Let’s catch up.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected to take three weeks off writing and posting voice notes. I’d found myself in a nice routine of publishing every Thursday, jotting down whatever was on my mind that week and pressing send. But at three months, I suddenly felt the cogs grind to a halt. I was caught up in what this newsletter should be, how I can make it valuable to you and something you look forward to reading every week. I had, and honestly I’m still having, a crisis of confidence and that led to unintentionally taking a few weeks off. But I’m back! Hopefully for good this time, a little wobbly but present.
I’m finding that the writers block has stretched further than just Substack; I feel like I finally have some wider perspective on how social media has evolved, and that epiphany has unfortunately had the effect of jamming up my creative tap too. Part of me wonders if I’m stretching myself too thin; between writing here, making long videos, short videos and potentially developing a podcast (?!) is there anything left to say? Do I need to quit something to free me up in other areas?
In a broader sense, the landscape of social has changed. My working week is going to need reimagining as I shift the focus from long(er) form to vertical videos, and prioritise trying new things over relying on old habits. I’m always striving to adapt what I do and innovate, which can be painful in the moment but so worth it in the long term.
Perhaps this creative block isn’t all that surprising when I look more broadly at what’s been going on in my life. Last month, I lost my lovely nan. Grief is strange and eluding, and I keep surprising myself with how it’s all being translated by my body and brain. There’s an existential weight to losing my last grandparent; twenty eight feels too young for this even though I know there are many people who have been in my shoes. Spending time with Jack’s grandparents in Barcelona also made clear to me the stark difference between the health of our older generations, and the importance of vitality and quality of life alongside longevity. It’s made me reflect on what I’m doing now to ensure I have the best mobility, wellness, and most importantly happiness later down the line. It’s kind of obvious, but our quality of life is influenced by many factors — the ones that impacted my grandparents are unlikely to impact me in the same ways, but I’m sure there will be other influences on my health over my lifetime — and nothing is guaranteed.
On a lighter note, I took an impulsive trip to New York! Kelsey needed a catsitter and I needed an adventure, so I booked a flight and spent the week in Brooklyn. If you’d like to know more about what I got up to, along with some chats about independence and travelling alone, I vlogged the trip and shared the video on my channel this week. It’s one of my favourites in a long, long time. I recorded two voice note podcast episodes while I was out there too, which will be coming your way in the next few weeks!
I’ll wrap things up now as it’s been a bit of a self-indulgent ramble — honestly I don’t know if I’ll read any of this back, I think I just need to get the words out of my system. Thanks for sticking around while I work out what this space is for and how to best use it! Let’s check back in soon.