Right - so 11 days into the new year and I finally have somethings I want to jot down.
Firstly, my goals have changed. I've spent the past two years really solidly working on my business - slowly but steadily. I was not getting a ton of orders but there were peaks and I was really enjoying it. I like spending time on my own in the kitchen and just tuning the world out while I bake. It was great especially when you're given a task that you haven't done before and in the end, you manage to do it. Really fulfilling.
In the last year months, and even more closely, this past weekend, I've also realised that I try to do too much at the expense of other things. I've spent around 30 hours this weekend (not kidding) in the kitchen for cakes and prepping for a wedding. It's exhausting. Even now, I've taken a day off whilst it is 30 degrees outside and smoldering in the kitchen. I've hidden away to the darkness that is my bedroom, shades down and looking for some quiet comfort.
I'm moving to Tokyo in a few weeks and I am really looking forward to it. The end game to this step is a promotion and to focus on my career goals. With that comes even more time away from baking. It's not a hard equation: would I throw away my (pretty) stable career for one that's just budding, waiting by my laptop or phone for a new order to come in? Not likely. Not in this decade...
So as I was baking my nth tray of macarons in the evening last night, I sort of wondered if I'd be willing to come back to all this: giving up weekends at a time. I know I don't do it for the money for there's no money to be made really on this lower end of the scale. It's more the enjoyment and giving happiness to others. Maybe I will cut back? Or maybe I will rethink my strategy? What will I turn down? What is easy and achievable?
I look at what I wanted to do in 2015 - more cake classes and things related to baking. But even wanting to do that, I didn't find the time. It's almost like saying to those acquaintances, border line friends yes we'll catch up, let's do it. And you never do. And in all honesty, you probably never will.
2016 is easy: career goals + savings + travel + seeing my friends in other parts of the world.
Here's to a new year.
Firstly, my goals have changed. I've spent the past two years really solidly working on my business - slowly but steadily. I was not getting a ton of orders but there were peaks and I was really enjoying it. I like spending time on my own in the kitchen and just tuning the world out while I bake. It was great especially when you're given a task that you haven't done before and in the end, you manage to do it. Really fulfilling.
In the last year months, and even more closely, this past weekend, I've also realised that I try to do too much at the expense of other things. I've spent around 30 hours this weekend (not kidding) in the kitchen for cakes and prepping for a wedding. It's exhausting. Even now, I've taken a day off whilst it is 30 degrees outside and smoldering in the kitchen. I've hidden away to the darkness that is my bedroom, shades down and looking for some quiet comfort.
I'm moving to Tokyo in a few weeks and I am really looking forward to it. The end game to this step is a promotion and to focus on my career goals. With that comes even more time away from baking. It's not a hard equation: would I throw away my (pretty) stable career for one that's just budding, waiting by my laptop or phone for a new order to come in? Not likely. Not in this decade...
So as I was baking my nth tray of macarons in the evening last night, I sort of wondered if I'd be willing to come back to all this: giving up weekends at a time. I know I don't do it for the money for there's no money to be made really on this lower end of the scale. It's more the enjoyment and giving happiness to others. Maybe I will cut back? Or maybe I will rethink my strategy? What will I turn down? What is easy and achievable?
I look at what I wanted to do in 2015 - more cake classes and things related to baking. But even wanting to do that, I didn't find the time. It's almost like saying to those acquaintances, border line friends yes we'll catch up, let's do it. And you never do. And in all honesty, you probably never will.
2016 is easy: career goals + savings + travel + seeing my friends in other parts of the world.
Here's to a new year.
