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planning & productivity reading notes

12 books I’m planning to read to consolidate and grow in 2020

January 30, 2020

2020 is my year for consolidating my efforts of the past few years and being strategic about how I work and learn. There is a big focus on consolidating practice and building on my skills and knowledge in new ways. You can read more about my plans for consolidating in 2020 HERE.

One key area of consolidating is reading what I own. I have many books recommended to me and purchased or received and not read. Whilst I still plan to buy new books in some cases, I want to limit this. In 2020, I want to be really mindful of what I am buying to read and working out where it fits in my business and life.

Here’s a list of 12 of books I plan to read this year and why they are important in my year of consolidating and growth:

Thrive by Ariana Huffington

Published in 2014 and a gift from my dear friend Di, this one is high on the list. It is time to get to it. Focused on getting in touch with who we are, it encourages practical responses to what is important. These are around the ‘third metric’ of measuring thriving and success in terms of well-being, wisdom, wonder and giving. A useful personal read, it aligns with my work in encouraging women in transition to connect with what matters.

This is for you by Ellen Bard

Subtitled, ‘A Creative Toolkit for Better Self-Care’, this is a very practical book of self-care tips by work psychologist, writer and digital nomad, Ellen Bard. There are 101 creative exercises to help make incremental changes and flourish in day to day life. I am looking forward to working my way through them to be more present each day and sharing the practices with clients.

The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll

I first came across this book via Caroline Donahue’s Secret Library Podcast conversation with Ryder Carroll. It was so inspiring as I listened, I stopped as I was driving to seek out the book straight away! Getting more organised and strategic with my list-making is an ongoing search. I have long been interested in bullet journaling practices. Focused on tracking your past, ordering your present and planning your future, I can’t wait to learn more and activate the principles in this book.

Speaking Out by Tara Moss

Published in 2016, it also time to read Tara Moss’s Speaking Out. This is a guide for women and girls on managing being in the public eye and speaking out. Contexts include public speaking, social media, writing and other public spaces. A guide to speaking out safely with confidence, it emphasises the need for women’s voices to be heard. I am keen to speak out more in 2020 in various ways so this will be an important read.

Power vs Force by David R Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D.

This book was a recommendation from speaker Alex MacFarlane at the 2019 Australian Association of Psychological Type Conference. In a session on Holistic Mental Health, Alex encouraged us to read Power vs Force for scientific insights into higher levels of consciousness. Subtitled ‘The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior‘, it looks at theoretical concepts from particle physics, nonlinear dynamics, and chaos theory and uses applied kinesiology as a research tool. I am keen to learn more about this field where science meets spirituality.

How to Write Non-Fiction: A Companion Workbook by Joanna Penn

I have read How to Write Non-Fiction by Joanna Penn. This is the accompanying workbook that I have started working through to apply the learning. This year, I am working on bringing my non-fiction book with the title of ‘Wholehearted: Self-leadership for Women in Transition‘ into the world. Working through this companion book will be a powerful and practical learning guide for this process and for writing future books.

The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke

This book by Maxine Beneba Clarke – recommended by Bek Ireland, friend and Quiet Writing Wholehearted Stories contributor – is a memoir of growing up black in white middle-class Australia. I plan to read this book and also Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia edited by Dr Anita Heiss as part of a commitment to looking at bias and privilege more deeply in 2020.

White Tears, Brown Scars by Ruby Hamad

Sharyn Holmes, Founder of Formidable Voices, leadership coach, consultant, speaker, artist and writer, recommends this book. Described as “a confronting reality check for the privileged position of the white woman,” White Tears, Brown Scars is another key read for me in looking at privilege in more personal and practical terms this year. Sharyn’s story features in the book. She is hosting a Formidable Book Club in her Membership space with this book featured in February 2020.

Your Dream Life Starts Here by Kristina Karlsson

This book was recommended by Kate Morell so I sought it out, inspired by the changes this book and the accompanying Dream Life Journal encourages in her life. Kate says that:

Reading these instil in me the importance of continuing to share my dreams and vulnerability and remind me of the magic that happens when I do.

Dreaming with Sunsets for Kate

And don’t we all need reminding of that?

Start Finishing by Charlie Gilkey

I have been a fan of Charlie Gilkey’s Productive Flourishing and its practical tools and tips for a long time. This new book is about ‘how to go from idea to done’. With a deep interest in productivity and planning, skills I share with my coaching clients, I hope this book will help me to finish more things in my life as well as encouraging that spirit in the lives of others.

Authorpreneurship by Hazel Edwards

I was lucky enough to be the winning bidder for Hazel Edwards’ wonderful offer in the recent Authors for Fireys fund-raising effort for bushfire support in Australia. As well as a brilliant and practical 1-hour Skype chat with Hazel, I received an ecopy of her book, Authorpreneurship: The Business of Creativity. I look forward to learning more about the business of creativity from this highly experienced mentor and author of more than 200 books.

Aligned and Unstoppable by Cassie Mendoza-Jones

I am planning on limiting new book-buying in 2020 with my focus on consolidating and reading what I have. (Hello local libraries and my existing collection!) But Cassie Mendoza-Jones‘ just-released book, Aligned and Unstoppable calls strongly. I had just posted the below quote by Beau Taplin on Instagram when Cassie’s new book popped up. There’s a sign! Cassie’s podcast chat Joyfully Completing Creative Projects with creative Nicola Newman late last year is fabulous! Her focus on joy, completion and working in alignment is inspiring.

Plus some fiction reading!

Balance is important, so of course, there will be fiction reading! I was lucky enough to win a brilliant stack of new/recent books by mostly Australian women authors at the Heroine’s Festival. I recommend Bruny by Heather Rose, The Blue Rose by Kate Forsyth and The Naturalist’s Daughter and The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper. I’m currently reading The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See. Let me know any of these you have read I should bump up the list!

Be in action:

SHARE YOUR CONSOLIDATING READS: Love to hear more about what you are reading for consolidating and growth in 2020. Do you have a word for the year? What are your priorities? What are the reads you are planning to align with those priorities? Share in the comments or on social media: Instagram or Facebook.

JOIN SACRED CREATIVE COLLECTIVE GROUP COACHING: Like to join in a creative community filled with rich reads, productivity and alignment this year? The Sacred Creative Collective kicks off 17 February for 3 months of group coaching around. It is focused around transition, creativity, personality and self-leadership. Work with me and a community of women on goals sacred to you for a more purposeful life.

BOOK A Discovery Call NOW for the Collective or to explore other ways to work with me in 2020.

creativity inspiration & influence

Secret superpowers for creative inspiration and energy

February 7, 2018

Secret superpowers

The creative practices in my tool-kit I plan to use to manifest energy and intention to make the most of this year – part 3. This week – secret superpowers!

We all need a magic tool-kit of practical tools, workbooks, teachers, coaches, connections and community. This helps us make the most of our desires, plans and intentions.

First, we need to reflect on where we’ve been and what we’ve learnt. Then we need to plan and set intentions. And then we need to make them happen with practical action steps.

And the magic web that surrounds all of this is the company we keep, the books we read and the tools we choose to help manifest energy and intention in the best way possible.

So here’s part 3 of my tool-kit for how I plan to manifest energy and intention to make the most of this year. This focuses on the secret superpower in my creative practices toolkit. I hope it inspires you to better recognise or build your own creative resources for this year. You can read part 1 here and part 2 here.

Secret superpowers

Some creative practices are more obvious than others. Others are like secret superpowers, so secret sometimes we don’t even realise or acknowledge their power. These practices can be so natural and woven into our daily life that we fail to realise their influence on us. Stepping back though, we can see that these practices have a subtle yet powerful impact especially when we engage with them over time. Others might be areas we are learning about so their effect can be felt as a ripple gently flowing into and through our lives.

So here is my list of secret superpowers for this year:

  1. Reading, reading, reading
  2. Swimming – and other exercise
  3. This year’s planner of choice
  4. Working with crystals

And here is a bit more about why they are such powerful practices in my life now and heading into this year.

Secret superpowers

Reading, reading, reading

Reading is such a secret superpower and an everyday activity for many of us that we can take for granted. So important to me as a source of creative influence, I chose to focus on this for the free ebook gift for signing up to Quiet Writing. In my ‘36 Books that Shaped my Story‘ ebook, I take a deep dive into the books that have helped to shape my life because reading does this for us in a myriad of ways.

Every book we read teaches us something and influences us. It might be the comfort reading of a novel and appreciating the gift of this at a tough time. Perhaps it’s a non-fiction book that has a huge impact and helps us reorient our thinking as Tara Mohr’s ‘Playing Big’ did for me recently. Each book we engage with is a gift to value and the challenge is to harness this most magical of secret superpowers so we can make the most of it.

Making reading a priority instead of it being pushed aside by social media in this age of distraction is a powerful choice. Learning to read more efficiently, creatively and actively can help immensely with our growth and creative productivity. Enjoying reading and working its pleasures and practicalities as one of our secret superpowers has the most amazing return on the investment of our time. And with audiobook and ebook options, reading has never been so accessible or available. Harness its energies to help craft your story! And stay tuned for some Quiet Writing deeper dive inspiration into your reading history and legacy soon.

Secret superpowers

Swimming – and other exercise

I’ve written about how swimming was such a big shift in feeling stronger and fitter last year in my post, 10 amazing life lessons from swimming in the sea. This was one of the most popular posts on Quiet Writing last year so clearly this connected with people. The amazing life lessons are about the fact that swimming and any form of exercise is about so much more than the exercise itself.

Whether it’s the camaraderie or the solo effort, the building of resilience, the pushing of barriers, the learning from persisting or the physical feeling you get from the activity, the sum of the parts results in a secret superpower that’s hard to define.

Swimming has helped me to improve my breathing as an asthma sufferer and strengthen my arms and cardio performance. It helped me with self-care and sorting out many things in the gentle rhythm of stroke after stroke. It’s been a huge but subtle factor in keeping in movement in a challenging year.

I have two tips regarding exercise as one of the best secret superpowers.

Firstly, find a form of exercise that you love that works for you. And in working this out, go back to what you loved as a child. I went back to swimming as a result of coaching and reflecting on how I loved swimming as a child but didn’t like chlorine pools and doing laps. Soon after, I bumped into a friend in town who told me about the local swimming group that swims in the ocean three times a week. And so I now swim a kilometre in the sea three times a week and I love it. Who would have thought? Not me. But now if I don’t go, I miss it terribly.

Secondly, find a form of exercise that suits your personality type. Stephanie Stokes Oliver in ‘Seven Soulful Secrets’ suggests as examples:

  • fitness classes, team sport and one-on-one games for social types
  • walking, running, cycling, skating, swimming, skiing and weight training as solitary pursuits
  • rock-climbing or training for a marathon if you like adventure or challenging yourself.

This is so true! Swimming is the perfect exercise for introverts; you can still swim with a group or have coffee afterwards for the social side. But it’s head down and in your own world when you are swimming and that’s perfect for me. Find the exercise secret superpowers for your personality type or personal needs and this will be great motivation.

sea swimming

This year’s planner of choice

I don’t know about you but the planner I choose to accompany me through the year is always a big decision. Whilst we might have our digital calendars, many of choose to have a planner to help us with the big picture planning and the day to day work in bringing it to fruition. This is where we are really working creatively and manifesting energies to make the most of the year.

Lately, I seem to be changing my planners depending on my focus for the year. This year I have chosen to work with Nicole Cody’s ‘The Year of M.E. Planner‘ with M.E. standing for ‘Manifesting Energies’. As Nicole says of her planner:

The Year of ME Planner allows you to create your own map – to a life that is intuitive, intentional and purposeful. ME stands for Manifesting Energies, but it also stands for you. This is about YOU mindfully creating a life more aligned with your dreams.

This planner integrates intuitive practices such as crystals and tarot and oracle into its pages as well as month to month running sheets to capture actions. It’s only early February, but I think working with this intuitive planner will be one of the key secret superpowers for my year.

secret superpowers

Working with crystals

Working with crystals is a newer practice for me, something I’ve dabbled in but not worked on consistently. It turns out Nicole Cody is also a crystal farmer – so I signed up for her crystal pack aligned with ‘The Year of Me’. This means I have a set of beautifully prepared and aligned crystals for working with this year’s energies. Each month, there are two crystals aligned to the energies of the month so it’s an opportunity to learn about crystals in practice as well as to integrate them into the year’s planning and intention setting.

This month’s crystals, for example, are Banded Agate and Sunstone. ‘The Year of Me Planner’ explains that:

Banded Agate creates a sense of safety, peace and belonging. It also helps to anchor change. Sunstone helps us to sit in a place of abundance thinking so that we can see blessings and possibilities in our life.

Working with these crystals in an integrated way has a sense of working with secret superpowers that I am still learning. I’ve always loved the solidity of rocks and geology and so it’s fascinating to connect with this grounded and spiritual energy at a time of change this year.

secret superpowers

So that’s part 3 of how I plan to manifest energy, joy and intention this year. I look forward to learning about what these secret superpowers have to teach me as part of my toolkit and plan to manifest energy in 2018. Along with coaching, writing, personality, tarot and many other practical resources, I feel ready for making the most of this year’s potential!

How about you?

I’d love to hear about your secret superpowers and supports for how you plan to manifest energy in 2018! Share your tips and plans in the comments or via social media.

Keep in touch & free ebook on the ’36 Books that Shaped my Story’

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You might also enjoy:

How I plan to manifest energy, joy and intention to make the most of this year

Creative practices in my toolkit to make this most of this year’s energies

Practical tools to increase writing productivity

20 practical ways of showing up and being brave (and helpful)

Intuition, writing and work – eight ways intuition can guide your creativity

Images by me except for:

Feature image of me by the fabulous Lauren at Sol + Co

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