Notes from a mid-year muddle

It’s winter in my body but summer in my bones

Hey friends,

There are so many things no one tells you about moving to the other side of the world, but one of the weirdest parts, for me, has been the seasonal shifts.

I was chatting to someone in my creative community recently about how strange it is to celebrate Christmas in the height of summer, Halloween in spring, and Easter in autumn here in the southern hemisphere.

I’ve been here for six years now, and it still feels wrong - like a parallel universe, almost.

Especially as, now in winter, it's just… winter. It’s Perth winter, so it’s not quite the same as the UK winter, obviously. There are good things, like the rain bringing my garden and the waterfalls back to life, but I do still really miss having those seasonal markers.

Waterfall update… A couple more big downpours and it should be flowing!

It’s also extra strange because, even after all these years, 99% of my friends still live in the northern hemisphere.

My social feeds and inbox are full of summery pics and holiday vibes. The fam chat is currently blowing up about how good the weather will be when my sister, SIL, and niece go down and visit this weekend.

I'm so happy for them, especially as my dad recently bought my mum a wheelchair so they can actually go out and about, rather than being limited to anywhere within staggering distance.

Obviously it’s still pretty shit - late-stage Alzheimer’s is not something you’d wish on anyone - but they’re absolutely making hay while the sun shines, and we’re finding more ways to laugh about it.

The sun definitely helps with that, too.

But then here, in Australia, it’s the opposite. It’s cold and getting dark earlier. The days are short.

Caught in the muddy middle

In my head, this was meant to be my season of visibility.

I’m working on this new website. I’m collaborating with a designer. I have big dreams and goals. I’ve launched my creative community - and just ran 10 co-working calls in a month - and I’m running a special offer on my mentoring calls for the first time ever.

Behind the scenes, I’m torn.

I love showing up for my calls. I get so lit up by chatting to my 1:1 clients and the incredible folks within The Lemonade Factory.

I’ve loved them so much, I’ve even added on “coffee chats” after our most recent co-working calls. They’ve been so great - we’ve talked about everything from moving overseas to swapping travel tips, decolonising the music industry, and where we see the future of AI going.

I've been recording voice-overs and showing up on camera, week after week. I've even considered starting a podcast.

This feels like summer energy.

And yet, I find I don’t want to do the things around them: the admin, the promo, the emails, the scheduling and calendar updates, the marketing.

This is where my body is like, nope, this *gestures wildly* is too much, it's winter. We just want to curl up with a cup of tea and a book under a blanket and shut out the world.

Logically, I know I can’t have one without the other. But instead, I just feel like I’m fighting myself. This then shows up in my body as chronic pain flare-ups, massive sensory sensitivities, and insomnia.

These are my fire-alarm signs that things are absolutely out of alignment - and that I really should be listening to my body and just giving myself permission to rest, rather than pushing through.

I know I’m not alone. A lot of my clients struggle with the same things, too.

It’s hard.

Especially when I should have had capacity for it all this week, but I decided to rewrite and revamp my old website instead.

Gotta love shiny object syndrome.

I also realised that:

• When I have too many open loops, I find it harder to close all the little ones and tend to prefer something with a big, obvious shift, like updating a website.

• Shiny object syndrome and procrastination hit me hardest when something feels out of alignment.

• I love the creative community I’ve built, but twice-weekly calls aren’t sustainable long-term, not with all the back-end work they involve.

• I do want to run more regular sessions, but in a more sustainable, self-managed way - like maybe in a more structured container.

• I love more casual ways of connecting, like WhatsApp messages, voice notes, and video calls. Emails feel scarier, and I tend to get way more in my head.

• Momentum builds momentum.

Sitting outside with flowers and a cup of tea in a pretty mug makes doing any shitty admin chores a tiiiiny bit better, too.

My muddy middle action plan

So, to bust my way out of my muddle, I ended up writing down everything I needed to do and triaging it based on:

• How important it was

• How long it would take

• How good it would feel when it was done

This showed me what was urgent and what could wait. It also gave me accountability and the gold star dopamine buzz that comes from making moves and getting things done*.

*I have a “done list” for each day and love adding things to it, rather than crossing them off a to-do list.

I could then take instant action on things I'd been putting off - like calling my insurance broker, doing some financial stuff, sending out the replay from the last co-working call, and scheduling all the next events for our community.

In reality, none of it took very long. I just built them up to be big mountains in my head, because that's what happens when I spiral.

Ticking them off meant I was able to build up enough energy to start working through some of the “nice to dos”, too. Like sharing about my mid-year offer on Instagram and linking to the revamped website.

Sure, it was only in stories, but it's a start.

Progress over perfection, right?!

The Lemonade Factory updates

And on that front, The Lemonade Factory is evolving.

The co-working calls have been amazing, but I love the deeper connections that come from writing circles, and how the words seem to just flow differently when we all write together and get to share our stories and wisdom.

So, I've decided to introduce writing circles into this space. Our first one is next week, on Friday 27th June at 7-8 pm AWST (12 pm BST)

We also have two co-creating calls + coffee chats in July:

Monday 7th July at 9.30-11 am AWST

Thursday 17th July at 5-6.30 pm AWST (10 am BST)

If you want to dip your toes in and see if it's right for you, you can join for just $15 AUD/£7.50 a month, and cancel anytime.

I love circle spaces - the more I step into this work, the more I see how much we all have to bring to the table, and how we can all grow and evolve together. I also love stone circles - this is the Nine Ladies Stone Circle. It’s 4,000 years old.

Muddy middle mid-year mentoring special

If you'd prefer some 1:1 support, for the first time ever, I’m also offering a special on my creative mentoring calls. These sessions are for soundboarding dreams, working through challenges, unraveling creative projects (like book proposals!), and more.

Normally:

• 1 x 1.5–2hr session (with notes, replay + 1 week follow-up): $300 AUD / £150 GBP

• 6-call package: $1500 AUD / £750 GBP

Book before June 30th*:

• 2 sessions: $450 AUD / £225 GBP

• 6 sessions: $1300 AUD / £650 GBP

*Calls can be used at any time in the next six months. Payment plans available on request.

I also offer free discovery calls to see if we’re a good fit. You can hit reply, reach out via my website, or fill out this form, if you prefer.

Bonus offer

Join us in The Lemonade Factory (just $100 AUD / £50 GBP per year) and get an extra $50 off the 6-call package. That’s up to 6 months of 1:1 support + a year in community for $1350 AUD / £675 GBP.

I've never offered a discount like this before, and honestly, I don't know if I ever will again. I just figured we could all do with a bit of support and cheerleading at the moment - a mid-year pick-me-up.

I know I could.

Reflection Questions

To finish off today’s post, I’d love to ask you a couple of questions:

1. What season are you in at the moment? In life/business/love/home, etc?

2. Does it match your external season? In what ways?

3. Is there anywhere that you’re fighting your body or the seasons?

4. Is there anything that you could do to ease into where you are a little bit more?

As always, if you need anything else, you know where to find me.

Sending you all lots of love and good vibes for the coming week.

Cxx

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PS - If you enjoy my work or my words, you can:

• Join me for a 1:1 creative mentoring call where we can talk about all of this and more.

• Support me by signing up for a free or paid subscription or buying me a coffee.

• Like this post, leave a comment, and/or share it with a friend.

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