Mid-year rear view

Early January, armed with the wise words of Leo Babauta and Gretchen Rubin, I devised a plan for 2019.

I set my intention, this year, on the idea of Balance and I planned actionable items, divided into 12 categories from Vitality & Health to Business & Work, or Art & Leisure. Finally, I chose 19 of theses items to put on my 19 for 19 list. As August begins, marking the mid point of France’s summer, I thought it was a good time to sit down and see where I am with all that. Hence the “mid-year, rear view”.

Will 19 for 19 happen?

Let see, here’s the list and here’s where I stand:

Schedule health checkups I have a clean bill of health ????. One more appointment to go, in December, to finish getting rid of these burgeoning varicose veins (yep, the joys of getting older)

Schedule a hair appointment every other month So far, so good. Still hoping to muster the courage to get those dark blue highlights though…

Ask someone out on a date Not sure yet I’ll be able to accomplish this one. And that might be a good thing actually. As it turns out, the few dates I went on this year were ones where I was asked out. And, for a few months now, I have been spending a lot of time with a special someone. There might not be a need for this item, but I’ll keep it on the list, just in case.

✅ Take Matteo to London Check! We had a lovely aunt-nephew time. And I got my yearly share of Harry Potter, Avengers and co.

Host a dinner party This is nowhere to be close to happening… but don’t give up on me. One never knows…

Watch a classic movie once a month I made a list of 12 classic movies I wanted to watch or re-watch this year… and so far I checked five. Turns out there are a lot more new things I want to see. And time is limited.

Visit at least one new country Although I checked a new US state on my list, I didn’t yet get to check a new country. However, the plan is in motion with a month long trip coming up that will take me to New Zealand and Myanmar.

Find 12 items to donate Almost done with this one. I have donated 10 things so far, from a variety of tableware to a Nespresso machine that I did not want to use anymore. I’m actually loving getting rid of the clutter. And, of course, I’m already wondering what other type of clutter I will be replacing it with…

Host a Kameleon Collective meetup While I’ve been slowly building my little community of kameleons, I have not yet found the time and energy to bring it to “real life” with a meetup. To be continued…

Take a Masterclass on Creative Live Nope. Not yet. But I completed the Purpose & Profit course with TheHappyStartUpSchool, and that was a blast!

Read at least 12 books I read six so far (if you want to read my review of Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, it’s right here), so I guess I’m on my way to maybe succeeding with this item.

Increase my short-term emergency fund by 25% This was going pretty great… until I splurged on a two-weeks visit of Myanmar… ????????‍♀️

✅ Make a 2018 photo book Done! And I found the exercise so fun and rewarding that I might do it again next year!

Do a new hike Not sure I can count mountain-biking around Eklutna Lake in Alaska as a hike… but it was a lot of fun!

✅ Create the Kameleon Collective workshop Once a month, the Kameleon Collective members can gather on a Zoom call and chat about a freelance/slasher/nomad-related theme. If you want to join us, it’s right here (conversations are in French).

Take a non-digital new class Not that I’m lacking inspiration (DIY, cooking, photography, bass playing,…?) but I have not found the right moment and place yet.

⚠️ Do the 24-hour Project again This was kind of a fail. A half-fail. I started alright, but 6 hours in my body gave up on me and I spent the rest of the weekend in bed with high fever. So disappointed…

✅ Try a dance class Check! I joined a Blues workshop three time since the beginning of the year. They happen every few month, on a Sunday afternoon, and they’re a lot of fun. And that music…

Write a minimum of 5,000 words on NaNoWriMo November, we’ll see what happens…

Well, that’s four out of 19… but several are on the way. With this mid-year rear view, I can see that by setting intentions, I happen to accomplish things when I set my mind to it.

How is the Balance going?

Balance has been on my mind, on many levels.

Balance in the way I take care of myself, putting more focus on the way I eat and observing the effects of a clean diet on my energy levels and mental health.

Balance in my relationships with others, spending true quality time with several family members and friends. Meeting Francesco brought a whole new level of balance in my life, and I can’t be more grateful for that emotional stability.

Balance in the way I conduct business. RDE Marketing has never been so successful. With a team of four amazing ladies on my side, the agency is becoming a true collective of talents and we’re taking on new exciting projects left and right. I also finally found the right balance between all my professional hats. I have yet to formalise that on several levels but I now know where I’m going. And that’s priceless.

All in all, the mid-year review is pretty positive and leaves room for many new accomplishments in the months to come. Now off I go!

Photo by Thom Holmes