"I had plans to be consistent."

If you’ve said this lately while staring at a half-finished project, a dusty pair of gym shoes, or a goal you abandoned three weeks ago, this episode is your guilt-free pass.

In our house, there’s a running joke: it doesn't matter if you just walked back from the restaurant restroom or returned from a month-long trip, the minute you walk through the door, someone chants, "Guess who’s back... back again." Well, after a bit of a quiet spell, the mic is my pair of dusty running shoes—and I am back again.

But this isn't a meh "here's what I've been up to" update. Today, we’re doing a heavy dose of Life Translation on the toxic hustle culture myth of "bouncing back better than ever." The truth? Real life doesn't bounce; it stumbles, it pauses, and sometimes, the pause is the most profitable thing you can do. We’re breaking down the mental paralysis of the restart and giving you a practical, 3-step checklist to get your momentum back without pulling a mental muscle.

What we’re translating today:

• The "Bounce Back" Myth: Why social media’s version of a comeback is completely garbage.

• The Profitable Pause: Why being too busy living your life and scaling your business to post about it is actually a massive win.

• The Marathon Trap: How our brains build a mountain out of a molehill when we try to restart.

• The 3-Step Restart Checklist: How to lower the bar, forgive the gap, and let action create motivation.

Stop apologizing for taking a breath. Shake the dust off your goals, put the shoes on, and let's get moving.

If you stumbled across this on your browser today, hit that follow button! Then, head over to my socials and send me a DM: What is the one goal you’ve been avoiding restarting because you're dreading the 'first day back' feeling? Did you take a recent pause that was 100% worth it? Let's hold each other accountable.

👉 WAS YOUR DIGITAL HOUSE A MESS BEFORE THE PAUSE?If your workflow and software are constantly hijacking your day, fix your tools before you reboot your goals. Catch up on our pre-pause Tech Translation session here: Listen to Episode #30: The Cloud is Just Someone Else’s Computer

Let's Connect!

"I’m just not a presentation person."

If you’ve said this lately, I have a secret for you: You don’t have a capability problem. You have a frame problem.

What we’re translating today:

• The Grooming Premium: The cold, hard statistics on why effort (not DNA) drives competence perception.

• The Messy Bun Disruption: Why people get genuinely awkward when you upgrade your look and take control of your environment.

• Your Background is Your Outfit: How fighting your physical environment drains your professional energy.

• The 5-Minute Fix: Simple, no-fluff ways to change the frame so people actually listen to your expertise.

👉 RECENTLY OBLITERATED SOME TECH JARGON?If your plans are constantly getting derailed by the tools you use, you need to fix your digital house, too. Catch up on our last Tech Translation session here: Listen to Episode #30: The Cloud is Just Someone Else’s Computer: SaaS Explained Simply

Let's Connect!

If you are listening to this on your browser right now, hit that follow button! Then, head over to my socials and send me a message: Have you noticed people treating you differently just because you put a 5-minute effort into your appearance or background? Are you team messy bun or team lipstick? Let's talk about it.

"I’m just not a tech person."

If you’ve said this lately, I have a secret for you: You don’t have a tech problem. You have a jargon problem.

In this episode of I Had Plans, I'm pulling back the curtain on the words the industry uses to make you feel like a guest in your own office.

I'm doing a Tech Translation on the "Big Two" that run our lives: The Cloud and SaaS.

What we’re translating today:

• The Cloud: Why your files aren’t in the sky (they’re in a warehouse in a desert).

• SaaS: The "Sass" behind your monthly subscriptions like Xero, Netflix, and Gmail.

• The DVD Era vs. Now: Why we traded control for convenience.

• Quick Tips: Practical steps to make sure you—not the software landlord—always own your data.

Stop blaming your brain and start mastering the tools. It’s time to move from "tech-confused" to "tech-confident."

"The system just doesn’t do that."

It’s the most common phrase heard in change management, and it’s almost always a lie. But it’s not a malicious lie - it’s a survival tactic.

In this episode, we peel back the corporate curtain to look at the "Human Comedy" of digital transformation. I’m sharing a story from the front lines of a recent project where I walked in as the "contractor invader" to digitise a messy, manual world.

We dive into:

Whether you're a leader trying to implement a new SaaS platform or an admin wondering why your weekends are disappearing into manual data entry, this episode is a deep dive into the 90% of change management that has nothing to do with code and everything to do with the human soul.

Stop building the whole city. Just open the front door!You had plans for a masterpiece—the perfect 10-page website, the 40-video masterclass, the fully-loaded business ecosystem. But while you’re decorating a site that isn't live, your competitors are making sales on a "messy" one.

In this episode, I’m breaking down why "Just Launch It" is the only strategy that matters. Stop hiding behind your WordPress settings and start building your foundation.

I break down 3 practical examples of how to strip your project back to a functional MVP today. Wondering if you are paying for premium tools—like WordPress, Divi, or an LMS—that you are not utilising properly because you lack the foundations? Let's find out. Follow for more no-fluff systems that actually move the needle.

Most small biz CEOs find me on LinkedIn because they have a gut feeling their business should be running faster. They had plans for a scalable digital system, but they’ve ended up with an expensive digital filing cabinet.

In this episode, I share a story from the front lines that left me gobsmacked—watching a team use a premium LMS plan to perform a 1990s manual workflow.

Whether you’re using an LMS, WordPress, or a project management system you might be paying an "Manual Tax" for your team to stay in their comfort zone.

I’m sharing a 60-second "Trust Test" you can use on Monday morning to see if your team is trapped in a manual cycle that’s bleeding your profit dry.

If you suspect your team is trapped in a manual cycle, don't guess. Let’s find out exactly where the 'Manual Tax' is hiding in your business. Reach out on LinkedIn and let’s get your plans back on track.

There’s a version of being “easy” that people don’t talk about enough.

It looks like being kind.It looks like being respectful.It looks like staying in your lane.

You don’t interrupt.You don’t challenge.You don’t say the thing that might make someone uncomfortable.

And on the surface… that sounds like a good thing.

But it’s also the easiest way to never be wrong.

Because you don’t speak up.You don’t make decisions.You don’t take the lead.You don’t take risks unless there’s something clearly in it for you.

You stay out of it.You stay out of sight.You stay safe.

And for a while… that works.

Until it doesn’t.

Because there’s a cost.

Without risk, there is no growth.Without decisions, there is no change.Without an opinion, nothing gets explored.

Q1 is done. Not your goals — your actual work.

What you repeated.
What slowed you down.
What you avoided.

That’s your data.

In this episode, I’m not going through “lessons learned” or resets.
This is about using what actually happened in Q1 to make better decisions for the rest of the year.

Tools, systems, and small shifts that remove friction — not motivation.

Most people have never heard of the LMS industry – even though millions of people use learning platforms every day.

In this episode, I explain what LMS work actually looks like. From platform setup and migrations to troubleshooting and automation, I share the different roles inside this industry and why I often encourage people to consider it as a career.

I also talk about something new I’m trying – co-working body-doubling sessions where you can see what LMS work looks like in real time while we work together online.

If you’ve ever wondered what an LMS consultant actually does, this episode is for you.

In this episode I talk about:

• what an LMS (learning management system) actually is

• the different roles in LMS work – admin, consultant, developer

• why many people in the industry are self-taught

• the types of projects LMS consultants work on

• why I surprisingly love LMS migration projects

• how body-doubling co-working sessions could help people learn about the industry

This International Women’s Day, I’m sharing the story behind a simple mantra that’s shaped my career: you don’t know if you don’t try.

No perfect plan. No clear roadmap. Just curiosity, long nights, and the willingness to experiment. From working from home before it was mainstream to trying every opportunity, this episode is about how persistence, learning, and taking chances can create your own path—even when the answers aren’t clear.

If you’ve ever had big plans, felt uncertain, or struggled to balance life and ambition, this episode shows you how trying—even without guarantees—can make it happen.