Dear [[subscriber.first_name]] and 117 other friends,

I've been crowned 👑

It’s a dental crown, but it arrived in a little box that looked like it should contain an engagement ring. Quite the presentation for a replacement bit of tooth.

When my dentist explained it was porcelain, my immediate response was: “What, like a toilet?”

Thankfully, she laughed.

She also called me her ideal patient. My inner perfectionist will be living off that compliment for the foreseeable future.

I’m usually terrified of dentists, so being able to laugh, feel comfortable and leave with a positive experience meant a lot.

Thank you, Dr Kim. See you in December. Hopefully for a less expensive social occasion. 🦷

That little coronation also made it onto Instagram, which brings me to something I’ve been trying lately…

Quick tip: post the small, imperfect thing 📱

Recently, I’ve been sharing more of my thoughts, things I enjoy and little moments from my day on Instagram.

One video was literally just me getting excited about a KFC box. A few seconds of “KFC, KFC, KFC”, zooming in and out, then my face.

Several thousand views. Apparently this is the content people want. 🍗

Sharing more has also started conversations and helped me feel more connected to people. Some people unfollowed when I made my account public and started posting more. Naturally, my brain briefly interpreted this as everyone hating me.

Then other people arrived, joined in and seemed to enjoy what I was sharing.

If you keep getting stuck before posting, try sharing something you’d usually dismiss as too ordinary or a bit silly. Something you noticed, enjoyed or have an opinion about.

You get better by doing it. Give people something to respond to, learn from the feedback and try again. You’ll start discovering what you enjoy making and what connects with people.

Post the thing. It might be useful. It might start a conversation. It might be six seconds of chicken-related excitement.

You won’t find out while it’s sitting in your camera roll.

Giving myself room to try things has also meant changing how I organise the work behind the scenes.

From the Logbook: retiring my end-of-day checklist 📓

For a few weeks, I needed a fairly rigid routine to get through a lot of project work. Time to lock in and get things finished.

I made a form asking what I’d done, what hadn’t been completed and why, and what needed to happen tomorrow. Everything went into a spreadsheet so I could look back for patterns in my workload and energy.

Sometimes I filled it in throughout the day, like a work journal. Other times, I was in bed, absolutely knackered, trying to remember what I’d spent the day doing.

The useful part came the following morning. Emma, my wonderful PA and support worker, could read out what needed doing. We’d work out the day, block out time and agree what she could take on.

Having someone say “here’s what’s happening today” takes a surprising amount of weight off my brain. It leaves room to spot anything missing, delegate and get myself going.

Now that I’ve cleared much of that project work, I’m spending more time redesigning how my business runs. I need room to daydream, experiment and follow ideas without immediately giving every thought its own administrative responsibilities.

So I retired the evening form.

Something that helped you through one period can start getting in your way when your needs change. You’re allowed to put it aside and try something else.

The checklist can come back when I need it. For now, it’s enjoying a well-earned retirement. Possibly temporary. I haven’t discussed its pension.

That’s something I keep coming back to in client work too: what would make this easier for the person actually doing it?

Something I found interesting: the everyday stuff matters 💡

I recently helped a former client move their website from my hosting account into their own.

For me, the technical work was familiar: copy the website across, connect the domain and check everything worked.

For someone who didn’t know where to begin, “you’ll need to arrange your own hosting” was understandably a bigger prospect.

I’d included a booking link so we could talk it through and do it together. We caught up, worked through the move and finished within the 25 minutes we’d booked.

Yes, I’m pleased about keeping to time. Let me have this one. 😂

They appreciated how straightforward the platform was and having access to manage things themselves.

The platform was Hostinger, which I’m a partner of. I may earn commission through referral links.

What stayed with me was how much difference familiar, everyday work can make for someone else. I enjoy figuring this stuff out, and sometimes I forget that the thing I find interesting is also the thing someone else has been worrying about.

So, if you’re looking at your website, hosting or another bit of technology thinking “I have absolutely no idea where to start”, get in touch. This is very much something I can help with.

And the easiest way for me to spot where I could help is to hear what you’re working on. 👀

So... what are you working on? ☺️

An exciting project? A business? An idea that’s been taking up space in your head?

I’d love to hear about it.

And if you have a newsletter, website, Instagram, LinkedIn or Facebook page, send me the link. I want to see what you’re putting into the world.

I’m apparently "quite a useful person to know". Tell me what you’re working on, and when I come across a relevant resource, idea or connection, I can send it your way.

Possibly an Instagram reel. I make no promises about the format of my helpfulness.

If you’re getting stuck on an idea, we can talk it through too. You don’t need to arrive with a polished plan. “Here’s what I’m thinking, but I don’t know what to do with it” is a perfectly good starting point.

Mostly, I enjoy chatting with people and finding out what they’re about. It could be fun. 🙂

Reply to this email, or book a conversation through my website.

or, submit a form and get a reply by email.

Also,

I’m exploring ideas for a practical webinar about technology, systems or AI. What would you like someone to explain or walk you through? Reply and tell me. It would be helpful to know before I enthusiastically build an entire presentation about something nobody asked for 🤪.

Until next time...

That's all for now, stay awesome 🤩.

Best regards,

P.S. Got questions? Just wanna say hi? Please do. I love hearing from you and I read and respond to every email. 

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Bye for now! 👋