It was my birthday recently, something I seem to care about less and less each year since it seems to be forgotten by those who shouldn’t. Lowering your expectations is a good strategy at times. It’s ok to just spoil yourself, instead of ‘waiting’ for others to remember one particular day in a year. I suspected it would be the same this time so I’d decided to buy myself a gift which I found and bought online in the US.

I’d been looking for a tool to help organise my thoughts and ideas for some time now. I’ve been using a digital one but it never felt the same as a paper version for some reason, since I like to sketch or draw or add notes. A few weeks ago I found the perfect solution and decided to order it as a gift to myself. It was delivered on my birthday, a nice coincidence as I was home that day ‘awaiting’ the next assignment.

This means that whenever a suitable project comes up I have to apply for it. Till then I need to be available and on standby. Once a week I go to the head office and see or meet colleagues -mainly sales peeps- to introduce myself and hopefully they’ll remember me when the right assignment comes up. I either go there by train and bus which takes me over an hour and half -if I’m lucky- or I’ll go with a colleague by car.

I don’t have a car since I live right in the centre of town, the busiest and one of the oldest areas with narrow streets, lots of canals and too many tourists all year round. I have to apply for a permit with a five years waiting list which doesn’t guarantee a parking space. So what’s the point? My last assignment for the government was eighteen months of daily commuting, 1.5 hours to get there and another 1.5 to get home.

Truth is I’m kind of fed up… When I started working for this global company I’d promised myself to do this line of work for five years at the most. It will be five years this July… This recent assignment was supposed to be my last because I’d been thinking about starting a business doing what I really love to do: be creative and design… I took courses in jewellery making (precious metals) and started to design/make items.

I’ve received many compliments so far and I love doing this but it’s extremely time-consuming. I’ll continue to develop my skills as it has given me lots of new ideas and inspiration and I’m learning different techniques each time which is fun! It’s just not going to be my core business, that will be something completely different based on an idea I had six years ago. Something that I’m looking into again recently.

And this is what the planner is going to be used for, as a road map to where I want to be in a certain amount of time. It’s not a regular planner, it’s one that helps you set goals, draw mind maps, create tasks, track progress and give direction. One of my tasks is to write again, so every other week I’ll be updating this blog. Writing is a great way to structure thoughts, to focus on a goal and make things happen.

It’s also something that helps me clear my head and I’ve been neglecting it for too long. So here I am back on track, ready for a new quest… (I can now cross this off of ‘today’s focus’ hehe)