIYs. GOAL 903 : DO 100 THREADBANGER PROJECTS. You guys should subscribe them on YouTube! Awesome bunch of peeps!#nawal2015goals

What’s a crafter cum dressmaker without a good, proper sewing kit. I left mine in Malaysia and all I have is a box to put all those sewing notions. So Goal 904 : HAVE A COOL AND FUNKY SEWING KIT. Time to create that sewing tool box! I did a video on Skolah Jahit Nawal YouTube Channel about things you must have in your sewing kit. If you’re starting out, do have a look and press SUBSCRIBE 🙂 Thank you! #sewingkit #nawal2015goals #40things

I guess the time has come for me to sell my crafts online. Goal 911 : HAVE MY OWN ONLINE SHOP is a do or die mission. My husband been supporting me 100% by getting me all the necessities like domain and online shop but I still put it on pending. So this year before my husband erupt like Pompeii, I better make his every cents worthwhile. After all, he’s my investor.#onlineshop #nawal2015goals #40things

Managing your social media can be a daunting task. Let alone if you have multiple accounts and others that you need to constantly update. You need a system. Goal 966 : BE A SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER is for me to learn the tricks to keep my social media accounts updated, well circulated, promoted etc.I am my own social media manager and when I’m all established, I’ll just hire someone to do it for me 🙂 #nawal2015goals #40things

Goal 968 : LEARN ABOUT GOOGLE PRODUCTS is part of my social media goals. Basically using google tools to improve my blog and other accounts. Just equipping myself with tech knowledge. That’s all. #google #nawal2015goals

Last goal of 2015 is a skill that I wanted to learn so much. Goal 971 : LEARN KNIFE SKILLS makes me sound like a kitchen super star. I’m currently learning this from Craftsy.com. I must say that I have improved a lot compared to before. Practice, practice and practice. The knife is meant to slice no chopping things ( I just learned that!) #craftsy #knifeskills

There you have it peeps, my long list of things that will keep me busy busy this year! Pheewhhhhhh!
**nawal**