Helping adventurous misfits and curious dreamers create an authentic and joyful life outside the lines. I focus on self-discovery, intentional living, and travel, both abroad and in your own backyard.
Annual planning for people who hate planning 🧭
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(You're receiving this email because you subscribed to The Explorer's Log via Substack or explorerannie.com.) Hey Reader! Last month, we had our very first Explorer’s Circle virtual meetup, and it was one of the highlights of the month for me! We spent an hour swapping stories, sharing helpful resources, and connecting with others who just get it. My heart felt ready to explode with joy and gratitude by the time we wrapped up, and I can’t wait to do it again! 💗 Mark your calendar for this coming Thursday, December 11th, at 12 PM Pacific / 4 PM Eastern. RSVP by clicking here. I’ll send the access details in just a few days! The majority of you who voted in last email’s poll wanted to hear more about planning for the coming year, so let’s get into it! 🙌 In this email: 🤓 An explorer’s planning process + a workshop for planning together 🧭 Current Explorations: intentional travel, everyday adventures, and inner journeys 👀 Other fun stuff: our next meetup (including a poll for the times that work best for you), a conversation about the power of community, and a brilliant way to reframe your thoughts about money and spending. How do you feel about setting goals and making plans? 🤔 Most people I know have strong feelings about this topic. Reply and tell me your thoughts! Some of us love making a clear plan to follow because it gives us a sense of control over our destiny and a small feeling of certainty in an otherwise chaotic world. Others of us resist setting goals or intentions, wanting the freedom to embrace opportunities as they arise and change course without feeling like we’re flaky, failing, or letting ourselves down. While I love mapping out a plan to bring my big dreams to life, I also want the flexibility to say yes when aligned opportunities show up and to adjust when life throws a curveball or twelve. 🗺️ So, how do we give ourselves enough structure to keep us working toward what’s most important to us while staying flexible enough to roll with the unexpected? Over time, I’ve developed a framework that’s rooted in the rhythms of Nature and the lessons learned from years of intentional indie travel. Turns out, making a plan isn’t so different from building a meaningful itinerary--lock the most important stuff in place (whatever that is for you) and then leave room for the magic to happen. ✨ Before you can put the big, important stuff in place, you have to know what that is. Before you can choose a path, you need a clear idea of where you want to go. You also need the skills to adjust when something doesn't go according to plan, and life is full of unexpected surprises! Want to join me for a workshop about planning like an explorer? If so, click here and I’ll send you more info when I get it set up! (I’m thinking in the lull between Christmas and New Year’s, maybe an extra in January too.) 🧠 Food for Thought:
If you enjoy these emails and want to support my writing and work, consider leaving a tip. Current Explorations 🧭🌎 Intentional Travel: Thinking about planning your next adventure? It all starts with choosing a destination that aligns with what you want to get from your time away. Last year, I created this guide to help folks find more clarity about what they want from their next travel experience. If you haven’t checked it out, have a look! 🏡 Everyday Adventures: How does your physical environment impact your creative energy? Right now, I’m exploring what it looks like to create a space that’s as supportive as possible for my creative projects. For example, I need a different space for editing my book than I used for writing it. These are two very different parts of the creative process. ✨ Inner Journeys: How do you navigate the space between endings and beginnings? Oh lord, I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. Letting go can be fucking hard. It’s also a totally normal and necessary part of life. While endings always open new doors, sometimes you simply have to sit in the muck of the in-between before you can see a clear path forward. This is where I find myself as we head toward the new beginning of Winter Solstice. Other Updates ✨Let’s Hang Out 😁Join me this coming Thursday, December 11th, at 12 PM Pacific / 4 PM Eastern. RSVP by clicking here, and I’ll send the access details in just a few days! For future meetups, let me know what days/times are best for you. I’ll try to move them around to accommodate schedules as I can. I want to give everyone a chance to join us!
What is your Awesome Stuff? 💰My good friend David Delisle’s Tedx Talk just went live on YouTube, and it’s so good! It’s all about shifting our how we think about and spend our money. Seriously, it’s worth the 14 minutes of your time. Have a watch! Live from Author Nation 🎙️I was invited to sit down with Alexa Bigwarfe from the Women in Publishing Summit for a chat with her, author CC Robinson, and editor Dakota Nyght to talk about the power of events and community. Have a listen! Per usual, my plans to keep this brief bump up against my need for context, nuance, and to share all the fun things! As we head toward the longest night of the year, I hope you can slow down, rest, and dream a little more about what’s next. Sending you all the warm wishes and hope to see you at one of our virtual meetups soon! 💚 Until next time, adventure on, my friend! Cheers, Annie |
The Explorer's Log
Helping adventurous misfits and curious dreamers create an authentic and joyful life outside the lines. I focus on self-discovery, intentional living, and travel, both abroad and in your own backyard.
If you knew how many different times I’ve started, deleted, and restarted this email, you’d probably think I’m losing it! (Maybe I am!) 😜 While I have much to share, finding the words is proving to be more difficult than usual. In the interest of conserving time and energy on both our parts, I’ll do my level best to keep this concise. The new beginning that was ushered in with the Year of the Fire Horse has been shaking things up in more unexpected (and beautiful) ways! Plot Twist: I accepted...
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(You're receiving this email because you signed up to be part of the Everyday Adventure Experiment. If you've changed your mind, no hard feelings! Just click here, and you won't receive these monthly emails in the future.) Hey Reader! Welcome to February, and our next chapter of the Everyday Adventure Experiment! What adventures did you find in January? ("None" is a valid answer.) Any that you loved? Hit reply and tell me, or share them in our WhatsApp group! Here are a few of my favorites...