April 2025
The Vibe
The start of a new quarter, so I did do a bit of a review on my OKRs, something new for me in 2025. I was a bit inspired by Ben and finally having developed some goals last year I figured let's add another layer of structure to this. My feedback to myself is that I have too many things happening, and have simply planned too much. Rule of One came into my feed when I was going through this process, and it feels pretty on par with where I am at, but I am struggling to really focus on the "One Thing". There is simply so much going on and I've been caught up in it all.
I had a good 10 day break due with Easter and ANZAC day falling in the same week making it simple to take a couple of days off to get a decent break. There were a couple of days at home, mostly in somewhat of a recovery mode, and then Ms A and I hit the road for an epic Easter Road Trip.
This time away was really about people and connections. We spent time with family just hanging out – in a lot of ways, just imprinting on each other and building that initial connection. Two of my cousins had babies we'd not seen, so we got to hang out with the fresh batch of family, which felt great.
Being away from work and worries was also just a plain relief. As the month went on, I felt less and less engaged with the work, and were it not for the people around me, it would be maddening. This post, Experience Doesn't Stack, from Joan Westenburg, hit the nail on the head for what April felt like. Trying to provide input into projects based on 5 years of experience living and breathing the thing, only to be told that I was wrong and hadn't really considered things, felt pretty bad. The break gave me some time to process this and come to the other side, where there is no point in investing effort into anything other than the task at hand. There is a lot of mismanagement due to no responsibility or accountability being in place, and a lack of leadership, or the ability or opportunity to lead, is telling in the kinds of decision-making going on. I don't want to be caught up in all of that anymore, so won't be sticking my head up into that space any more.
This month I got the finishing touches done to our business plan, worked on a name and some branding ideas – which I don't hate, which at this point in time is enough! I'm working on a couple of projects in an attempt to archive the work of my team and myself, something that can survive long-term. I'm building that in 11ty and trying out a few things in terms of add in some CMS capabilities via Tina.
I'll share all of that work in the future.
Events
The road trip was the big event for the month. It was pretty low key, but it was good to spend time with my daughter like that.
Photos
Favourite moments from the month.
Watched
I went back and rewatched Andor S01 in preparation for S02 – it really is the best Star Wars thing to have come out that stands on it's own. I've been getting through Bosch: Legacy, which I enjoy. As a family we watched The Bourne Identity which was a blast from the past. The Super Rugby season is in full swing so that's a lot of my watching time - I will watch every game of the weeked (some just the highlights) - but I love the game. This season has been great – not the same divide between Aussie and Kiwi teams as previously.
Listened
A LOT of podcasts!
- The Good Whale
- Things Fell Apart
- Split Screen - Thrill Seekers
- Weird Little Guys