Posted: Tue 1 October, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2012/13, 2013/14, Creativity, Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Own Business, Work-related, Writing |
So here we are, the start of the final quarter of 2013. Where has the year gone? It’s been pretty busy, but hard to believe that we’re already three-quarters of the way through the year.
Anyway, such is life. Onwards and upwards, and all that rot.
The final quarter of my 2013 is going to be used preparing for 2014 – at least that’s the intention so far. Whether or not it happens in the way I hope, well, time will tell.
The main things I want to do are about preparation, about going into 2014 with some finished developments, stuff to build on/from, and see what happens. There’s likely to be a fair dollop of work being done, and it feels like the right time to be doing it.
Along with the new contract, which should take me through to the end of the year, I also want to :
- Form up a new limited company for some of the business stuff I’ve got in my head and…
- Write the primary framework for at least one of the ideas
- Write the primary business site to attract attention to the products
- Possibly attend a couple of related exhibitions and trade-shows, in order to drum up some more interest
- Also do some maintenance on stuff I’ve inherited (well, been asked to keep on working on) from Previous Employer
- Get on with some writing – there’s one idea in particular I want to work on
- Continue to work on the losing weight / gaining fitness thing
That’s the ideas, at least. It’s going to be a varied three months, I think, but that’s the basic framework…
Posted: Mon 16 September, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2012/13, Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Food, Getting Old(er), Health, Weigh Less |
So, as I wrote a week ago, I made some minor(ish) changes to lifestyle last Monday. Obviously it’s only a week in, but I thought I’d write a wee bit about what’s happened in that week. I’m trying to get back into routines and patterns on these things, so I know that a week is kind of short, but if I’ve done it for one, I can do it for more.
The changes were
- Cutting out bread completely
- Eating better while at work (i.e. no sandwiches, in particular)
- Walking/cycling more
And so far things have been OK, I’m pleased to say.
I’ve had no bread at all – although I’ve not cut out pasta or other wheaty products as such – and honestly I’ve felt no change, and seen no changes or results. I’m going to keep on with it for a while more though.
I’ve certainly eaten better at work, mainly through getting back to eating stuff I’ve made at home and taking that in, rather than paying for it on a daily basis. I do need to find a balance here still, because as a contractor, it’s better for tax purposes (don’t ask) to buy something each day.
Exercise has been the big one. I’ve been out on the bike five times, and covered fifteen miles, there being a rather nice little three-mile circuit from home that works well for me. My times have dropped noticeably already – I’m using the Strava app on the phone to track things – and we’ll see how it goes. My leg muscles in particular hurt like buggery on a couple of occasions, which isn’t surprising considering that the last time I was cycling properly was in 2005 when I worked at CrapCo. But I’ll get better, get fitter, get faster. That’s the plan, anyway.
More importantly though, I’m quite enjoying it at the moment. I’m hoping to get into the routine before the nights draw in and the weather gets worse, so that then I’ll have even fewer excuses for not going. I have missed a couple of days this week- one through vile weather, another through being busy doing other stuff – but I can live with a five-out-of-seven plan for the moment.
All told, it’s all looking fairly positive.
Posted: Sat 14 September, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2012/13, Bankruptcy, Business, Domestic, Own Business, Work-related |
So, as well as everything else, I’ve got a number of projects ongoing for which I’d now (I think) like to form a limited company again.
I know the company name is available, I already own the relevant domains etc. It’s just a question of whether I actually do go down the route of limited company – which has its own issues with paperwork, accounts etc. – or whether I just do it as a sole trader.
In general, I prefer the limited route, and I’m safe again to be a director now the Bankruptcy has discharged. But I need to decide which will work best, and how it will all combine to work. I know that with a Ltd. I can also use it for my contracting etc., although that tends to make the company very profitable very quickly. Might be a good thing, might not.
And of course some of it will also come down to whether any of the main banks will let me have a business bank account, what with only being a month out of Bankruptcy.
It makes more sense (kind of) to start on this kind of venture in January, start of a new year and all that. I need to think about all of these things for a while before making the decisions on where I’ll be heading. And that’s some of what this weekend will be about, I think.
Posted: Mon 9 September, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2012/13, Domestic, Health, Weigh Less |
This time last week I wrote about starting the final third of 2013, and what I wanted to be working on with that. Part of that project/phase is to be healthier, and ideally weigh less too.
Because of the change in working location, I’ve had to stop my membership of the gym in Luton, where I was working before. There’s no point in my having a gym that’s 30 minutes away in the wrong direction, and that thus I now wouldn’t be using at all.
I may sign up for a gym in Milton Keynes, as I’m there a lot more often, but I don’t know yet, and I don’t need to decide right now.
What I am doing right now is
- Cutting out bread for a while, to see what happens. I’ve never really done this before, so it’ll be interesting regardless.
- Related to one, changing some of the stuff I have while at work, lunches and the like.
- Getting out and walking/cycling more. I went out for a short cycle ride yesterday for the first time in *cough* years, 3 miles in 20 minutes, and I’m hoping that’ll improve pretty quickly.
All told, it can be summed up as “Eat less/better/differently, exercise more.” Whether things will change or not remains to be seen – after all, things only really started yesterday, so there’s some time to be taken yet.
The plan is just to get into a routine on this stuff for the moment, see how it all goes. I’ve got the plan in my head, but we’ll see how things work out when the real world gets its ass involved.
Posted: Sat 7 September, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2013/14, Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised |
As part of both the Five Year Plan and rebuilding post-bankruptcy, one thing that’s really useful to know is one’s credit score, as well as what records are being held, and what they say.
So I’ve signed up (briefly) to Credit Expert, the happy smiley public face of the credit-reporting/scoring agency Experian.
It’s been an interesting process so far. When I registered to look at the record, I got told I’d got an existing account. Surprising – I did use them about eight years ago while with Herself, but nothing since. So I’ve had to go through a bundle of hoops in order to resurrect the old account, on a defunct email address/domain, because ‘we can’t have two records/accounts for the same person’ (according to their customer services clowns) despite that second account having a new email, address, phone number, and details. (Indeed, it’s kind of spooky that they can make the connection at all, based on the sheer level of change that’s gone on)
Annoyingly, this ‘use your old account’ process means I can’t take advantage of their ’30-day free trial’ offer, but I can live with that, to be honest.
Still, it’s letting me check all the relevant information, and I’m quite surprised to see that things are more positive than I’d expected. I was fully braced for seeing a score down near zero, and rebuilding from there. Instead, because of the ongoing accounts I’ve held over the last year (and more) it’s sat in the “fair” bracket. Which is quite amusing, when you think about it.
There are some bits I want to check out, particularly a couple of accounts that still say there’s large amounts outstanding – despite them being part of the bankruptcy process. I’ll find out what needs doing with those, as (I think) they should be sat along with the other accounts that read “closed”, rather than “In Default”. But I’ll find all that out, and figure out what needs doing.
There’s a long way to go yet, and I have no intentions of ending up back in the same situation I was in last year. But I do want to rebuild, to know I can make use of these things should I ever have to, want to, or need to. It’s not a quick process, but these first steps have shown me that perhaps – perhaps – the process won’t be quite as slow and drawn-out as I was expecting initially.
Posted: Mon 2 September, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2012/13, Creativity, Domestic, Finances, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Health, Own Business, Web Development, Weigh Less, Weight Loss, Work-related, Write More, Writing |
So here we are, the start of September. Which means we’re two-thirds of the way through the year. Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun?
For me, the first two thirds of the year have been more about staying stable, getting stuff done, getting things in place and ready for whatever comes next. It’s been pretty successful: I’ve got through the bankruptcy period,, I’m pretty settled on location and house for the moment, and I’ve changed jobs, with all the fun that entails. (Oh, and got some pretty good contacts and future opportunities from people within ex-employer) It’s looking pretty positive.
But now it’s time to step things up a bit. There are things I want to do, or at least want to start, and see how they work out. The plans and ideas are there, but now it’s implementation time. (Yeah, I know, heard it all before) I’m not saying they’ll all work, I’m not even saying they’ll all get out of the starting gate – but I want to at least try.
For this next period there’s really three main projects going on, alongside the general gradual development/sorting of finances, which is now just an ongoing process. The other three are :
- Health / Fitness
- Project Development
- Writing
Pretty self-explanatory, I think. But a bit more detail…
Health / Fitness
One of the goals for 2013 has been to improve fitness, improve health, and lose weight. So far it’s kind-of happened, but not properly. I’ve been going to the gym, but it’s not really working for me – and even less so when it’s now in the exactly opposite direction to where I’m going for work… So it’s time to rethink (again) and get back into doing something. I’m not yet sure what it’ll be, we’ll see. There’s a couple of ideas, anyway.
Project Development
As always, I’ve got some ideas for some web-based businesses. I think I’ve now got the overall plan, so it’s time to see how things work out. The primary ideas are all based round a particular theme this time, so who knows, it might actually work out. I’m aiming to get the main sections for the first significant project written by the end of the year. Maybe more, with a bit of luck, but I’d like to be ready to get it launched in early 2014 and see where things go from there.
Writing
Similar to the above, I’ve got two ideas that I want to get into some kind of shape over the next four months. I think that’s a reasonable timescale. We’ll see.
So yeah, the next four months ’til the end of the year should be quite interesting. That’s what I’m hoping, anyway…
Posted: Thu 15 August, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2012/13, Business, Domestic, Getting Old(er), Work-related |
It’s now been confirmed that I’m gainfully employed in a long-term contract from Tuesday 27th August. It’s a six-monther, based in Cambridge, and stands to pay me more than a year with my previous employer – and that’s before taking into consideration the expenses thing and so on.
Going through this whole process again has been really good for me, as it turns out. I was beginning to wonder whether I was still in the right place/industry, and while those doubts still remain to a degree, at least my own personal confidence has been somewhat restored.
All told, the events for this last month have been :
- 17th July : Made redundant
- 19th July : Last day of employment
- 22-29th July : Week off, no CVs sent out etc.
- 29th July – 4th August : Send out some CVs, talk to some agencies
- 5th August – Phone Interview with Company X
- 7th August – Interview with Company Y, with immediate job offer and immediate start for a short-term contract
- 12th August – Interview with Company X.
- 13th August – Phone Interview with Company Z. Job offer from Company X. Interview offer from Company Z
So – two face-to-face interviews, both of which have led to work. One further phone interview, leading to face-to-face interview.
It took me three weeks (including a week off) from notice of redundancy to getting work. I could’ve done it quicker, most likely, but I took it slow and was wanting something that I wanted to do, rather than just whatever comes next.
All told, I’m really quite chuffed with that.