It doesn’t take much to distract me these days.  *ping*…another message on WhatsApp. *bleep* another request from a child on messenger. *ding ding* another notification on one of my bazillion Viber groups.

The world we live in is uber connected and increasingly noisy and demanding of our attention. Whether it’s your phone, your iPad, your laptop, your watch, your wallet, there’s almost always something pinging away pulling your attention from whatever it is you’re trying to do. My world has become SO much noisier since the pandemic forced us all online for everything, and even more so since I moved to Manila.

On the one hand there is so much inefficiency and old fashioned administration here. Paperwork in triplicate signed by 75 people for the simplest things, long lines and manual processes for the smallest of tasks, and receipts a foot long for everything.  Everyone gets a job which means it could take 3 people to help you purchase a bottle of water: one to zap the barcode on the bottle, one to bag the bottle and attach the receipt, and one to check the receipt.  But on the other hand, you can order and pay for a customised cake via a bakery 10 kilometres away and have it arrive on the back of a motorbike with a bunch of flowers from a florist 5 km away, all via one app, in a matter of hours.  EVERYTHING is done via Viber or WhatsApp. Shopping, school parent groups, medical appointments, social catchups, embassy groups, emergency alerts, driver comms, the list goes on.  And the Filipinos are one of the biggest TikTokking nations in the world and are obsessed with photographing and IGing everything. This country operates entirely on the phone and wifi network. Noone, not even the very poor, is without a phone. In fact I’ve witnessed first hand some communities where food is almost a luxury, and yet there is always a mobile that is connected.

So what that means is that our brains and nervous systems are always on. I feel constantly wired if I’m honest. There is little room for true downtime. Little time for simple creativity. And it’s not as easy as simply ‘turning it off’. Because this is the world I operate within and the one in which I have responsibilities and the one in which I must be contactable.

I wonder, do you feel the same?

So in order to counteract the ‘always on’ and lack of creative space I’m feeling,  I’ve said YES to joining the Ultimate Girls Week Away facilitation team. I need to physically remove myself from this daily existence so that I can not only do something I love (share my expertise around writing with guests), but also give myself some much needed time out.  Having already been to UGWA 2020 in Fiji I know first hand how wonderfully recharged you can feel when you immerse yourself in the right location, with the right people, and just let go of your norm.

I’m looking forward to writing a lot when I’m away. I’m looking forward to switching off the beeps and dings and pings when I’m in Cairns. And I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences and writing know-how with those who attend. If it’s good for me it’s good for my clients (and good for my family). That’s something I know for sure.

Tasking time out to write – whether for yourself or your business – is a wonderful way to decompress, create and realise the fullness of your expertise and feelings.

Comment below if you’re keen to know more, otherwise message me privately or simply check out the website https://www.ultimategirlsweekaway.com/ugwa-welcome-home