Life Goals & Priorities of a Busy Saudi Diva

I have a confession to make: I’ve been recycling my old cultural posts and they were all previously published on my old blog.

I just feel that the content of these posts are highly informative and give lots of insights into Saudi culture and lifestyle.

This series of cultural posts were created because I was constantly being asked the same questions about my lifestyle in Saudi. People are interested to know how I escaped, and what my family think about it. Even now, I still get asked the same questions so I don’t see any harm in re-posting these blogs.

I edit them of course before publishing them. So here’s this week’s recycled culture blog post – which was written when I started my last editorial internship in January last year.

Since I started the editorial internship at Conde Nast Traveller Middle East, I’ve had to dedicate at least one day a week to write. More days will be allocated to blogging once I have a more consistent and fixed routine. I’m still adjusting to the office hours and to getting things done after work. My weekends are now spent between attending workshops, learning something new, getting things done and blogging.

Let me give you an example. This weekend, I spent most of the day at the beauty salon. I then run a few errands before heading back home to eat and go online to work. Once I’m done blogging, it’s time for a bit of grocery shopping and housework. Then, I must go to bed early. I’m attending a very interesting one-day workshop in Abu Dhabi tomorrow. After the first workshop is over – depending on how I feel – I might attend another relationship-related workshop.

This is my weekend in a nutshell. That’s why I must plan social events in advance. I only have one day of my weekend to spend on getting things done and blogging. When I say “getting things done” I mean essential stuff like grocery shopping, house chores, going to the salon and shopping for essentials, like cosmetics or hair products.

Gone are the days when I had the luxury of dedicating time to shop for clothes and following new trends. This became a thing of the past when I decided to become financially independent. And even though I still haven’t achieved that goal, I managed to learn a lot of things and to become a better version of myself.

I’m planning to go back to shopping for stylish clothes and going for beach and spa days soon. I just need to make the time for it on weekends. Writing posts on weeknights is also something I need to do.

Whenever I meet people for the first time and tell them that I’m from Saudi, I always get inundated with questions. Out of politeness, I answer them briefly. I give the person a good story and an explanation. But then I direct them to my blog to read my posts where most of those questions are answered. I need to stop answering these queries completely and just ask the curious personality to follow my blog. The reason is that those questions are always repetitive. I don’t feel like explaining them in detail every single time – It’s just too exhausting. That’s the whole point of the new blog focus and this new series of posts! To free my time for my life goals.

I also decided I need to be more selective with who I spend my time with. As a motivated women, I have a number of life goals – three to be exact. These life goals need to be achieved before I die. So, I feel that I can’t afford to waste anymore time socializing with people just for the sake of it.

Imagine this; I spend my free time socializing or hanging out with friends instead of working on my targets. Then, before you know it, the years have gone by and I’m 50 years old, single, jobless and still writing on this blog and ranting about my life! LOL

That’s why I’m very excited about tomorrow’s workshops. One is about creating a life that you don’t need to escape from. Basically, not having to go on holidays to leave your draining or routine lifestyle. But instead, being able to live a rewarding life and constantly live in the present moment. I honestly can’t wait to see what I can learn from that workshop.

The second workshop is aimed at helping us understand relationships better and working towards attracting the right relationship. This is an excerpt from the workshop’s page:

“In this workshop, we will work through the power of polarity between men and women, the different dimensions of a relationship, and what can kill any relationship. ”

If you’re a friend reading this, please give me an advanced notice if you want us to hang out. Applications can be sent to me by sms or whatsapp. They will be reviewed according to their relevance to my life goals. The ones that contribute to helping me with my life goals go at the top of the priority list to be considered for the upcoming weeks plans. While the ones that don’t, will be postponed until further notice. In some cases, the application may be rejected as well. I simply don’t have any time to waste.

Have a lovely weekend and speak to you all next week!