Hello hello!

In case you haven’t heard, I’m having a baby! And for a multi-passionate modern woman it can seem like there are many, many little duckies to get in a row.

Here for Maternity pics? Click here for a few spur-of-the-moment snaps & my pregnancy diary.

The nesting wave hasn’t hit me yet, but I have been getting prepped for my new life in ways that will improve family and business. I’m sharing these in the hope that they may spark a few ideas for you, because, as you’ll see, most of this is just better living.

Batching

I’ve been doing content batching for blog and short-form posts to social media. I invested in Unum, but because I have a personal Instagram account, I can’t take advantage of the automated posting features. I still need to keep my account private for privacy reasons. I have a Word doc with 160 pages (not complete) of ideas and posts, some of which I’ve shared.

I’ve looked into foods I can batch cook together and freeze. When I decided to stop lazy takeaway days, I made a chicken casserole that was yummy enough to feel like a decadent can’t-be-stuffed meal. See the ‘Delegating’ section for how else I’ll be making this work.

Decluttering

I’ve been decluttering all my digital spaces. I’ve unsubscribed from intense marketing (see ‘How I Check My Emails’ under ‘Simplifying’ (it’s also batching).

I’ve unfollowed accounts that don’t make sense for me to follow. On my coaching page, I stopped following the music accounts I follow on my music page. It helps me distinguish between my audiences and remember who I’m writing to. A lot were spam or fake accounts anyway.

I’ve packed away clothes that aren’t cuddly or season-appropriate for the first 6 months of motherhood. Easy boob access was high priority.

Organising

Digging deep. My earliest creation was for a Be Your Own Coach course I made 7 years ago!

Aside from deleting old graphics and images, I’ve correctly labelled and categorised my Canva creations. That was I have obvious templates for cover art, favicons, book covers, etc. I love Canva for Business, although with enough batching and Photoshop knowledge, I may choose to downgrade in future.

Once a week I will get into all my desktop folders and put things in the most logical places, making copies and putting them in two different locations if I think I may forget where they live.

Pinning the right folders to Quick Access really helped too! It’s funny how I’ve always lived with the default until now.

Outsourcing

I’ve employed my sister to help organise baby clothes & things. Well, not employed, rather I babysit her girls while she makes sense of the many adorable outfits. In future, I’ll probably pay someone to do clothing rotations for me.

I haven’t got a cleaner YET! I think with hubby off work the first 6 weeks we should get everything done. Am I deluded?

It’s not part of the nesting phase, but I’m considering hiring someone to help with those areas of business that I enjoy doing but aren’t my ‘zone of genius’. I’m pretty fussy and have been disappointed with one-off jobs delivered on Fiverr, so would have a more rigorous interview process.

Empowering/Delegating

I’ve made hubby 3 recipe cards so far and taught him some cooking bits and pieces the last few weeks so that he can make our fave delicious meals that always have leftovers.

Upgrading

I could have put this in ‘Declunking’ but getting reverse-cycle aircon upstairs was absolutely worth it. The old split system was keeping us up and pretty useless (but thank you for your service) and now every room will help us be as comfy as possible. This isn’t just for my daughter, but for me. I want to love every room of the house every time of day, and this has helped me enjoy my home so much more.

Being Eyes-on

I’ve kept a closer eye on finances and I track them every few days. It’s probably a little compulsive, but in this nesting phase, I find it soothing. I know the ins and outs of my cashflow, projected expenses, when to ditch certain subscriptions, the best times for new offerings, etc.

With multiple music projects, coaching that shifts on a weekly basis, and midwife appointments, I have a ‘Detailed Everything Calendar’ (yep that’s what it’s called) that I look at and revises everyday. Even the lead-up to a song release has over 50 steps, and the larger steps all have their allocated days.

Simplifying/Optimising

I check my emails in a very particular way now. I wrote about it here. It involves a separate Google doc with multiple sections based on facets of my life. I collect insights, write down actions, then delete or archive.

This is my email before I’ve done the delete/unsubscribe process. But as you can see, I have my ‘Email Insights’ doc ready to go, in case I learn something new.

I am determined to find more ways of simplifying everything in my world. When I’m doing brave things and making quantum leaps, the other things don’t always fall away. I end up with more, and what I want is a feeling of less=more!

Beautifying

With a serendipitous acquiring of a new bookshelf, I am much happier with my office space. But the beautifying hasn’t properly kicked off. Whenever I eat a jar of Morello cherries, I save the jar for flowers that I plan to have everywhere once the place is tidier. Hubby has been building and fixing family computers, so much surface area has disappeared!

Asking for what I want

From baby snot-suckers to floor rugs, I’ve been asking for what I want, and it turns out that people are happy to help. Nesting is not the time to be coy with requests!

Investments

Before I use my child as an excuse to keep more emergency income, I invested another chunk into shares, and have set aside something to invest for her.
I would see getting a Roomba as a time investment, but hubby thinks it’s too extravagant! I guess he’s offering to vacuum? To be decided…
Maximising Comfort

I bought a cheap cuddly robe (despite owning a luxury Wheels & Dollbaby one that I dreamt of for years!) so that I never have the ‘I’m-too-cold-to-move’ excuse (cos I swear I’ll use it)! Baby will love nuzzling it too. Unfortunately my dog has also taken a liking to it.

Declunking

Speaking of darling doggo, we’ve organised to get a doggy door so that he can let himself out when my hands are full of baby and the backyard is full of mozzies!

Training Olly has been important too. Like he’s learning to jump on the bed for cuddles using a stool, instead of relying on me to scoop him up like a baby where the co-sleeper will be.

Gaining Momentum

Zoom writing with one of my producers in LA. This one is a Latin vibe.

I’ve started a few song projects so there will always be new music in the works. If I acquire a fan or two this next release, there will be more where that came from.

Especially through my breakthrough coaching discount VIP period, I’ve realised that it’s people who’ve worked with me before who have booked in. It’s a good reminder that the work I do today can help someone later.

Opening Portals

I honestly don’t know what I meant with this subheading. Is it because I’m creating more flow on my website or because I am active in reaching out to people who will improve my life? This happens in a brainstorm sometimes. Baby brain can’t be blamed for this one. I do know that we can’t receive without creating a pathway first and we can’t exponentially grow without aligned, though sometimes scary, action. I’ve done both this last month.

Safeguarding

I called council for the third time about getting a toppling and uprooting tree removed. I haven’t baby-proofed the house yet, but I sure don’t wanna risk further tree damage with bub around.
Dan and I switched sides of the bed cos I keep tripping over in the middle of the night when I need to pee. I am EXTREMELY clumsy right now!

Deferring

I have put in some paperwork to defer or extend a course I am doing, just to take some pressure off. I've learnt the parts that are most relevant to my current work and hurrying to finish it just wouldn’t make sense.
I’m also holding off using all my Audible credits, but the advertising for Vladimir made me crack! I’d like to see what I’m in the mood for as a new mother.

Automating

Dan and I tried Click and Collect grocery shopping, in case it makes life easier in the future. I order while I’m breastfeeding or barely conscious, he goes and picks it up. We’re not too keen on it for fresh produce cos you can’t pick your own. But otherwise it seems worth it.
It’s only been the last month that I’ve used email funnels with VIP clients. It’s still very conservative (only a few steps) cos most my emails are written from scratch and highly personalised. I will use this feature often if it creates more ease and less stress.

Reframing

The most important part of nesting for me is getting into the right frame of mind. I pick thoughts that suit me, like ‘I’m literally growing a human and don’t need to do anything else’ or sometimes ‘This baby is the magical gateway to everything I have been putting off’ or ‘I am so supported’ or ‘I’ve got this’. As I write this, I want to say ‘Life is only beginning’ because people tell me that so much will be ‘over’. I am ready and open to the unexpected. I am ready to discover how wonderful life can be and how strong I am and how much love I can feel.

I hope you can see by reading this that a baby is a bit of a rocket up the wahzoo and that so much of this is really about creating a lifestyle that brings comfort and ease. There is more to do, I know, but if these practices of fiercely protecting my energy and life live on, I may just be a better mother, friend, wife, coach, sister, daughter and songwriter.

Do any of these modern-woman nesting principles sound appealing to you? Are you doing these already because you are a highly-functioning adult?

Share your thoughts and remind me what normal nesting tasks I need to do!

Nesting for the Modern Woman