My experiments in creativity & self-reflection
— a timeline —

Jan 19/05 — 1st goal setting session
This was my friend's idea and I thought it would be a fun thing to do. I didn't realize it would become one of my life-changing practices.

Aug 1/05— 1st blog post
This was a test post — the title was "test" and the copy was also "test." I'm sure no one saw the post. But I felt so self-conscious and fearful that I didn't post again until three years later.

Jun 18/08 — 1st memoir
When I decided to do my MBA, my friend recommended a course called Strategic Career Management. Along with completing many personality indicators and self-assessments, I also had to write an "abbreviated personal history or life story."

Feb 18/09 — 1st Etsy sale
I opened a little Etsy shop to sell handmade costume jewellery. It was so exciting to get my first sale! Ultimately, it was too expensive to ship the products so i decided to close my shop.

Nov 9/09 — 1st domain name
This domain name was for my photography business. I spent many late nights editing photos and designing my website. all these skills came in handy with my subsequent creative forays.

Nov 4/11 — 1st YouTube video
This was a thrift haul. Ahh i was so awkward and adorable. I've since privated the video but it's still on YouTube and i will never delete it.

Jan 1/12 — 1st goals video
I thought it would be fun to start sharing my goals on YouTube. I hadn’t gotten the hang of setting goals to change my life in meaningful ways, but this was when I started a fun goal — taking a photo a day of hubby and me!

Nov 15/14 — vision document
I read the life-changing magic of tidying up for the first time. I typed out a vision document describing my ideal life and why I wanted to live that way.

Jan 1/15 — more intentional goals
If I had to pinpoint when I started getting the hang of using my annual goals to change my life, it would be here — ten years after my first goal setting session with my friend. This was the year I started waking up earlier and eating without distractions.

Nov 1/16 — 1st EAH challenge
This was the first time I did the eat-at-home challenge. We were going to restaurants so frequently that I wanted to interrupt the pattern. It felt good to get back into cooking! I enjoyed this challenge so much that it became a recurring annual practice.

Jan 1/17 — 1st gratitude journal
It took me a while to get used to keeping a daily gratitude journal. I was skeptical during most of the year and I wasn’t sure I was even doing it properly. But at some point, it started changing my mindset. I became truly grateful.

Mar 1/17 — 1st meditation session
Meditation was never something I was too interested in, but I was so stressed and unhappy about work that I decided to try it for a month. I noticed a few benefits but didn’t continue with the practice.

May 15/17 — intermittent fasting
I started experimenting with intermittent fasting during my Invisalign treatment. It was a hassle to brush my teeth at work so I decided to try skipping lunch. I noticed improvements to my energy, focus, and productivity.

Jun 26/18 — resignation letter
This was the day I quit my full-time job. I made the decision when we were in Iceland over my 40th birthday, and it took me a month to summon up the courage to submit my resignation letter.

Aug 18/18 — wish for myself
May i learn to love myself fully so i can in turn love others.

Aug 31/18 — last day of work
This was technically my last day at my full-time job but I had the day off (summer hours!). So perhaps this was my first day as a creative explorer. :)

Oct 27/18 — book ideas
I started a Word document to keep track of my book ideas. I knew early on that I would likely write a self-help book, but my attention was scattered and I couldn’t focus on any one topic. It was another two years before I came up with the structure for my book.

Dec 5/18 — silent meditation
This was the first day of the 10-day vipassana silent meditation course... one of the most intense, interesting, and transcendent experiences of my life.

Jan 1/19 — 1st annual theme
I decided to start setting annual themes alongside my goals. Spoiler alert: This was a game changer! My first theme was, “You have everything you need.”

Jan 3/19 — Authenblissity

I started ideating new names for my YouTube channel on January 3rd and it took me a few days to land on Authenblissity. But as soon as i thought of it, I just knew, and I told my friend over dinner on January 10th. (Fun fact: A couple of my other ideas were authenglittery and authensparkly!)

Feb 18/19 — tidying challenge
This was the first day of my 30-days-to-spring tidying challenge, based on the KonMari method. It was an exhausting and emotional journey. It was also truly life-changing.

Apr 1/19 — The 5 a.m. Club
I read The 5 a.m. Club by Robin Sharma and tried waking up at 5 a.m. every day for a month. I found it challenging. But even though I didn't manage to wake up at 5 a.m. every day, I started loving early mornings and being up before dawn.

Apr 24/19 — 1st writing workshop
I joined a free 5-week memoir writing workshop at the Toronto Public Library, where i read my stories out loud for the first time. Thank goodness the workshop was run by Firefly Creative Writing. The gentle, heart-based feedback was exactly what I needed to keep writing.

Dec 24/19 — 1st freewriting session
This was my first morning pages session. I tried this because I wanted to dip my toe into the program, The Artist’s Way. I noticed some immediate benefits and morning pages have become one of my favourite daily self-care practices.

Jan 1/20 — believe in yourself
My first annual theme worked out so well that I decided to continue with the practice. My theme this year was, “Believe in yourself.”

May 20/20 — website launch
My authenblissity website went live! This was such a passion project and it gave me a way to integrate my many interests. I started to feel less fragmented and more focused.

Jun 1/20 — The Artist's Way
This was the day i started The Artist’s Way in a bullet journal. This 12-week self-study program by Julia Cameron did wonders for my relationship with my creativity. By the end of the program, I had decided I would try to write a book.

Aug 29/20 — 1st relationship check-in
Hubby and i had our first relationship check-in. It was awkward and uncomfortable, but we continued checking in with each other every month. This practice helped so much with our communication.

Sep 25/20 — book outline
I started and finished my book outline during Push Week — a weeklong program with Firefly Creative Writing. I ended up changing most of this over the next several years, but this was such a good start. I felt very motivated after this program.

Oct 1/20 — moon planning
My very first moon planning session! This has become another one of my favourite self-reflection practices. Moon planning happens on every new moon and full moon.

Jan 1/21 — listen deeply
My annual theme for the year! I wanted to practice listening deeply to myself and the people in my life. This was also the day I started developing and testing self-reflection exercises for my book.

Jun 29/21 — 1st therapy session
My first therapy session was long overdue but it was worth the wait. I only see my therapist two or three times a year, but our sessions have helped me figure out and process a lot of patterns in my life.

Jan 1/22 — let it go
This was my annual theme for the year. I also started recording weekly book progress updates to try to release my fear around talking about my book.

Jan 5/22 — Deeper Waters

I took a 12-week writing workshop with Firefly Creative Writing and it was equal parts terrifying and amazing. This was when i started writing the personal stories that are included at the beginning of each chapter in my book.

Apr 10/22 — no news experiment

I quit the news for a week. I noticed improvements in my mental and emotional health, as well as with my creativity. So i decided to continue with the experiment indefinitely.

Jan 1/23 — be your own best friend
My annual theme for the year. I’ve made so much progress when it comes to self-compassion and self-love.