Leonie Dawson's Blog, page 46

Day 8: This Time, With A Fuzzy Head

Dearests,

A short one today.

I was bustling with energy this morning – cleaned like a pro, put up Xmas tree & did all the decorations with the kids.

And then… I hit a wall. Totally knackered, felt like I was coming down with something.

Took some of my favourite immunity supplements and Vitamin C and went to bed for a while. Got up for an hour to interview my assistant for an upcoming podcast episode. Back to bed, fell asleep for a couple of hours. Chris woke me up and fed me dinner, and now I’m just waiting for bedtime again. My brain is kind of in that fuzzy, sleepy place.

I’m just hoping I am not coming down with anything – that would really harsh on my holiday plans.

I’ve been tossing up about whether to launch a new course, but I think I’m just going to focus on 2021 Goal Getter workbook sales until Jan 15 when we close orders for them. Make sure if you haven’t already – order before then. For the first time, I’ll be taking them off the market for the rest of the year. At the moment it’s taking up half my assistant’s work hours to manage our printing process, and we need to move onto new projects. If you’ve got any friends who need the books… make sure you buy them for them as a present, or get them to order now. And please don’t leave ordering them until after Christmas… we all know we fall into a post-Christmas coma and don’t wake up until end of Jan. Ha! Moral of story: don’t wake up Jan 16, realise you’ve forgotten to order yours, and email my assistant begging for them. They just won’t be available anymore.

Plus, you know, I think I probably just need to maybe have a holiday at some point. Come Christmas, I’ll likely be swimming about in that liminal space of not knowing what day it is. A bit of empty space to dream up what’s new.

We’re at home this year for Christmas. We’ll drive up for an early Christmas celebration day with my in-laws. And then hopefully Wild Bushman Dad will drive down to stay with us for a few days. I’m remarkably relaxed in my Christmas preps – I was finished in November. I’ll write that post about how I did it, and finish up that Best Books list for you as well… once my brain is functioning again.

Only things left for me to do:

Order our annual Blurb photo album of all the digital photos taken this year. I get their free BookWright software to pull photos from Facebook to make it even easier. I’ve been doing it for 10 years now since Starry was born – it’s a lovely way to make photo memories a little bit more real.
Get Santa photos with the family. Again – have been doing it since Starry was born. Then every December I splay them out in matching white frames from 2010 through to now. I just love seeing the kids’ grow, and our family bloom, from year to year. This year our local shopping centre doesn’t have Santa, and instead we get greenscreened into a Christmas sleigh with him. HILARIOUS. I can’t wait. What a very pandemic memory!

I’d already ordered HelloFresh’s Christmas box – I bought it last year and fucking loved it. I used to buy it just for regular weekly meals as well, but stopped to try the Fast800. After the fast, I tried continuing on with weekly meal planning, grocery shopping & cooking Fast-style meals. But I totally bombed out at it.

I don’t know why, but having the recipes and ingredients turn up in little brown bags with step by step photo instructions = Leonie being a domestic goddess. I fucking LOVE cooking when I do it like this! But me having to meal plan, grocery shop for all the ingredients, remember what I meal planned and find all the ingredients in my cupboard = complete domestic failure.

It’s just how it is. I’m great at lots of things, but not at everything. Pre-prepped ingredient bags help with whatever executive functioning stuff I’ve got going on. Anyways, that’s a long round about way of saying: after cooking fuck-all, I’m back to using HelloFresh for our weekly meals again. I’ve never been so excited to cook again.

I will say, the HelloFresh meals are massssssive. I’ve got friends who do HelloFresh and say the same thing – they definitely do nottttt skimp on meal size. In the interest of health consciousness, I’m going to try halving the serving size. So a “meal for 2” will give us 4 servings. I’m also steering away from their pasta dishes, and will leave the rice side dish out of their Asian-styled meals – after doing Fast800 I realise how much more energy I have when I don’t have high-carb stuff.

Well, this has notttt been the short writing I thought it would be today. Once I got into the flow though… it felt so much better, and my brain started working again.

I must say, I’ve been a lot more productive since I’ve started daily writing. It’s a little bit like enforced Morning Pages. It clears out my head in the very best of ways. And I feel a bit like I’m on purpose again.

Want my daily writings via email?

Until tomorrow, my loves,

The post Day 8: This Time, With A Fuzzy Head appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Shining Life + Biz.

Video: Stress Management as an Entrepreneur

Lovebugs!

Let’s talk stress management!

Having a business is bloody amazing and brilliant and fantastic, but it does come with stress!

First and foremost, you have to recognise that YOU are not your business. And, very importantly, the success of your business does not indicate your worthiness as a human being. Nope. No.

You get to just exist and be loveable and worthy.

Next! You want to make sure you actually have a life outside of your business… Have some hobbies, dammit!

Don’t try to be a business machine 24/7. That is not mentally, emotionally or physically sustainable.

Have a brain holiday! Read trashy romance novels like I do hehehe.

Also, get yourself a venting partner or a mastermind group! That way you can talk about your experiences, troubleshoot problems and just have a big whinge in a safe and appropriate environment.

I am cheering you on! You’ve got this and I’m sending you so much love!

Love always,  

 

 

 

 

P.S. Want to achieve your shining creative goals in life AND biz? Click HERE!

 

 

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Day 7: But Where Were You Yesterday, Leonie?

My 6 year old did this portrait of me sitting on the couch, and it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.

Pookie bears!

Okay, so I had a couple of you email in asking if they’d missed a daily writing. Even my eager assistant was like WHERE WOZ IT LEONIE.

As I’m settling into the routine of this, I realised one major flaw: I was so busy writing, I wasn’t always getting enough time to create some other pieces that need to be done.

So I’m making a revision to the experiment: as long as I’m pressing PUBLISH on something, and have created something, it TOTALLY counts. Creating & publishing is the big goal here!

So yesterday, I made the free printable of things to declutter around your home.

Today, I wrote the content for & recorded a long podcast to be released next week… all about… How To Record A Podcast! SOOOO META!

Every day won’t be the same format of Leonie rambling, much as I love writing these. Every day will be making & sharing SOMETHING in one form or another. Sometimes printables, sometimes PDFs, some blog posts on a topic, sometimes a webinar… whatever wants to come through me is fine with me! As long as it’s an act of creation & sharing, it totally counts.

Today has been most productive.

I slept in until 8am. AWWWW YISSSSSS. I love a good school holiday sleep-in!
We ran errands. I took library books back, took another car load of decluttered stuff to the charity shop, and grabbed some groceries. I’m on a decluttering high… it just feels SO GOOD to say goodbye to so much stuff we weren’t using. And it makes me so happy to see it going to new homes where it WILL be used!
I had an insatiable need to… vacuum when we get home. I’m not even joking. Specifically, I got the duster attachment for our Dyson cordless stick vacuum (the greatest known invention to earth) and sucked all the dust off our bedroom surfaces. WHO EVEN AM I ANYMORE.
Then I got ready for my Asperger’s diagnosis review… only to discover I’d fucked the time up because of daylight savings, and I was an hour late. Dammit. I was sooo looking forward to hearing the results. Will find out next week!
I organised all my kids’ LEGO into new containers which store under their new beds, and they’ve been playing with it ever since.
Then I did the most thrilling task… I got out EVERYONE’S socks, and did a sock review. Threw out ones that were holey or unmatched. Donated usable sock pairs that didn’t fit anymore to charity. I found socks that Chris was given 15 years ago that we’ve never worn because we didn’t like, but also can’t so no to free shit. Anyways, our sock pile is positively CONTAINED now. WHO EVEN AM I? DID MARIE KONDO ALIEN ABDUCT ME AND GIVE ME A LOBOTOMY? DO I NOW HAVE THE CHIP INSTALLED THAT MAKES ME ENJOY THIS KIND OF SHIT?
Afterwards, I fucked off into my studio to drink ginger kombucha and tick shit off my list.

Currently reading:

Millionaire by Stu Silver & Steve McKnight. I won’t link, because it’s not a five star book. It’s a conversation between two blokes about real estate investing, and I’m assuming it’s a lead magnet to get people to invest in their property fund. I’ll finish it however because there’s enough nuggets of insight in there to keep me going. I do like reading about shit I have no clue about because it gives me slightly MORE of a clue. Plus, it’s got some ridiculous stories in there about the worst properties they’ve seen as real estate investors. That always cheers me up! HO HO HO.

Which reminds me… I need to get to finishing the Best Books of 2020 list. May need to work on that one for tomorrow’s exercise. Or should I do a blog post about Being Prepared for Christmas? I must say I’ve become Organised Extraordinaire in the last couple of years… I finished organising in November.

Let me know. Email me and YOU DECIDE!

And of course:

Big hugs, my dearest penpals,

The post Day 7: But Where Were You Yesterday, Leonie? appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Shining Life + Biz.

Off the Cuff

Babes,

Gorgeous chats to share with you today, with Sunny Dawn Johnston from the Off the Cuff podcast!

The topic today? Goals!

You can listen HERE!

Big love, 

 

 

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Free Poster: 36 Easy Things To Declutter Now

Glorious humans!

I have a treat for you today!

I’m on a bit of a decluttering spree at the moment… I talked about what has caused it and how I’m tackling it here.

Anyways, I thought it would be fun to make myself a printable checklist of 36 easy things to declutter to keep me motivated and on track. Because if there’s one thing I love, it’s TICKING SHIT OFF A LIST!

I figured some of you might want it to… so wanted to offer it up as a free goodie!

Happy simplifying, my precious friends!

Big love,

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Day 6: The Elimination Of Depression Beige

Precious humans,

I took the day off yesterday from all outside-world facing obligations. Built a bed for my eldest kid, and helped her move back into her bedroom. She’s been sleeping in our room with her sister since Covid began.

I took the opportunity to pull everything out of their rooms and repaint them bright white – they were this kind of depressing beige before… made all the more depressing by the fact they had painted all trims and doors in the exact same beige dullness. Plus beige tiles in the main living areas. It was a beige wonderland. I genuinely think they should call the paint sample Depression Beige. Anyways, once it was all repainted white, the kids chose their accent colour and I painted a big painting in the colour of their choice. Then we went through all their belongings, decluttered ruthlessly & organised everything that came back into the rooms. I’m happy with how  both their bedrooms turned out.

There’s still so much more to do – the rest of the house needs to be de-beiged, and the bright white is surprisingly addictive. I never thought I’d be someone who was excited by the colour of white on walls… but I officially am. Plus, it makes all my wildly colourful paintings & decorations stand out.

My office/studio/quiet place is already painted – I did it last year when we renovated it and put windows in. I did white on three walls and a turquoise feature wall, with glitter paint over the top. The office is pretty much complete. I wouldn’t mind removing an old sink from in there, and an old airconditioning unit. Both are hidden by paintings currently so I don’t give as much of a fuck. I’ve been considering getting flooring installed over the black and white checkerboard tiles, but I’ll see how far I get.

The only thing with renovations is – I really don’t like having tradespeople in my house. So there’s this kind of trade-off: do I hate the tiles more than I hate the idea of someone in my space harshing my mellow for a day or two? Add on to the fact I’ll feel pre-emptively cranky about it beforehand, and have to restore my blown out energy centres afterwards. Plus I just hate having shit on my calendar. A clear calendar is a great calendar to me! So renovations end up being way costlier to me emotionally and energetically than just the invoice cost, you know?

OK, I’ve just had a random idea, kinda unrelated. Make myself a printable poster of things to declutter. Too excited to talk. Must go make.

In the meantime, here’s two things that have inspired me in the last 48 hours:

Vanity Fair interviews Billie Eilish for a fourth consecutive year. This is surprisingly touching – especially since the pandemic.
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes. Just beautiful and vulnerable.

Want my daily writings emailed to you?

Talk tomorrow!

Big love,

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Podcast: The Mother I Am

Darlinghearts,

I want to spend today talking about the kind of mother I am.

I wrote this about 8 years ago, when I was a new mumma and I was finding my way.

This is a gentle one, so curl up in your armchairs with a hot drink and join me as I reflect on motherhood and parenting.

Explicit AF

Just to reiterate: this is one sweary motherfucker of a podcast. So if you listen to it around kids… they will defo learn some new vocabulary from Aunty Leonie. MWHAHAHAHA. ENJOYYYYY!

How to listen

Listen below, or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, PocketCast (or wherever else you listen to podcasts!)

Want to find all of my podcast episodes?

Just pop over here treasure!

You can also just sit on your couch and yell “OK Google! Play me “Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be Categorised” podcast!” and your digital servant shall administer to your needs.

Who gives a fuck about privacy when you can have a little robot assistant at your beck and call so you may never leave the couch again.

HONESTLY HOW GOOD IS LIFE.

THE END.

Big hugs,

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Day 5: School Holidays

Poo bears,

I made it. I MOTHERFUCKING MADE IT.

I’m on the other side. School term officially ended at 7pm last night when I picked the kids up (and two of their friends) from their final musical theatre performance. We careened through Macca’s drive through for celebratory Happy Meals (I might be a hippy, but I’m still a bogan). The car was a cacophony of boisterous noise – all of it emitted from creatures with unnervingly realistic cat and dog face paint. Dropped their friends home, and suddenly the car was quiet, filled with yawns and tired cat-child mewlings.

We all bustled into bed early, not able to stay up much longer. The kids currently sleep on mattresses in our bedroom. They have since quarantine began in March and the world felt slippery, uncertain. They slipped back in, seeking the comfort of our sleeping bodies, and stayed. This is what it is to live in a global pandemic. We may be now living in a country almost free of Covid, but still our children feel it, and need us. At some point they will migrate back into their own rooms again, but for now, it’s our family sleeping room, and I’m grateful for the closeness.

I’m still tired today though. I nod off while we sit on the verandah outside, take frequent lie downs. Watch some Tik Tok, bake some bread. In a 20 minute burst of energy, I put the finishing touches of paint on my eldest kid’s bedroom, then retire to bed again. I play two rounds of chess against Chris. He wins one, then Starry helps me beat him.

In the highlight for today, my eldest kid makes cupcakes. I eat them. Such is the circle of life.

Anxiety levels are up today. I’m not anxious ABOUT anything – I rarely am. Instead, my anxiety is kind of a residual physical reminder when I’ve done too much, too fast. My chest feels tight and it’s harder to breathe. To be fair, I’m only doing what other parents are doing, and yet it is always too much. I chant the same words to myself I’ve been using as an anxiety affirmation for a decade: Go slower, do less.

I think of it as being a back up of images, sounds, moments that need to be processed. I seem to record life at a higher definition than many others. I see more beauty in it, I feel more about it, I remember more. But it comes at a cost: it takes my brain a lot longer to process everything. The laptop of my brain makes that high pitched whirring sound like when I’ve got too many Adobe products processing at once. Get myself enough sleep, enough quiet and it will finish its job, and I’ll be back.

In the meantime, it’s cups of herbal tea, bed and simple comforts of home.

I hope you are well, dearest. And if not, I hope you’re tending to you, giving you just what you need.

Want these sent as daily emails? Pop your deets in below:

Love,

Your penpal,

 

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Day 4: The Reckoning

Possums,

I told you I’d likely struggle to find time to write today. But here I am anyway.

It’s the last day of school, my kids are in two musical theatre performances and my right hand man who usually looks after most of the driving and logistics is sick. So I’ve been in the car since 7:30am, shuffling kids, running errands, heading home for a quick reprieve before we return for the afternoon performance.

I’m currently sitting on the school verandah, watching my kids get their faces repainted again into cats. My youngest just jumped on me and asked for a slow mo video of her being as wild cat savage as she can. And I’m carving in some writing time into the cracks.

I’m not going to lie: I’m exhausted. I’m getting to that point of sensory overwhelm that my outer vision is starting to blur. I will probably be mute by tonight, sleep at least 12 hours overnight, and spend the rest of the weekend in quiet repair.

I’m just holding onto dear life for school holidays. Two hours to go. TWO HOURS TO GO! I can do this.

I’ve got some new things I need to start creating – a course, a webinar or two, some opt-ins. I need to work out a way to keep writing and do them, somehow. That, or just remember that as long as I’m creating, it doesn’t matter in what format.

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Kate from Australian Wildlife Conservancy called me today for a quick yarn. She was so bloody excited about our donation, and invited us out to volunteer on the land they are buying for conservation. Our names will even end up on a motherfucking plaque. I think I’ve never felt so rich person as getting to do something like this. Help buy land to keep the platypus alive? THAT’S THE KIND OF RICH PERSON I WANT TO BE.

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I’ve been on a streak of kind of shit graphic novels lately, which surprises me. I’ve never really met a graphic novel I didn’t like before, but with these ones I’ve quickly lost interest and stopped reading. I’m not going to name and shame them, but let’s just say they won’t end up in my Best Books List for this year. That’s probably a good thing… I’ve already got over 50 on there. I had to have a dry spell at some point!

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I think I might need to go have a nap in the car. Or order some Menulog to the school verandah. Can you get a Deliveroo order of a sensory deprivation chamber? Just asking for a friend. And by a friend, I mean MEEEEE.

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An hour later. I drove to the nearest restaurant & got some early dinner by myself. When the waitress asked me where I wanted to sit I said “the quietest and darkest corner you have.” She laughed, but I was deadly serious.

I got some Spicy Korean Bao Buns and I ate the FUCK out of them. I ate them out like they’ve never been eaten out before. I am proud of my achievement in this endeavour.

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I have nothing more to tell you today… just that I made it.

Maybe one day I’ll have deeper insights than this.

But for today, I made it.

And that’s more than good enough.

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Jump on in here:

All my love,

Your penpal friend,

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Video: 5 Tips to Stay Motivated!

Darlinghearts! 

5 Things you can do RIGHT now to get yourself motivated and stay productive:

Set yearly, monthly, weekly and daily goals
Turn off your internet while you’re working!
Keep a pen and paper list beside you while you work
Don’t forget to highlight your 3 most important tasks
Find an accountability buddy!

I wanna hear what you do to stay motivated!

Love always,  

 

 

 

 

P.S. Want to achieve your shining creative goals in life AND biz? Click HERE!

 

 

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