So here we are – it’s 2020. The start of a new year, the start of a new decade. I don’t know if it’s just me (maybe my age?), but doesn’t 2020 sound so futuristic? 2020 just sounds so unbelievably OUT THERE. Like, this is the year when we should have flying-feed-me-work-for-me cars…and yet Tesla still can’t drive me to the bar and back.
Anyhow, no point maligning about ifs and maybes, coz we are here now. And you know, we’re so blooming lucky to be here. Take a moment to reflect on the astounding possibilities it took for you to even exist!
So I’m here in 2020 (and very happy to be here, if I may say), and after a mammoth amount of time of NOT writing this blog, I’m here to explain why:
I’ve been having an affair.
Not the extra-marital-rumpy-pumpy-hot-and-sweaty-sordid stuff you’ve filled your mind with.
No.
I’ve been writing more books. TWO to be precise. And I’m feeling very proud of that fact as I’ve also had an awesome travelling year, plus I’ve been busy on the property front.
Property wise I’m in a very different shape to where I was this time last year. And that is all because I wrote Book Number One. Book Number One is a narrative non-fiction of my life in property. It was painful, joyous and life-changing. Having completed the manuscript, I had what may likely be referred to as a meltdown.
This meltdown made me question MY ENTIRE LIFE.
Yes, it was that serious.
So I made some changes in my life on account of writing Book Number One. Book Number One is a great book, it’s a scary book – it’s a really insightful book into the life of somebody working full time in property. It’s Life The Other Side Of The Door. I’m just waiting for my agent to confirm a publisher and then I can share more – which I can’t wait to do!
Book Number Two is a very different book. It’s a fiction book, because I love making stuff up. I also love whodunits and guinea pigs. And I love sunshine. And that is why Book Number Two has all of those elements in it. I’d love to tell you more, but right now it’s with beta readers so…watch this space!
Anyway, going back to 2020 and New Year Resolutions and all that shebang, I said to myself: 2020 What Have You Got In Store For Me?
And I said back to myself (solo conversationalist that I am): 2020 is going to be a year of vision (read: vague objective). So I drilled down and decided more precisely: it will be a year of focusing on what matters to me. It will be a year of prioritizing what I love to do, and reducing the amount of stuff that stresses me out and sucks the time from my life.
For the first time in my 16 year property career, most of my properties are now under agency management.
It wasn’t a decision I took lightly:
a) because I used to have a letting agency and know how hard it is
b) because I think I do a pretty good job myself
But needs must.
If I’m going to prioritize, some things have got to give. I know I’m still a control freak when it comes to my tenants (my motto: happy tenants = happy landlord) and I’ve got several agents going over and above what a normal landlord would ask for/get/expect. However, as I say, I’m still learning this ‘let an agent take the strain business’.
It’s only been a short while, however I’ve already managed to gain some distance and can think clearer. I’ve got “altitude” (to quote Succession’s Kendall Roy).
And with this new found altitude, I’m aiming higher, or maybe differently? I’m aiming to let go and live. Now is the time for me to allow the agents to do their jobs with the properties and for me to live and write and do all the stuff that makes me happy. I know it’s still my neck on the line, but unless I start to step away, there’s really little point in me paying any of these agents their commission for me still doing their job.
So hello 2020. Here’s to letting go and living!
Wishing you all a dastardly, decadent and delightful decade! And I hope you too can make your dreams come true x
ps.
Agents please don’t contact me and try and poach my business.
pps.
My debut fiction book Eternal Forever is free if you’ve got Kindle Unlimited, if not, it’s just £1.99