It’s so good to complete a task, isn’t it? To finally tick something off a to-do list. I have a habit of starting jobs, getting bored with them, and leave the finishing for someone else! It’s an annoying habit that means my lovely husband, Sean, will find me doing some DIY job and then leaving it once the ‘fun’ bit is done! He then has to tidy up the mess I’ve left! I think I’ve gotten better over the years but I’m sure in spite of his patience this has got to be irritating!

Things changed when we had kids. The to-do list was never likely to be finished however hard I tried, Sean couldn’t finish what I didn’t manage to do because there was always something else. Part of the reason I learnt to cook was so that at the end of each day I could say Ta-da! I achieved something! There might be toys all over the house, a washing pile the size of Mount Everest, or children in varying degrees of messiness, but there was food on the table and it was going to taste good! 

When cooking dinner started to get a bit mundane and no amount of new recipes could quench that feeling of needing to achieve something. I started to write. I quietly bought an A4-lined notebook and started. It felt great to write a number ‘1’ in the top right and corner and then as I finished each page to write the next number. I used to write while dinner was cooking. Wooden spoon in one hand and pen in the other! Gradually the pages built up and still, I didn’t tell anyone. I wrote and wrote and wrote. I didn’t want to tell anyone in case it turned into a fad that I lost interest in. There had been a few of those! Like the time I wanted to learn piano, or decided to sell Mary Kay makeup (despite the fact I didn’t use much, also I didn’t like selling to my friends as I would tell them to buy it somewhere else cheaper!).

Eventually, though I admitted to a few close friends what I was doing and told them the concept. They were super encouraging and helped me with names and ideas. My friend Kerry (she’s super amazing by the way!), read sections for me. It took me about two years of quietly plugging away but I finally finished! Seems a shame that story is now in my drawer waiting for me to fall in love with it again and rework it with all that I’ve learnt since!

I hope this inspires you to realise no matter how busy you are you can find time to pursue the things you love.