Bridestowe Lavender Estate, Launceston
This year I had the intention of having more consistency, to set up better habits to take care of myself and my home.
I wanted to be more regular with my exercise and based on my tracking, I was somewhat regular with 32 weeks in the year that I did some form of exercise for 3 days in that week (roughly 62%). This also includes just a 5 min stretch in the morning which isn’t that substantial, but it’s something. I think what really helped was me pushing myself to run after D as he rode his bike to and from preschool. However, what has kept me back was that my general health seemed to have deteriorated from the end of June when I got sick, and the cough never left even after 6 months. At one stage I got to the point where I had difficulty breathing and had to use a puffer.
“Having poor health affects motivation to up hold good habits because it really takes a toll on your energy levels. ”
At the beginning of the year, I was better at doing and tracking my exercise, writing my daily gratitude and monthly reflections, but towards the end of the year perhaps I was getting lazy in getting out my iPad to note everything down. I know when I don’t give myself time to reflect or even set out my tasks and intentions for the day, I am less focused and lack direction and the days just seem to just escape me. I have at least have still taken many photos to document my day-to-day and that has helped me look back at the things that I have been grateful for.
Media
At the beginning of the year, I was more motivated to listen to audiobooks on self-development and biographies. I started the year off with “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, hoping it would help set some good habits, but I failed to actually sit down and write it out to have something to commit to.
The most impactful book this year was “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt. I haven’t read a parenting book for a while as I’ve gotten more in tune with my parenting intuition on what feels right for me and going with the flow in situations, however this one was particularly interesting as it relates to social media and technology and its effects on young minds, specifically regarding Gen Z. It made me more conscious about my decisions on technology use and wanting to build a community to encourage more face-to-face socialisation for my son.
The latter end of the year instead of trying to be ‘productive’ in my commutes I turned to music and it made me remember how much it could help me with my mood. Being unwell for so long was exhausting and made me more withdrawn because speaking quite often would trigger a coughing fit. It had me in a pretty low state so it was nice to have something to uplift me and just make me feel.
Books/Audiobooks
Atomic Habits - James Clear
Dear Girls - Ali Wong
Ikigai - Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
All Mixed Up - Jason Om
The Woman in Me - Britney Spears
The Obstacle Is The Way - Ryan Holiday
The Manicurst Daughter - Susan Liu
The Anxious Generation - Jonathan Haidt
1 fiction book
Music
Rose - Rosie - loving the feels and belting it out when I’m alone in the car
Linkin Park - From Zero - a great comeback for a defining band from my youth
Katseye was a fun discovery
Podcast
Level Asian - Still supporting the Australian-Asian experiences
Modern Minority Moms - Glad to hear that they regrouped to continue their podcast
Memories
Trips
This year I managed to get a few trips in. I thrive on travel and the memories made are key markers of what makes a year.
In January, the Hubs and I ventured on our first prolonged childless trip to Launceston for a few days. It was such a pleasant trip to be able to enjoy each other's company at our own pace without having to worry about the needs of a child. D was perfectly fine without us and by the second night didn't even care for video calling with us. I had always wanted to visit Cradle Mountain and can now tick it off the list.
Cradle Mountain - We were lucky to have been able to see it as it was shrouded in clouds when we arrived and apparently isn’t viewable that often.
In March we went camping with friends and can confirm D’s adaptability that he's able to sleep in a tent.
We surprisingly caught quite a lot of fish at Swan Lake, when we went camping.
In September, we did our first international trip with D to Fiji, together with my family. D had his cousin to keep him company and they had a blast. On the transfer back to the airport, he even asked if he could come back, so I have full confidence he'll be fine for future international trips.
Most of our time was spent poolside at Shangri-La, Fiji.
At the end of December we spend a few nights with some friends in Kiama for some sun and good company and it was a nice way to end the year.
Celebrations
4 friend’s kid’s birthdays
1 wedding
1 engagement
D’s 5th birthday
D’s daycare and preschool graduation - so hard to believe he will be starting school next year!
A small joint birthday with his cousin to celebrate turning 5.
Festivals
Lunar New Year
Easter
Winter Blast
Medieval Fayre
Places
Maratime Museum
Mount Wilson
Sydney Zoo
The gorgeous colours of autumn in Mount Wilson.
Career
This year was a big change career-wise as I took up a secondment with a newly formed Digital Transformation team. It is more closely related to the digital work that I was doing before joining Council, however still very different and new. Compared to being comfortable and being the subject matter expert and advising stakeholders on what needs to be done, I have found myself making things up and feeling like I don’t know what I’m doing half the time.
Since the team was new and our manager needed to first formulate a strategy to then get endorsed by leadership, with only 3 people on the team I compared it to a start-up.
I was thankful for the support of my manager to allow us to do some training, but trying to work in 6 weeks of studies on top of full-time work, whilst being a mum was very tough. I don’t know how people can do it for a whole extra degree. But it was so worthwhile to do the studies and be exposed formally to new concepts and learning about human-centred design, I realised I missed that feeling of what it was like to learn something new and be intellectually inspired.
Our team later doubled and it’s been fun learning new ideas and ways of working with a new team. However, for the first 6 weeks of kicking off a big piece of work, I had to do a job share with my old role and switching between the two was very jarring at the time. It made it difficult to keep up with the pace of the new team. I wasn’t sure if I had been bringing much value to the team. Thankfully after that job share period was over, I was able to gain my bearings and refocus, and my manager has reassured me that I’ve been doing great and play an important role within the team.
Being in this team I’ve had a lot more interaction with management, doing presentations and organising workshops to include the CEO, directors, senior management and leaders. I feel a bigger sense of impact and importance in the work that I am doing.
Connections
Connections was an impactful theme for last year and it is something that I have been able to keep up this year. Especially after listening to “Ikigai”, it emphasised the importance of community in living a happier life. I have maintained regular contacts with my close friends and have even made more effort in making new connections with the parents of D’s friends. I am a natural introvert and it is something that I have had to overcome, but this has become such an important value for me, that it is very much worth the effort. It is also just heart warming to see D’s social and emotional development grow as he makes new friends.
Finances
The cost of living is still crazy, but we’ve still managed to keep our investment contributions consistent throughout the year. The markets have been doing well this year getting us ahead of our goals and our net worth is on a steady increase of just over 20% year-on-year since Covid.
“This year has been a year of transition. ”
D started preschool which created a new routine for me, I joined a new team with a new role and learning new concepts, making new connections through work and D’s friends and the Hubs also got a new job this year as well. There has been a lot of change, yet I have felt a lot more stable emotionally and mentally as D continues to mature and grow into a great, well-adjusted kid.
As D starts kindergarten next year, that will be a big transition once again as we learn to adapt to another new schedule and set up new routines, but overall, I am satisfied with how the year has ended and confident in moving forward into 2025.
