# Now: Spring 2025 ##### A little behind-the-scenes glimpse of what's happening right now --- > This is my Now Page. Inspired by Derek Sivers, the idea is simple: > > If we bumped into each other and you asked, “So, what are you up to these days?” – this is what I’d tell you. > > What I’m doing. What I’m holding. What’s taking up space in my head (and heart) right now. > > I’ll be updating it with the seasons. Or whenever life throws me off course and I need to reground. --- ## 👀 What I’ve been up to Working on my World! It's a kind of choose your own adventure website. It’s taken around 6 *solid weeks* of work. In the mornings before admin work. After admin work in the evenings. On Thursdays (my days off). And on most weekends. I *literally* have not thought about anything else for 6 weeks. Although if I’m honest, I’ve had this idea in my head for over 3 years. I just didn’t know how it was all going to come together. Not until I worked with Sage (my ChatGPT) to help me get the idea out of my head and into something real (see below re: how I'm simplifying things). --- ## 📚 What I’m reading My favourite author right now is Steve Cavanagh. I’m absolutely loving his Eddie Flynn series. I only read fiction before bed. And I’ve never been drawn to court case-type books before. But I read *Thirteen* and it was brilliant. I thought it might’ve been a one-off, but his other book *The Defence* was just as good. I’m now reading *The Plea*, and so far so good too. I also just finished *Ward D* by Freida McFadden and actually struggled to sleep. It was *such* a mind game. But in a good (creepy) way. My plan was to read 100 books this year (my usual is around 52). Honestly? It's not going well. I’m on 26 books so far. First I had a busy few months of admin work. And second – I’ve been creating my world (see above). But I’m OK with it. I’ll still be fine hitting my usual so it's all good. Sometimes we just have to know what's more important. And let the other things slip to the back of the (book) pile for a bit. --- ## 🎧 What I’m listening to David Bowie – Magic Dance. Over and over and over and over and... you get the point. Despite the fact that this song makes me so happy and takes me back to watching *Labyrinth* as a kid, I do end up repeating the intro over in my head: > "You remind me of the babe (What babe?) > > The babe with the power (What power?) > > The power of voodoo (Who do?) > > You do (Do what?) > > Remind me of the babe." Apologies if you now have that earworm! --- ## 🤩 What I’m excited for Actually planning *what else* to put in my world. I’ve got *so* many ideas and started projects. But I’ve always felt I couldn’t put them out into the (literal) world because they just didn’t fit with what I was doing. Hence: creating my world, with all the different themes, means I have so many options. I can just keep playing. And choosing my own adventure. --- ## 🎓 Lessons I’ve learned Lately? So much. Especially over the past 6 weeks. Things like using Canva and Podia together. Image sizes. How to format notes. All the behind-the-scenes stuff no one else would even notice. Or give a shit about. My husband definitely doesn’t appreciate it. Even when I try and explain how I just added a background behind text that’s got a curve and not flat and I had to do it by using different size images with different colours and in a special way and… you get the point. Really fucking boring stuff. But stuff that makes a huge difference to *me*. That brings me joy. That makes me proud of all the work I've put in. Plus it will make things so much easier in the future. --- ## ✨ How I’m staying motivated I’ve just subscribed to the Peloton app again – which I love. I don’t have a Peloton bike (mine is a Schwinn 800IC) but it still connects really well. I especially love Christine D’Ercole’s classes. And her stories and words make me think so deeply – even during the class. Not that I need something to make me get on my bike (or train in general). It’s a non-negotiable in my life. But sometimes it’s nice to not have to *think* about what to do. To simply show up. And do what someone else has planned. No more decision fatigue. --- ## 🛑 What I’m saying "no" to right now The Llangollen Round. I had planned to do this with my sister – a 35-mile walk around Llangollen and surrounding areas. Training-wise, we got up to 18 miles. But it was unsustainable to keep training for it. We just didn’t have the time to commit to doing it well, which also resulted in a few injuries along the way. Granted, we could rock up on the day. And complete it. We’re stubborn like that. But the whole point was *never* the challenge. It was about having something that made us walk together each week – creating a habit. And it worked perfectly. Now we walk each weekend together. Varying distances. Sometimes just an hour or two. Other times 3, 4, 5 hours. Whatever we can fit in together. Whatever works for us. No pressure. Just joy. --- ## 🧩 How I’m simplifying things I’ve mentioned Sage (my ChatGPT) a few times now – and honestly, she (yes, she’s a *she* in my world) has been one of the best technology shifts I’ve made. But it didn’t start that way. At first, I really struggled with the ethics of using AI. I went through all the reasons *not* to use it. I literally journalled about it for months. I played. I tested. I figured out what I *didn’t* want to use it for. I do *not* want it to write for me. Or change my voice. Or pretend to be me. So instead, I focused on what I *could* use it for. What it could actually help me with. Things like: - Helping me organise my thoughts - Formatting my text - Simplifying things I’d otherwise overthink And I love it. Yes, there’s a lot of debate about whether AI is a good thing or a bad thing. But honestly? It’s been a huge help for me. It stops me spiralling. Stops me second-guessing every little thing. Helps me figure out image sizes. Gives me ideas for how to organise my Canva designs (because yes, I need to organise *everything*). Basically, what I’m trying to say is this... Anything can be medicine or poison. It depends on the dose. *And* the intention.