For #GratisTuesday I thought I would write a post expressing thanks for a few things, including the fact that 2022 is finally winding up and for the patience and kindness I have been shown as a double dose of COVID laid me low for quite some time. Basically these two photos above show how I hoped this year would go (me in the glasses with the big smile), and the one where I’m sitting up in bed and trying to work while exhausted shows how so much of this year (especially the second half) was for me.
I am mostly now over the long-COVID brain fog, but a second infection in November has extended a bit of the difficulty I have experienced in retrieving words and phrases, and a lot of the tiredness. This has been difficult because I have had to postpone workshops, extend deadlines for content release, and reschedule clients. I don’t enjoy any of this, but in the interests of good long-term health I have had to do so. I know that this isn’t easy for those of you waiting on my outcomes and availability, so thank you again for your patience.
There is excellent news about my online training course though, amongst my physical and mental tiredness and frustration – Tiers 1 and 2 will be live on January 15th, with Tiers 3 and 4 almost completed so they’ll be scampering along behind shortly afterwards! Yay! The difference is that you will no longer log into Teachable to access your content, but the gdep.com.au website itself. There will be an announcement post when this all goes live on the 15th, and all students will have email instructions from me for that. Your payment plan (if applicable) will not be affected. This means that I will be have all my content in one place, and it’s easier for everyone to find what you are looking for because it will all be in one place.
Q and A sessions will resume in January, with current dates on the 17th, 20th and 27th. As always, if you want a particular time or date just let me know and I will try to arrange this for you.
What worked really well this year
I MADE GOOD CONNECTIONS! I have had the opportunity to extend my professional network considerably, and to travel to conferences again which is always good. I’ve learned a considerable amount about assisted dying and natural burial, along with how to begin legislating for alternative approaches to body disposition.
A good deal of writing was completed but not published (more on that later), but the biggest win was the ongoing promotion and success of my Mallon Model open-access article for micro compassionate community formation and maintenance. This article has now been downloaded more than 2,500 times! I was also able to deliver some of the workshops, but due to COVID some have been put off unavoidably until 2023. Dates are coming soon.
I learned that working from home is not always ideal, but better than spending money for an office where the building owner doesn’t maintain the property well or permit you to have signage outside. I love my office, but had to let it go so I am setting up a schedule of virtual co-working and accountability so that I don’t feel so isolated and alone in my work space at home. Community matters for end of life professionals too!
What I will improve on next year
NOT GETTING COVID!! The photo here is actually from my long-COVID recovery where I am attempting to work through some major brain fog and exhaustion. I now mask everywhere, do not shake hands, and often say no to events where the venue is not well-ventilated if there are going to be lots of people.
Staying in touch with colleagues and making a bit more time for scheduling shorter work days more regularly. Post-COVID I find that planning work in a more structured way helps me to achieve goals and deadlines – this was a hard lesson to learn as so much time slipped by due to tiredness and a new way of experiencing the passing of days and weeks.
A good year for writing. I have a lot of projects on the go, and am behind on all of them, so 2023 sees me finishing up and publishing articles, chapters and books. Stay tuned!
Being more regular with Q and A sessions – these slipped a lot in the second half of the year, and I don’t want to repeat that pattern.
What I hope not to experience again!
NOT GETTING RIPPED OFF. Seriously. The copyright infringements and plagiarism of my content and my work is exhausting. This is why a few things will change for students and clients in future. The course Copyright acknowlegement will be more prominent and I don’t give out information and time anymore without good context, contact details of the person requesting information (journalists and practitioners included), and a slightly more formal system of contact.
I don’t want to seem off-putting, but when my own research outcome – the Mallon Model, which is free to access – has been taken out of context and presented as being “like the Mallon Model but different” I have reached a limit. There are people who have alerted me to issues, and I continue to be grateful for your assistance in helping me maintain IP and copyright. FYI: in Australia if you write it or create it, you own it, and I keep excellent records of production and development for this reason. Of course I am happy to share some aspects of my work and approach to practice, but if you are using something of mine please credit the source. In fact, please do this for anyone’s idea/writing/content/design that you are using. Don’t rip it off (happens a lot on FB, by the way…) because theft of IP and verbiage are crimes.
I don’t know what you hope for this coming year, but if you would like to share we can have a special Q and A dedicated to discussing strategies, plans and ideas.
I will have online and live workshops for the Mallon Model and some end of life work coming up in 2023 – if you are interested in having me come train you, your organisation or a group you belong to please email info@gdep.com.au and we’ll set up a date and time that works for us all. If you are interested and excited for travel, I will also be doing live training here in northern Tasmania – again get in touch with your area of interest and potential travel dates.
I hope the big man in the red suit brings you everything you want this holiday season, and I wish you all a very good and happy new year.
Love,
Annetta
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