Art Journal 2020: Amor Fati

This week is the second in the series #JournalArt2020 dealing with the theme of stoicism. This week my entry is about Amor Fati - to love your fate.

1.  Start again with a blank spread, but this entry involves a third page (kept single). There two outer pages were glued together again with gel medium, but there is no painting involved in this entry, so you don't have to glue to outer pages.
I used gel medium, because the pages in this particular book bleeds with the markers and I didn't want that to spoil the other pages.

2.  This entry uses two stencils. The primary design use this tree stencil, but you can use any tree stencil that you like. It just needs to be wide enough to cover at least half of the two pages in the spread.

The second stencil is shown further down.

3.  Use a waterproof pen and draw the stencil outline on the spread close to the middle.
Mark the edge of the stencil (shown here with the green and purple arrows) in pencil.

Cut around the tree but leave enough space at the bottom to cover the tree and tree trunk when the single (middle) page is turned over.

Flip the stencil and draw the tree on the other side.

4.  Here you can see the flip side of the page. 

The pencil marks on the page were used to align the stencil to ensure the overlap is as close as possible. It does not have to be perfect though.

The tree on the left-hand side of the spread is not visible.

The stencil outline was flipped with the tree trunk now leaning the other way.

5.  I used ink and a dry art sponge to colour the pages around the tree, also in between the branches. But I made sure not to cover the lines of the tree itself.

You can also use a dauber or your finger to get the same effect with the ink.

6.  I couldn't get enough coverage with the ink and sponge and decided to use a colour pencil as well. It is a soft pencil and I made sure to hold it fairly horizontal so that it didn't make obvious lines when I used it to fill in the background.

The pencil is almost the exact same shade of green as the ink I used. I was lucky because I didn't plan on using coloured pencils for this entry. I was however, very pleased with the final outcome. Will definitely consider using coloured pencils again.

7.  I used Lyra brush markers in light colours to colour in the tree on the green side of the entry.

The tree trunk was done with a brown marker, and I used the same brown marker on the other side of the page.

This side symbolises the lighter (happier) side of life.

8.  I made the right-hand side of the design in purple. Using ink on the edges with the dry sponge, and then used two coloured pencils for the colouring in the rest of the pages around the tree.

Then I coloured the tree with dark colours from the Lyra brush marker set.

This side symbolises the heavier (difficult or challenging) side of life.

9.  The pencils: Koh-I-Noor Hardmuth Progresso Yellowish Green, French Pink, and Bordeaux Red.

The inks: Distress Ink Twisted Citron, and Seedless Preserves.

10.  Add the text "Amor Fati" to the green side with a waterproof pen.
I drew circles in random sizes around the green side and coloured them with the same light coloured Lyra brush markers you saw in (7).

The circles were done with a stencil (11).

11.  Repeat the circles on the purple side of the design and colour with the darker brush pens shown in (8)

I did not colour all the circles in the purple entry, to add to the symbolism of emptiness or difficult times in life.

The stencil is shown here.

The words "love your fate" is added to the purple side and shown in (10)

The final design with two quotes from Epictetus added with the

black UniBall waterproof pen (0.8mm nib)

"Don't seek for everything to happen as you wish it, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will--then your life will flow well." ~Epictetus

"It is easy to praise providence for anything that may happen if you have two qualities: a complete view of what has actually happened in each instance, and a sense of gratitude. Without gratitude what is the point of seeing, and without seeing what is the object of gratitude?" ~Epictetus

Until the next instalment in this series!
Be creative and love your life, just the way it is.

💜 Linzé

Managing ideas: a new method for me

  This year I have been trying new things, and that includes managing those new ideas. I have often read and heard people say to you should carry a notebook with you to jot down that "idea" that pops into your head at the oddest times. To be honest, I have done and said the same thing for many years. My problem is, that most of my ideas strike when I am writing in my journal and then those ideas get lost because I don't make the effort to rewrite them in that ideas notebook of mine.

Notebook, pen and bag

  About two weeks ago I came across a website about this very thing, but it is a touch more comprehensive than keeping a notebook. It is called the Zettelkasten method and it uses cards for noting down those ideas. I have tried cards in the past too, but they have never quite worked for me. What I liked about this method, is that the system caters for follow-up ideas and notes, without having to use bigger cards, or more notebooks to keep your notes together.
  Since I have been trying it for only about two weeks, I have not yet found anything not to like about it, but to be honest have not used it that much either. Not for because I lack ideas, but I am focused on #inktober52 mostly and immediately sit down to sketch my idea(s) since the deadline is a week away and there is not time to waste if I want to keep up.
  More on this method as I use it, but give the Zettelkasten method a try, it might just be thing you have been looking for.
  Speaking of new things. It is Valentines Day this week, and if the blog host sends me the info in time, there is a new book for you to explore this Friday. 
  Also a new #JournalArt2020 post on Thursday, and my next newsletter is out tomorrow with something special for subscribers.

But now it's time for me to go see to a few chores in preparation for the week ahead.

Until next time!
💜 Linzé
  

Art Journal 2020: Memento Mori

Welcome to #JournalArt2020! This is a blog series of actual art journal entries that I am doing this year.
Since this is my first time doing art journaling, it may not be as pretty as you see on YouTube, but these entries are personal, that I can assure you. I decided to keep to my theme of Living in Balance, and started the series with Stoicism, as I am a practitioner of the philosophy.
Enjoy!

I started with two facing blank pages. Both of which were glued together with gel medium and allowed to dry overnight.
The pages are a dark beige colour, but the colour of the paper does not matter because I was going to paint it.
The first layer was done with white gesso to seal the paper and prepare it for painting.

I left the right-hand page mostly unpainted - the gesso is visible here.
I painted the middle of the spread with grey acrylic (I mixed white and black).
Then I roughly painted about 90% of the left-hand page with black acrylic paint.

The rough textured look was the look I wanted.

I used this drywalling fibre tape as a stencil with textured paste next.

I found the tape in a local Builders Warehouse store. The tape is quite sticky, but I soaked it in water, then dried it so that it won't stick to the page. 
It was still sticky after soaking it, but it worked well because it was damp and I could peel it away.

You can see the dried textured paste on the left-hand page where I used the drywall tape as the stencil.

I added the black and grey washi tape to the bottom of the page on the right-hand side, before adding another stencilled piece.

I used the flower stencil on the right-hand page with the same textured paste and a pallet knife. It went over the washi tape at the bottom. This was intentional.








I then finished the entry with more washi tape, stickers, and painted the flower with acrylic paint. Lastly, I added the text in white on the left-hand page, and black on the right-hand page.

Left-hand page text reads: Memento Mori (top)
Remember we will die (bottom)

Right-hand page text is a quote by Seneca: "It's not at all that we have too short a time to Iive, but that we squander a great deal of it. Life is long enough, and it's given in sufficient measure to do many great things if we spend it well. But when it's poured down the drain of luxury and neglect, when it's employed to no good end, we're finally driven to see that it has passed by before we even recognise it passing. And so it is - we don't receive a short life, we make it so."

Memento Mori: final art journal entry #JournalArt2020

Materials:

• white Faber Castell brush pens
• black Faber Castell Pitt pen
• white gesso
• acrylic paint: black, white, yellow, red, green, blue (purple was mixed with red and blue)
• stickers: butterflies, clock, stars, skulls, bones.
• washi tape: black/grey/white, flowers, leaves.
• fold back clips to help hold the pages down while working
• paint brushes - small round

Until next time!

💜 Linzé

Art Journal 2020: Balance

Art Journal about work life balance in 2020 (mixed media)

  I have always thought that art journaling would take too long, and that would make me lose interest. Late last year I watched loads of YouTube video clips, and read even more blogs on the subject before deciding to try my hand at it.
  After trying one entry (above) I am hooked 😍. Since I had no idea how it was going to turn out, I only took a picture of the end result. There are many more art journal entries coming this year, and for those I have/will take many more pictures in case you want to see how I did it.
  I decided to spare you the pain of listening to my voice, so no video clips, only text and many pictures to tell you how I did mine.
  Thursdays will be for art journal sharing on the Broomstick. Want to share your own efforts? Please do so on Twitter (#JournalArt2020), since I would love to see how your art journal develops in 2020.

💜 Linzé

Goodbye, 2019! It was great to have lived you.

Like all good things there comes a time to say goodbye. But it will only be a short reprieve before we tackle 2020 with renewed vigour and enthusiasm. Lots of exciting things happened in 2019 and many more wonderful things are still ahead for 2020.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

  

My last newsletter of the year will also go out tomorrow. More exciting opportunities await in 2020 for my subscribers. Subscribe now then you won't miss out.

Until then!

💜💜 Linzé

Why I got bored with a vegan diet

Fourteen months ago I switched to a vegetarian diet for health reasons. The net result was worth the pain and inconvenience of those first weeks of detoxing from eating meat for 50 years. But about a month ago, I came across a Veggie Challenge on Instagram and decided to try it out - as a vegan. So this my take on following a vegan diet for 31 days, in South Africa.

Exciting and challenging

The first two weeks everything was great. I cooked interesting meals at home and even managed to lose two kilograms. The weight-loss was not planned, but I do have to say not unwelcome. The challenge at this time was mostly finding things for snacking. Having a snack or two each day helps to keep my blood sugar levels stable - a good thing to do for anyone with a busy lifestyle.

As the challenge coordinator mentioned, there are more vegan snack options available these days than there had been say, 5 years ago. Unless you have high blood pressure, then these temptations are not an option. Too much salt, as you would have guessed no doubt.

So snacking options were severely limited for me, hence the weight-loss I think. I did have raw nuts in the cupboard, the bag is still fairly full, but nuts are heavy on calories, and I can only eat so much of them anyway.

Snacks remained a frustrating challenge throughout the whole 31 days.

Then the boredom started to creep in

Ever since leaving my high paying full-time job in January this year, we have been more conscious of the budget and eating out less often than before. On the vegan diet eating out in this country is a huge challenge on the best of days. Something I was not so aware of, until last month.

Boerewors picture courtesy
TempestSA at the English language Wikipedia

Allow me to elaborate for a minute. South Africans love meat. The more the better. We have a standing joke that people in South Africa eat boerewors for salad and chicken for vegetables. Seafood is probably considered a snack I suppose.

Unfortunately, there is more truth in that joke than you can imagine. Eating out options are extremely limited for a vegetarian, and borders on the near-impossible for vegans.

I do have to say this though: at the places where we dine out often, the waiters and chefs have been nice in trying to accommodate my vegan choices during October, but franchise restaurants are so restricted in their menus, that it became a problem for me after a while.

Whoever designs those menus seem oblivious to the fact that there are more food options out there than butternut (which I dislike except during winter), mushrooms (don't much like those either) and zucchini (also called courgettes over here). Whatever happened to lentils, chickpeas, quinoa, wild rice and all the other (very tasty) options to use as a base in cooking?

Even salads - which I love all year round - can definitely be spruced up with nuts, and the aforementioned ancient grains and starches in summer dishes.

Vegan proteins and vegan cheese

Fortunately for me, I had a vegan shake available which I could use to supplement my protein intake during the month. Since I have a dairy allergy (mainly the raw product - milk and cream) I even use the shake on the vegetarian diet.

Meat substitutes are readily available in supermarkets and are wonderful for home cooking. If only the restaurants shopped at the large supermarket chains too. (Hint?)

Back to the cheese. I like the taste of vegan cheese, but be warned, it is not a protein substitute. Aside from being expensive (even more so than the mature dairy version), I feel it a waste to buy because it is only a starchy food.

Fruits and vegetables

October is basically summer already in this country, so the abundance of fruits and vegetables is a pleasure to someone who has always loved fruit and raw vegetables. At least I got all my fibre and vitamins!

Enter the last ten days

By now I was getting really bored with the vegan diet. Except for the breakfast cereal, which I do eat every day of the week irrespective of the kind of diet - with almond milk.

Eating out became a chore, not a pleasure and I started to eat more 'normal' again, including cheese in my evening meals, and sometimes even for lunch. Two days before the end of the month, I started eating eggs again too.

Coffee, coffee, coffee ... my kingdom for a coffee

I drink my coffee black and have been since I was a child. I was the first person in my family diagnosed with the dairy allergy, after almost dying when I was about 9 or 10 years old. I have some tolerance for the mature cheeses, but still have to watch how much I eat.

I love coffee, Americanos, especially, but since hitting the sexy age of 50, drinking my coffee black has become a problem too. So I stuck to drinking coffee after a meal, but I don't have time to eat the whole day just so I could drink coffee.

I found a cappuccino premix - it does contain some milk powder - which I could drink at any time without the pain I experienced with drinking black coffee without eating. Vegan? Not so much, but I love coffee too much limit myself to two cups a day (I don't drink black coffee after a breakfast of cereal and fruit).

A veggie future?

I am not keeping up the vegan diet. That is not to say that I will not eat vegan meals, because I mostly still do at home, but as a South African the long term options are not worth it, at least not right now. Will the restaurants ever change?

I am delighted to say that some already have. Even on Friday when my friend, Vanessa, and I were having breakfast together for the first day of NaNoWriMo, our favourite meeting place had two new vegan options on the menu. I cannot claim to be the reason for it, but maybe I helped to raise awareness for the need that some of us have not to eat any meat at all.

But unless more people ask for a meal to be adapted to a vegan, or vegetarian, diet I don't think the average South African restaurant is rushing to include more interesting and seasonal vegetable-based options on their menus. And they really should.

PS: With NaNoWriMo challenging me once again, this will be the only post for November. But do keep an eye out for my newsletter, and #TheTinyBroom tweets twice a week.

Until December!
💜 Linzé

Living the creative life...most of the time

Life has been crazy since my friend, Vanessa, challenged me to take part in Inktober this month. But my challenges did not end there. I also decided to follow a vegan diet in October (I follow a vegetarian diet since August 2018) and that has turned out to be quite the challenge indeed. But that is not all. Two large art projects have to be completed too - one at the end of November and one in December. November as you know is NaNoWriMo time, so I really have my work cut out for me on top of an increasing workload as a self-employed engineer.

As whiney as all that may sound to you, I am actually happier than I have been in a very long time. And the one thing I can attribute to that state of mind is control of my time. With more hours spent drawing than I have in a long time, I have also managed to work on a large cross-stitch project which I started in 2009. It is not finished yet, but I have more progress on that in six months than in the three years before. 

While I do work longer hours than I ever did in a full-time job, I also now only work 4 days a week. And I am taking three days off in the coming week.

I am a long way away from earning the kind of income that I had before, but the freedom of my time totally makes up for that.

Inktober Day 9 prompt: swing

Cammy: "Told you that thing didn't look safe."⠀
Cricket: 🤬

My drawing skills have improved although I am drawing a cartoon for Inktober which does not show the extent of my present skills. I still love the characters, Cricket and his friends, and am having a load of fun writing the little story to accompany each drawing. Maybe there is a cartoon series to contemplate with the (mis)adventures of Cricket and his friends, Tim and Cammy. Don't forget the dragon, Draco, who also has a few tricks hiding under those scales.

Inktober is running until the end of October and you can follow the adventures of Cricket and friends on Instagram.

The vegan diet will remain an option for me, but not permanently. Eating out in South Africa is for carnivores, with few vegetarian options and even fewer vegan options on the average restaurant menu. Cooking at home is not difficult, and that includes feeding my husband who is a committed carnivore. Snacking requires more planning than I anticipated, but my biggest challenge remains drinking coffee. With a dairy allergy, I drink my coffee black, but recently that has been a problem. So I have limited my black coffee drinking until after a meal.

I love having coffee while working (and not eating), so I have taken to "cheating" by drinking a pre-mix cappuccino powder twice a day. The powder does contain milk, but the processes it has gone through makes it palatable enough that two cups a day does not make me sick. I am not converting to a strict vegan diet despite some weight-loss (grateful for that) but can see myself be open to eating vegan more often in the future.

This time of year I think can get beyond the normal level of crazy we are used to, so I am making sure to get enough sleep, drink enough water, and focus on the things that work towards my mental well being too. And I trust that you will be mindful to do the same. We do after all only have one life, so we need to make the most of it, including taking personal time.

Until we meet again!

💜🙋‍♀️Linzé

Mindfulness Guest Post Opportunity for Bloggers and Authors

I am looking for guest posts for the month of September. If you like to write about the life of an author or blogger this is an opportunity for you.

The twelfth of September is Mindfulness Awareness day and as a mindfulness practitioner, I want to help spread the word of the benefits of the practice. Mindfulness is the practice of being present and focused in the moment without judgement of yourself or others.

If you are interested in contributing a post about practicing mindfulness in your life as a writer or blogger (or both) then please keep reading.

Here are the requirements:

1. Post must be about your LIFE as a mindfulness practitioner - formally recognised or not.
2. How do you practice being mindful in your daily life - work, kids, relationships, writing, hobbies, art, crafts, household chores, spiritual practice - the works. Some emphasis is required (please) on your writing schedule. Blogging and journaling also count as writing.
3. Pick one day of the week, and tell my readers what your schedule looks like, from waking up to bedtime. Offer lessons learned, benefits gained, what works for you, what doesn't, etc.
4. If you are mindfulness meditation practitioner - please include that in your post.
5. Word count 1500 to 2000 words, minimum. You are welcome to go up to 4k, as long as the post is relevant and keeps to topic.
6. Use references if necessary, and use your own life experiences as the basis for your article.
7. No advertising, but you are encouraged to include links to your website/blog, social media profiles, etc. - max 5 links.
8. Author bio - +/- 300 words, or shorter if you prefer. A recent picture of fairly high resolution - at least 100dpi x 100dpi.
9. Deadline for submissions: 31 August 2019. Please submit your post using the email address in the graphic below. Subject: Mindfulness Post
   

   
   And that is my story for today. For more regular updates follow #TheTinyBroom on Twitter.
   
   Until next time!
   💜 Linzé
   

   

   
   
   
   

#CampNaNoWriMoWinner, tiny blog tweets, and a free book

Life can be tough in the boat of contemplation. It is where I am right now, after finishing Camp NaNo that is. The book, The Last Gryphon, still has 4 pages left to edit, but that is on my schedule for this coming week. After many years of attempting to revise (or edit) during a pressure month like Camp NaNo, I finally managed it. Rather proud of myself, I have to say.

In a recent newsletter from Buffer (a social media scheduler that I use) they mention tiny blog posts now trending on Twitter. I am not sure about the trending part, but decided to give it a go. So be on the lookout for #TheTinyBroom tweeting twice a week @LinzeBrandon.
The Big Broom (this blog 😉) with continue the good work as per usual, so no need to replace the old broom in the closet. At least not yet.

The Last Gryphon is scheduled for publication in September, but if you want a taste in the meantime, Part 1 of the story, Galen's Hope, is already available in the Journey anthology. Journey is still free until the 31st, so grab yourself a copy and get to know Galen and Richard on the start of their quest to fulfil their queen's final wish.

Until next time!
💜 Linzé

A bright star at a dreary book fair

We had another book fair yesterday, this time at a large mall to celebrate the opening of a library in the mall. Although the event for me was a letdown in terms of book sales, I did have the privilege to meet and chat to the other authors, some new and some old acquaintances which made the day seem less grey.

Linzé's table at the book fair - 8 June 2019

One particular highlight was chatting to the mother of a young writer. The girl, now fifteen, published her first book at age eleven under the guidance of her mother, who is not a writer herself.

What was of particular interest to me was the reason for that first book: bullying. The girl's mother discovered by accident that her daughter was being bullied at school. This had been unknown to her until she read the girl's journal. After taking steps to rectify the bullying, the mother then encouraged the young girl to write a book about bullying. This was the first step, and her third book is presently being edited for publication.

When the young lady joined our conversation, it became clear that this aspiring engineer had big dreams in those shiny brown eyes. While chatting about her history and future plans, I was reminded once again why I love being an indie author - the sharing and support. Usually, this happens in the form of support of a fellow author struggling with some kind of issue. This time, however, it was pure pleasure to dole out advice and support to a young author who knew what she wanted for herself.

As an engineer, writing to me started as an escape from a particularly stressful job, and yet I can no longer see myself not doing it. Twenty-five books later and the bug still bites daily.

Like many other authors in the world, writing is not my primary source of income, and I am perfectly happy with that. I also told this to the young author and her mother - writing does not have to be a job, but our stories are still something that we can share with the world purely because of our love of the written word.

If you too want to discover the powerful impact of journal writing, my latest book Reflect. Grow. Become. is available this month at 75% off. The offer is only available to the first 20 purchases.

Until next time...

💜 Linzé

  

A-to-Z Blog Challenge: J is for...journaling

Writing can be an intimidating activity, especially if the words end up in the public domain such as a blog post, or a published book. Many people want to write a book, few sit down to do so, and even less gather the courage to take it to its conclusion: publication.

But there is one type of writing where there are no boundaries, no editors, no critics, no readers. Journal writing. Even if you are not a writer, and have no desire to be a writer, published or not, keeping a journal can also be for you.

Journaling has many benefits, including things that have nothing to do with words. Some kinds of journals don't even use words, and yet the practice seems to be foreign to many. As a journal writer of many years experience, I have experimented with these styles - words and no words - and decided to write a book about it.

It is available as an ebook, and by subscribing to my newsletter in April, you stand a chance of winning a copy of the ebook. The winners will be announced in the May newsletter. Read a sample here if you cannot wait that long.

Another month, another week...

With the A-to-Z blog challenge now firmly underway, life carries on with the usual things and responsibilities. But it is what we make of it and working to make the best of it, takes time and effort.

So here is the A-to-Z schedule for the week ahead:

Have you signed up for my newsletter yet? You should, there is a chance for a free ebook coming your way.

Until tomorrow!
💜 Linzé

My theory of wasted time, proven true

How much time do you think you spend doing things? I have a theory that we overestimate how much time we spend doing something, and then when it comes down to actual measuring it, it is not as much as we think. My theory is purely based on personal perception, and I think I have proven it - at least to myself.

For the past month or so I have been using an App to track my time with minimum interference from me. This means that it asks me what I am doing now, and unless I am lying (to myself, because the App doesn't care) it is accurate. The surprising thing (and the reason for my theory) is that I wasted a lot more of my time than what I thought I was. While I think I am doing something (even if it is reading a book) I am wasting more time doing nothing, than doing something useful or enjoyable, like reading.

While you might think that I am obsessed with time (and perhaps you are correct) my biggest issue is that life is too short to waste the time we have on useless activities. Meaning that if I am taking a break when I need to, the break should not become two hours of watching TV, or surfing on social media.

Time away from a computer is a good thing, so I realised that whatever time I am spending not working, or writing (or whatever other activity I want or should do) is not spent as effectively as I thought it was. Yes, the word is procrastination.

Since I am self-employed again, the saying that time is money is more accurate than what it was when I worked for a salary. I am not going to get paid for two hours wasted on the Internet, that's for sure, but working for a salary meant that I wasn't getting paid by the hour either.

The App allows me to draw a report of the time per activity/task that I am tracking, and the results confirmed what I suspected, I am a time waster. Not what I wanted to see, that's for sure. But all is not lost.

What it helps me to do is to find out which tasks take longer than planned. This is a good thing since planning is essential, I can now see where I need to allow for more time for a specific type of task. When some things take less time to complete, I can then plan for a shorter period to finish the job in future, or I can add a task in that same time slot. A task that I probably would have scheduled later because I wouldn't have the time to do it on that day.

It all sounds complicated, but in actual fact, it is more simple than it looks. What I also like about this, is that I can now plan for time to do things that I want, like reading or drawing. Whereas in the past, I had to hope for some free time that will allow me a few hours to enjoy myself.

My 30 days of free usage of the App expires tomorrow, but I have already decided to pay the license fee as the benefits I have already received, definitely outweigh the cost of its continuous use.

A last word

There are a number of these applications for both Windows and iOS operating systems, phones and computers, available in your favourite online store. If you need to track your time for either invoicing or purely to find out where you are wasting it, I can recommend exploring the various options available to see which of these apps will work for you.

I am using dailytimetracking.com on a Macbook if you want to check it out.

Until next time!

💜Linzé

  

Seven ways to a new beginning

Recently I wondered why people perceive time to go by faster. I mean clocks do not tick more swiftly, and the International standard for time, the second, is still the same. As an engineer, this puzzled me, and the answer I found is not a good one. It all has to do with our brains and the way we learn and challenge ourselves.

You can read more about that here, but this concerned me a bit when I sat down to figure out how I was going to structure my 'new life' after working for a boss for ten (plus) years.

Sure, I had been down this road before, but in my thirties. Now I am a decade older, and keeping the grey matter healthy is not just about time flying past anymore. I need to be on top of my game, and I want to be there for a long time to come.

So here are 7 things I found that are going to help me and my brain:

1. Set up a routine for more than work. People who are self-employed, especially at the start of their new venture into the business world, often overlook one crucial detail, their own wellbeing. Yes, the new business will take a considerable chunk out of your day, your week, and your life, but if you do not look out for number one, that business is going to become your nightmare, instead of the dream you wanted.

2. Put non-work reminders in your calendar too. The life of self-employment allows for one significant aspect of your life that other people don't have: control of your time. While many would argue that time is not within our control (if it was we would all schedule at least another two days every week), but what we do with our 24 hours is within our control. So schedule your kids' activities into your calendar, book that appointment for that back massage you desperately need and do that coffee with the friend you haven't seen in months. These non-work things will not only contribute to your own wellbeing, but they will make a difference in your relationships too.

3. Schedule alone time at least once a week. Looking at the world around us, one can safely assume that people are afraid of being on their own. The noise that bombards not only our ears every day, is frightening. Everywhere you go people have their eyes on their phones or tablets, and for those of us who don't, it is an obstacle course navigating the pavements or malls to avoid those people. So why alone time? Give your mind some rest too, will you? Give yourself a moment, or six, to just be a human being for a change instead of a social-media-selfie-addict-with-narcissistic-bluescreen-radiation-wave-patterns all over your face. You might actually meet someone interesting when your mind has a chance to reflect on itself.

4. Make an appointment with your future self. Business is built on risk-taking, but it is not a hit-and-miss situation. Companies plan for the future. They consider changes in the market, the expectations of their customers, and how they can stay ahead of the competition. It is called survival. Without future planning, a company is doomed to failure. The same goes for your life and your goals. While your dreams may change as you grow older, or you start to tick them off your bucket list, you need to spend some time to assess where your life is going. Is bungee jumping off that high bridge in a foreign country still something you want to do? People often regret the things they haven't done, but I think many people also regret the things they had continued to do because they let time go by. It is not just about big things like career changes, or relationships. Sometimes you only need to take a small step to put your goals back on track.

5. Don't put off your dreams to some future date. It will never happen! The oldest excuse if ever there was one: one day I am going to... All I can say, yeah right. Unless you are doing it right now, only you will believe that fairy tale. Make time to pursue that dream: write a book, take an art class, or learn the guitar. Life is too short to put things off until later.

6. Challenge your brain, learn something new. That time flying past thing mentioned earlier can only be counteracted if your brain is learning, and being challenged. Do not confuse learning with academic studies. Learn to play chess, or paint portraits, or do Sudoku puzzle competitions. Challenge those brain cells and time will no longer be a waste of days flying past without notice.

7. Be kind to yourself. While time is not going to wait for anyone, sometimes we need to give ourselves a bit more. Todo lists are notorious things. They are often the fabric of nightmares because you have the habit of making a long list, and at the end of the day nothing got done. It can be demotivating, to say the least. As a species, we tend to be overly optimistic and then have the habit of kicking our own selves because of it. So, pick one, maybe two things for your todo list today. And when you made them happen, pat yourself on the back. If not, take a moment to reflect why not. Procrastination is often the actual reason, but if it is not, then relax. You probably did two other things.

Self-employed people are often seen as living the dream, although it is not an easy life. But if the effort you put in, does not forsake the important things in life, then your life will be one of fulfilment, satisfaction, and contentment.

Sounds about perfect to me, and I will be working hard to get my own routine adjusted to suit my new beginnings.

Until next time!

💟 Linzé