State of the Union 2021
Paul Jarvis used to publish his State of the Union at the end of every year. (I first came across Paul during his incarnation as the web developer for a variety of A list bloggers. Then I read his blogs, avidly, and received his newsletters every Sunday until he stopped writing them. I have his books and the audio from a 1:1 call we once had. Now he’s a Co-founder of Fathom).
Fortunately, in an email folder, I’d saved some old Paul Jarvis newsletters including a few State of the Union emails. A summary of what went well, what didn’t go so well and what he learned along the way, I wrote my own version for a few years, wrapping up the year, looking back, regrouping and planning ahead.
So, in the spirit of State of the Unions past, here’s this year’s review.
What went well in 2021
Writing
I wrote a lot more this year. I began to own being a writer instead of seeing myself as someone who dabbled a bit with writing. I also started to use Obsidian — more on that later — which introduced me to a whole different approach.
David Perell changed everything when he talked about writing with abundance, a concept also mentioned by Tiago Forte. Until then, I’d assumed that a writer always had to do battle with the blank page, and come up with ideas without any outside influence. No! David shared his workflow, his process for capturing ideas, how he added his thoughts about other people’s writing, and then used these thoughts as the starting point for his own articles. It was absolutely game changing, and easily absorbed into the process I had, unknowingly, been building for myself.
In October and November, I took part in Ship 30 for 30 which introduced me to the concept of the atomic essay, and how content could be repurposed in multiple ways. Who knew?!
Ev Chapman’s Ship 30 for 30 Notion template added another layer to my process and gave me the basis for managing, writing and publishing my content.
I wrote in public using Obsidian Publish, and in private I became a more prolific writer. For the first time, I had a repository of content that I could tap into and reuse across multiple projects.
Working with clients
I helped a number of clients move forward in their businesses. Mostly mentoring and business advising and, as always, so rewarding seeing them progress.
Courses
I ran Boot Club in June and 30 days in November. The feedback on both of these spurred me on to plan other content for 2022.
Twitter and Instagram
I ditched my Twitter accounts at the end of 2020. I really thought I was done with Twitter. But then I discovered that there was a corner of Twitter where people talked about PKM and second brain. I started a new account, curated it carefully and this turned out to be a great move. (I also pared down my Instagram account — I was tempted just to delete it altogether at the time. Minimising my following let me see posts that I had been missing for months and re-energised my account).
House move
The biggest news, of course, was our house move. At the end of January, after three months of living in holiday lets, we got the keys to our new house. We moved in on a Friday, our furniture arrived the following Tuesday. For those first few nights we slept on an inflatable mattress, sat on two chairs borrowed from the show house, and planned where furniture was going to go.
Chris set up the new workshop. I unpacked boxes and organised the house. It took about six weeks. Before we moved, I’d sold, given away and donated a lot of stuff. It definitely paid dividends.
Living in Derbyshire
We love living in Derbyshire. It’s beautiful and rural. There are cows, frequently the target of my adoration. Having so much open space suits me. It’s the polar opposite of my previous suburban and city life, but I couldn’t imagine anything else.
Obsidian
I’m not sure how I first came across Obsidian. I’d read about Second Brain, did some searching and came across Ali Abdaal talking about Roam Research on YouTube. It looked fascinating — and expensive. So, I looked for ‘alternatives to’ and found, among others, Obsidian.
The possibilities clicked straight away. I read everything I could find about Obsidian setups, watched countless YouTube videos. I woke up in the middle of the night with ideas on how to tweak my own setup which would lead me to sit at my computer for a couple of hours as I implemented those ideas.
Months later that setup has evolved, several times, and I’ve now settled on using Obsidian as my writing platform, how I publish much of my content and my Repository. I still love it as much as I ever did.
Notion
A couple of months ago I tried Notion again. Ali Abdaal had also referenced Notion and how he used it, but I chose Obsidian. Now, I use Notion as my project management tool. Notion for planning, Obsidian for thinking. It’s a combination that works well.
I downloaded some Notion templates and they gave me a good start allowing me to deconstruct formulae, databases and layouts. I’ve now tailored all my favourite templates into a master dashboard which manages my annual goals, my weekly and monthly plans, and content creation. Typically, I’m a serial productivity app user but Notion has filled a gap, despite not having recurring tasks. Being able to segment a database in so many ways seems to have been the factor that has made the biggest difference.
Chris and Bamber
Chris and I have had a ball together. We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary in September and truly are Team Fisher.
Bamber has settled so well in Derbyshire. He loves it around here too. He seems very happy. Bamber and Mummy time — cuddles on the sofa — have been more frequent. He’s very much Chris’ dog, of course. But I treasure those moments when Bamber and I have a little time together.
What didn’t go so well
Sense of direction
Plate spinning. We moved house, had three filming projects going on, and started travelling again. I squeezed my creative work in between our other commitments which, as an introvert, is something that is quite hard for me. I had several occasions when my creative well ran dry and I ground to a halt. I’m not sure how to address this but I’m looking at what I can do better in 2022.
Not as much creation as I intended. See above. Plus, I doubted myself sometimes and, instead of branching out and doing my wyrd thing, I found myself reverting to a more conventional style of working.
Still a work in progress. In my last day job as a Business Advisor, I honed my process and built in as much efficiency as I could. Sometimes, doing my own thing, and despite having advised many small businesses (oh the irony), the learning curve still kicks me in the seat of my pants. There are things I’ll do differently next year including adopting a different mindset.
Stretched too thin. Chris and I both felt this. I remember, towards the end of August, we were both running on empty. Because of various commitments we’ve often ended up working 7 days a week. We need to plan ahead more and factor in down time.
Film of 2021
Which leads me to …
Favourite purchase of 2021
Undoubtedly my Erika Robotron 155 typewriter.
California Typewriter lit the touch paper and sent me down the analogue rabbit hole. You can read more about that here.
I get such a lot of pleasure from sitting and manually typing letters, notes and my daily thoughts.
What I want to do differently
Although January is not a great example, both of us want to avoid working seven days a week. We’re still contemplating how we will manage that.
I’ve started using a checklist to chart my wellbeing and self-care. I find that this helps me to be more mindful. I’m a list person!
In hindsight I achieved a lot in 2021. The Blind Woodturner business went from strength to strength. This year I’d like to be more conscious of my areas of focus, to plan better and to stop holding myself back.
What’s ahead for 2022
Wyrd. My word of the year. It’s an old word that’s been on my radar for a long time. It ties in with essence, what’s unique about us, what is slightly weird, but also what is a bit magical and meant to be. I often play down the quirky stuff which leads me to hold back in other areas. In 2022, I want to give more free rein to my wyrd.
Focus. 2021 felt a bit scattergun. Although I knew what I wanted to do, the plan was vague and there was a flying by the seat of my pants element to it. I’m putting together a comprehensive plan for 2022. I work best when I’ve created a meaningful plan. While some of it will be flexible, I also want to end the year with a sense of fulfilment.
Consistency. I’ve been, more or less, consistent with my newsletter. Moving to Revue linked in well with my PKM obsession and enabled me to share content more easily while still writing part of the newsletter. The interruptions of the house move, filming and travelling impeded my consistency. In 2022, I’m working on a content plan and, ideally, getting ahead. Automating and scheduling more.
Smarter. I haven’t done much podcasting this year. I’ve recorded a handful of Rackets and some podcast episodes. This has been partly challenged by living on a working building site with a guarantee that, as soon as I hit record, Phil, in his forklift will start reversing and all you can hear is beep beep beep. (That’s the forklift!). I kid you not when I say he has about a 98% hit rate! The solution, of course, is to record after 4 p.m. when the builders go home or at the weekend.
Thank you!
I’m grateful to everyone who joined Boot Club and 30 Days, worked with me during 2021, read the newsletter and my writing, and followed me on social media. I’ve appreciated every comment, like and share, and knowing that others enjoy my work has meant a great deal.