Hello my friends. It’s certainly been awhile — almost bang on 2 years in fact. I started this blog a million years ago, with no idea what I was doing, out of a love of writing and a desire to share. And when I started my business awhile ago I was so excited because it meant my time was my own and I could do my blogging in the daylight hours instead of after dinner with a glass of wine (not that there’s anything wrong with that!)

Famous last words. Before too long my days were filled with supporting dynamic, passionate, and fun business owners, which truly is the best problem to have! But it didn’t leave much in the tank for working on my little blog.

A lot’s changed in the last couple of years (there’ll be more on that, no doubt), and some recent soul searching made me realise just how much I miss working on my writing and having this space to share what I encounter that might be useful to other people as well. Plus, as I’ve observed before (to steal from Joan Didion), sometimes I don’t know what I think until I write it down. So here we are 🙂

I’m equal parts super-excited to play here again and nervous about what that means — will I have time for this? What if I make this grand declaration and don’t follow through!? What if I can’t write anymore? Well, there’s only one way to find out.

What to expect

One of the best things I did for this blog was the decision to write to a schedule, after I started the Bright Eyed and Blog Hearted course. As an obliger it was a form of external motivation for me, plus helped me to keep on top of thinking, writing, and publishing. So that’s what I’ll be doing again, but instead of weekly I’ll be starting by publishing fortnightly on Wednesdays and aiming to build up to weekly posts again.

In terms of content, it’ll be along the same lines as it’s always been — following my attention, with an underlying current of personal development, strategies for making life a bit easier and/or better, and reviews of books, entertainment, and things I’m doing. It’ll be part journal, part reflection, part learning (hopefully). It’ll be rusty at first, most likely, and it’ll give me a wonderful excuse to practice and improve.

To kick things off, I thought I’d cheat just a little and borrow from Pip over at Meet Me at Mike’s, who posts a regular ‘taking stock’ survey. It’s a snapshot of where things are at right now and will be a nice way for me to ease back in!

Taking Stock – April 2018

Making: plans for my business. I learned very quickly that business plans made before you start a business don’t necessarily tend to pan out, but things grew so organically (yay!) that I never took the time to revisit my plan or create new ones. While I have ideas of what I want things to look like over the next 12 months or so, it’s time to get those plans on paper and into action. Scarexciting!

Cooking: roast veggie salad. I basically just grabbed-and-roasted a bunch of yum veggies that took my fancy, and added mint, parsley, and the delicious dressing from this recipe (which is smashing by the way, make that salad). So yum, I’m in love. I want to get more into meal prepping and I think there’ll be a batch of this every week for my school lunches.

Reading: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, which was my pick for book club. I’ve heard great things about this so I’m excited to dig in (I’m only 20 or so pages in right now — off to a good start). And The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. I’m currently devouring everything Tim Ferriss (including this interesting and wide-ranging conversation with Marie Forleo) and first read this book when I was still working in corporate. Much more relevant now.

Next read: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I’ve read this before and I’m re-reading it for book club — I found it so interesting, thought-provoking, and easily digestible on first read so I’m delighted to read it again with fresh eyes.

Wanting: something I’m not quite ready to explain here yet…

Looking: forward to going back to my coworking space next week! I had a fair rough patch last year and coworking really helped me to get out of the house and out of my own head. And I was so fortunate to find a great place with great people on my first try!

Playing: with my nieces (or I was, not so long ago). They’re such fascinating, hilarious, tiring, interesting little people and I wish I could hang out with them more xx

Wishing: summer would last a little longer… even though I love my warm winter snugglies #conundrum

Enjoying: my first real break in about 18 months. I took almost 2 weeks off and had all these great plans but my energy decided otherwise so it’s been more restful, with lots of relaxing, reading, and social shenanigans. Total win.

Liking: that I’ve been less interested in Facebook lately. For no particular reason when I started my break I lost interest in scrolling. I check notifications from time to time but haven’t spent anywhere near as much time on my newsfeed and I don’t even miss it. Oddly, the less I go on there the better my newsfeed gets though (ie. more updates from friends, less from pages and groups). Food for thought.

Wondering: exactly what goes through people’s heads sometimes. I joined Bumble and Tinder a little while ago… ’nuff said.

Loving: Gifs! So expressive, so much fun. My sister is a champion gif-er, she finds all the best ones.

Watching: Friends. I’ve basically been marathoning the whole series and I’m so far in now I HAVE to finish it before I can do anything else…

Next watch: UnREAL. I’ve watched most of the show but haven’t seen the last couple of episodes (see above). Much drama, many eye candy, and I’m loving the strong female characters. Poifect.

Hoping: things continue getting easier and smoother over the next few months. It felt like everything was being thrown at me for the first part of this year but that’s settled now (thank goodness!) I really want it to stay that way, thank you. And it wasn’t just me, word on the street is a lot of people were challenged during the first quarter of the year. If this is you, I hope the storm’s passing for you too. Hang in there, hunker down, and take care of you. It’ll get easier.

Marvelling: at how some people manage to get so much done in a day, and drawing inspiration and motivation from it. Ultimately it’s going to come down to how I prioritise my time and also how I manage my energy to support allthethings, so that’s the focus this month. New supportive habits ahoy!

Questioning: ‘conventional’ wisdom about online business after a wonderful workshop I went to last week. It helped some things I’ve been cogitating on fall into place and affirmed certain things for me too. Time well spent. And a good reminder that just because ‘everyone’ is doing something it doesn’t mean it’s the best option for you.

Smelling: vanilla and buttermilk, thanks Glasshouse <3 and a roast pork that’s in the oven. Reeeeeeally hope the crackling works out.

Wearing: Jeans and a long-sleeved top, and considering getting my ugg boots out. We’re definitely in Autumn now (although I’m also a total cold egg so maybe it’s just me?).

Worrying: that I might not have what it takes to put into practice the foundational habits to support my goals, and following and actioning those goals. That maybe I’ve overcommitted. That maybe I’ve forgotten how to write and everything will be shit. Just some standard fear and self doubt basically, no biggie…

Knowing: I can actually do it if I give it my best shot. Probably. Right?

Sorting: out my ideas and priorities. I’m very much a person who gets distracted by shiny things and also wants to learn/do everything all at once. So I’m learning to focus on one or two things at a time and making decisions about what to set aside, for now. Definitely a work in progress.

Bookmarking: Love4MealPrep, a great Insta profile that shows you how to make easy and delicious meals that you can cook ahead for meals during the week. Get around it people! And the 5 Habit Tracker from SeanWes. The idea behind it and the simplicity (but prettiness) of the design appeals to me so I’m using it this month to track my waking time, my movement/exercise, writing, and a couple of other things. I’ll probably write about them.

Opening: new bank accounts. Since every woman and her dog was reading The Barefoot Investor over summer break (including friends who found it valuable) I decided to check it out. I’m not very far through yet but I see why everyone loves it — simple, actionable advice explained in clear and logical terms. I’m adulting so hard right now.

Giggling: at just about everything :p But especially some of the terrific comedians in town for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Feeling: like my old self again 🙂

Now it’s your turn!

Pick a couple of the topics from this list (or more if you fancy) and let me know in the comments how things stand with you!