There’s lots to be celebrating as we reach 300 episodes on the ‘Get it Right with Undercover Architect’ podcast. 

And so, in Episode 300 I share the latest updates from UA HQ.

Listen to the episode now.

Hello! This is Episode 300, and I have a lot to celebrate. So, in this episode, I’ll be catching you up on what’s been going on at UA HQ.

We’re taking a small break in our series on the National Construction Code updates so I can celebrate reaching this milestone of 300 episodes with you, and bring you up to speed on some of the latest news in Undercover Architect and for me personally.

I can’t promise that it’ll be a logical flow of conversation, or much about building or renovating. There’s a bunch of things I want to chat with you about – so let’s see how it goes!

Now, let’s dive in!

At the time of recording this episode, it’s late November 2023. 

This is the time of year that I start reviewing how the year’s been and we’ll be doing next year. But it’s not always been that way – to start in November. I’ll explain more about that in a minute.

Planning in a business is always super interesting. I’ve got friends in online businesses who lock themselves away in a room for a few days, or take themselves off to a holiday location on their own, to do big business planning sessions. They make a whole structured activity out of it, that they repeat each year. Some do specific workshops or exercises, or have specific methods they use.

In the 9 years I’ve been running Undercover Architect, I’ve never really planned like that. I find instead that I do it snatches, in between everything else in life and business, developing ideas more organically, seeding thoughts about things, gathering data, reviewing ideas and then thinking about how things could be implemented. 

And I also like working with a big calendar of the next year to map out how things might roll out as well, shaped around kids’ school holidays and anything else we are factoring in as a family.

My process is definitely a slower one that I find requires more calendar months to accomplish, and as I said, I’ve previously not always started in November. In years past I’ve left it until I was through Chrissy and the New Year, often finding I needed to get through all of that stuff to access the brain space and bandwidth to dedicate attention to it.

However, things changed for me a couple of years ago, when in 2021, when, after a super hectic lead up to Christmas that meant a few things fell through the cracks, I decided to schedule an email to myself to arrive on my next birthday, the 26th of October in 2023. 

In it, I wrote a message to my future self with a list of what had and hadn’t gone well in the lead up to Christmas and a warning to get planning earlier. 

I promptly forgot about it until the email arrived on my birthday. It was great to read it, and take action on some of the things in it, and I was able to be a bit better prepared last Christmas. 

So, I did it again this year. And that email arrived a few weeks ago, on my birthday. This time, I’d remembered the email was on its way, and the simple act of having that thought had me approaching this time of year slightly differently to previous years.

The email to your future self is a great device actually. I’m thinking I should do it more often as a quarterly check in. You can schedule to send the email in most email settings. 

I find we say we want to do all these things, but can let time slip past and get distracted with things that aren’t in alignment with the things we say are our priorities. And that email, or other ways you might have to check in with your future self, are a great way to remind yourself and get back on track.

Tune in to hear me talk more about this, plus loads more as I share A LOT about what’s been going on personally and professionally … and what’s ahead for Undercover Architect as well.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE NOW.

RESOURCES:

Utzon departs Opera House >>> https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/our-story/utzon-departs-the-house

Tim Minchin “Play it Safe” 50th Anniversary Sydney Opera House >>>

Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my flagship online program, HOME METHOD >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/

Learn more about how to interview and select the right builder with the Choose Your Builder mini-course >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/choose-your-builder

Access my free online workshop “Your Project Plan” >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/projectplan