CONSOLIDATE: My word for 2020 + tips for consolidating in your life

It’s 2020 and as always I choose a word to capture my intentions for the year. This year my word is CONSOLIDATE.

This word has been arriving for some time in 2019 through my monthly intention setting, morning pages and tarot practices. It came through a sense of appreciating what I already have and also through feeling overwhelm at having many things on the go. Books I’m not getting to, clothes I’m not wearing, courses I’ve invested in that I haven’t fully honoured.

Part of this overwhelm is a symptom of starting afresh and trying ALL THE THINGS to make it work. At a time like this, we can grab on to so much to help us but over time, we realise selectivity and focused effort is going to be far more effective in the long run.

My partner Keith and I also have a rental property business. We have worked on this together for nearly 20 years now and both have 25+ years of experience in this area. It is a key part of our income stream. I need to skill up and be more active in our partnership. With opportunities to combine my property and coaching skills, I want to promote a positive mindset and practical skills for property as part of a ‘multiple streams of income’ strategy.

The personal and beyond

Personally, it has been a huge transition time over the past three years, a big learning curve and time when my whole life pretty well changed in some way. Having set up two new businesses – Quiet Writing and our property solutions business – it is time to review where I am and look at how I can most productively and sustainably build on what I have created.

Currently, too we have terrible bushfires raging in Australia that have burnt out more than 5.9 million hectares (14.7 million acres) and resulted in immense loss of all kinds – lives, wildlife and homes. A national disaster that defies description and breaks my heart, it was sadly predictable. It has sharpened reflection for many on living more sustainably and appreciating what we have. With so many losing so much, it brings home what is of value and what matters. How we act, protect and look after what we have as a nation and as an individual. Head over to this page for more on what’s happening, responding and taking action including in creative ways.

The intention to consolidate

My intentions from around November 2019 on have been around the urge and desire to consolidate:

I consolidate my learning and effort, making connections in support of others and to grow.

This intention will stay with me as my mantra for the year. As always when we choose a word of the year, we never know how it will unfold. I look forward to learning from a spirit of consolidating this year.

What CONSOLIDATE looks like for me

My Morning Pages notebook is an integral planning tool in my life. On 3 December 2019, I did a page list of what CONSOLIDATE looks like in my life. Here is that list updated to now, noting those completed and in-process as I write:

• Working on finishing the first round of the Sacred Creative Collective strongly with clients ✅
• Sharing experiences from the SCC first round, gathering testimonials, sharing them (in process)
• Crafting experiences from the first round of SCC and building on them for the next round. (in process)
• Building client connections further, including connecting with SCC clients for mid-February 2020 start. (in process)
• Working further on my website and funnels, applying learning from Soulful Sequences with Ellie Swift (in process)
• Providing feedback to my editor on my Wholehearted book draft and thoughts as we progress the editing process.
• Independently publishing my Wholehearted: Self-leadership for Women in Transition book
• Working on property skills and upskilling on renovation, interior design and managing AirBnBs. (in process)
• Upskilling in coaching mastery and mindset through working with a master coach. (in process)
• Consolidating my work as a property business owner and coach.
• Following up from the Australian Association of Psychological Type (AusAPT) Conference in November, sharing reflections, resources and learning.
• Organising my AusAPT volunteer social media, website and state lead roles in a more sustainable and structured way.
• Reflecting on 2019 via December Reflections on Instagram ✅
• Reading, finishing books, getting to books I have been meaning to read that I already own.
• Working on resources and courses purchased to maximise the investment and outcome.
• Creating an inventory list of these resources and scheduling time to work on them and implement the learning.
• Learning about Trello and using it for 2020 planning and action tracking. Thanks to Nicola Newman for sharing her experiences to inspire me including recommending Mastering for Trello for Business which is fantastic! (in process)
• Organising and decluttering inboxes.
• Organising and decluttering photos.
• Tidying up electronic files/desktop so I can find things.
• Organising and decluttering office and workspace.
• Organising and decluttering my wardrobe.
• Getting back to self-leadership via Morning Pages and Tarot Narrative as anchors. ✅
• Writing a piece for Julia Barnickle’s What if life were meant to be easy? project. Join in for this community project in January! ✅
• Sharing pieces already written in new ways.
• Finding new markets for my writing.
• Consistently writing inspiring content on the Quiet Writing blog and social media, streamlining ways of working.
• Reviewing blog post categories; refreshing, reviewing all blog posts.
• Finishing my Body of Work page. ✅
• Working out how best to share Wholehearted Stories in ebook and other formats to inspire others. (in process).
• Making Quiet Writing a more inclusive, representative space and community including looking at my own biases and privilege.
• Becoming more informed about climate change and being more vocal about its impacts and the impact of non-action.
• Look at where I can recycle, reduce, reuse.
• Starting a podcast on personality and personal stories.
• Getting back to playing the guitar.
• Getting back to writing poetry.

“Phew!” I have written in my Morning Pages notebook next to that list. A big list, but it is great to get it down and share it with you as a form of accountability. It can feel overwhelming but getting ideas out is a great first step to organising them and being in action. Trello is going to be super useful in organising my projects and time this year to action these steps to consolidate. And I keep reminding myself I have ALL YEAR to work on these consolidating actions.

Tips to consolidate your life

So from the above, here are a few tips to consolidate your life:

• Make your own list like mine of what a consolidate strategy might look like for you.
• Embrace lists generally as your friend to keep track and also celebrate the wins and progress.
• Learn about Trello or other tools to structure your desires, be in action and keep track.
• Group your ideas into projects that can help connect and align them.
• Work with a coach to help you be accountable and in action in consolidating your energies and shaping sustainable ways of living with deeper purpose.
• Tune into what is worrying you or feeling incomplete in your life as a way to let go, move on and tie up the loose ends.
• Honour your body of work over time and seek to build on it.
• Look at what you have already done and see where you can reshape, reorder, repurpose existing material eg blog posts, guest posts, ecourse material.
• Make an inventory of what you already have and make it able to be easily found.
• Ask yourself, “What have I already got?” before you purchase or do something new.
• Look at where you can recycle, reuse, reduce.
• Explore links between existing skills and areas of your life to make new connections.

So how will you consolidate in 2020?

I hope my ideas have inspired you to look at where you can consolidate in 2020. Love to hear how you plan to make the most of what you already have and upskill, repurpose and make connections in your life. Share in the comments or on social media.

And if you would like to consolidate your life in more meaningful ways in 2020, the Sacred Creative Collective Group Coaching program kicks off mid-February. Join with me and a community of women as we explore sacred creative life skills for deeper purpose and intention. Especially if you are going through a time of transition or feeling isolated in your creativity, this is for you. Limited to 10 participants and value-packed, we work globally across group and individual dimensions to ensure your needs are met in an enriching online environment. Bookings for Discovery Call to learn more HERE.