Here we are, not adjacent 5 weeks into 2025, and enactment has started spiralling retired of power again. I request to halt for a spot to regain control, get connected apical of immoderate things, and instrumentality a infinitesimal to recalibrate.
Also, I desperately request an assistant. Now accepting applications here!
Spiralling, again
From the outset, I privation to accidental that this is not a station astir aforesaid pity. I number myself fortunate each azygous time that I person a concern I tin telephone my own, the astir fantastic squad you tin ever imagine, moving successful a tract that I emotion and makes maine happy.
It is due to the fact that I emotion what I bash truthful profoundly that I enactment truthful hard astatine it.
And it is astir apt due to the fact that of this that I find myself, yet again, overloaded, overwhelmed and stretched beyond my capacity.
Those who person followed on for a portion would cognize that things person changed rather a batch astir present successful the past 4 years. Back successful 2020, the RecipeTin satellite was a quiescent one-girl-and-her-dog cognition who hid down the machine surface with a tiny enactment squad that worked from home.
These days, I person a squad of 9. I person a food bank (RecipeTin Meals) wherever 4 decently trained chefs enactment successful a commercialized room and marque implicit 130,000 homemade meals each twelvemonth (plus desserts!) that we donate each time to the vulnerable.
I’ve written two cookbooks, some of which I partially blasted for this caller satellite successful which we present operate. Because it turns retired you get a spot of attraction erstwhile the archetypal publication breaks records, past the 2nd publication breaks those records. 😉 Honestly, who knew books could bash that??!
We bash nationalist events – cooking, hosting scholar dinners, meet-and-greets, fundraisers for charities we privation to enactment – some present successful my hometown of Sydney and interstate, and bash segments connected TV shows. The amusive stuff!
Behind the scenes, I person the responsibilities that travel with having your ain business. Administration, taxes, paperwork, firm filings, HR, ineligible matters, concern inquiries, making decisions astir “what next” for the business. Looking aft the team, organising squad events, trying to support up regular connection with a squad that works from galore antithetic locations.
And with RTM being a registered charity, with that comes further obligations, similar regular committee meetings which see autarkic directors and yearly audits.
And lastly, let’s adhd to that, creating the recipes that I stock connected this website. Plus photographing them, editing the photos, filming them, penning up the posts, and investigating the recipes.
I stock this not to kick oregon boast astir workload. I don’t deliberation the second is thing to boast astir anyway, due to the fact that I’m present today, putting my manus up and saying – I don’t privation to spiral backmost into that trap again of being wholly overloaded, overwhelmed and stretched beyond my capacity.
I can’t. It’s unhealthy. While 2024 was a twelvemonth of unthinkable highs, I ended it successful a atrocious authorities of sheer exhaustion. I spent the full 10 days of the Christmas interruption recovering, sleeping 12 to 15 hours each day. Unheard of for maine – 6 hours is my norm, 8 hours would beryllium a dream!
But spiralling again, I am.
My instinct successful these situations successful caller years has been grit my teeth, enactment my caput down, archer my squad “I request to spell underground for a while” past ruthlessly plough done the enactment unsocial – developing, testing, shooting and getting done each the “businessy” stuff.
This time, though, I’m going to bash thing astir it – and marque affirmative changes!
I request help!
I ever archer radical I person “the champion squad anyone could beryllium fortunate capable to have” (and, I swear, the funniest too!). But the roles they capable are mostly not beforehand extremity astatine what we telephone “HQ” wherever the look development, investigating and shooting gets done for this website.
And I americium drowning. Absolutely drowning.
I request to rebuild my team. But first, I request the clip to wide my caput truthful I tin acceptable a wide imaginativeness for what my goals are and the strategy to execute them, the radical I request to marque it happen.
And truthful today, I’m penning this station arsenic a means of holding myself accountable (to myself!) to enactment 2 things:
Hire a kick-ass adjunct with a large cognition whose occupation statement is to marque my beingness easier. Apply here!
Take a interruption from publishing caller recipes for [two to three] weeks. Use the clip to recalibrate, person quiescent clip to deliberation astir the adjacent steps for the business, what I privation to do, my strengths and weaknesses (SWOT analysis!), drawback up connected sleep, lavish Dozer with attraction (like each day😂), and enlistee my caller adjunct (yes, recruiting good takes time, truthful overmuch time!).
Triggered by a cooky 🍪
This is the infinitesimal that triggered today’s station and determination to halt (for a bit)
If you’re wondering wherever this each came from, it happened yesterday and it was triggered by a cookie.
Today’s station was expected to beryllium a cocoa spot cooky look that I’ve been moving connected feverishly for respective weeks – and stupidly (now I realise!), alternatively publically arsenic I jokingly shared fails and successes connected societal media.
32 batches in, implicit 250 cookies baked to get to the cooky I was aiming for, tested past tweaked past re-tested to marque it arsenic foolproof arsenic possible. I’ve filmed it, photographed it, I’ve adjacent mostly written the station up, implicit with each the learnings, pitfalls, and confidently declared to Herron, my video exertion – “We person instrumentality off! 🚀🍪🍪”
Then yesterday, I made it again, conscionable to trial it 1 past clip – and it wasn’t what it was expected to be. Did I mis-measure something? Is the oven somesthesia off? Did I enactment the incorrect timer on?
This was the moment
I frantically browned much butter, intent connected doing different batch, calculating successful my caput – “if I get it successful the fridge by 1 pm, I tin bash the short-chill trial batch astatine 6 p.m. past the due batch astatine 11 pm, which volition decorativeness cooling by 12.30 americium truthful I tin battalion it away”.
This was followed by the thought “OK, I’ll marque the dough present astatine work, past bash groceries for the squad meal tomorrow, driblet into the gathering tract connected the mode backmost truthful I tin drawback Nigel earlier helium leaves, past I amended duck location and locomotion Dozer truthful helium tin chill down earlier dinner. Then I’ll bring the groceries backmost to the bureau and prep for meal tomorrow, instrumentality the cooky dough location to cook tonight. I request to talk to Inggrid astir cashflow forecasting, and ohio crap, erstwhile is the adjacent RTM committee meeting? Ohhhh…and I forgot I person that 5.30 appointment, however overmuch volition she hatred maine if I reschedule? 😭 And I mustn’t hide to bash my slides for the squad presumption time – and UGH, the aerial con astatine the bureau is broken, it’s truthful insanely hot, we request to find different determination for the meeting. I request to archer everyone we’re moving, and I amended get than aerial con fixed, asap!”
And that was the infinitesimal I realised – I request to stop. Recalibrate. Take a break.
So, I’m taking a interruption from publishing caller recipes, for 2 to 3 weeks to drawback up connected enactment that has piled up, deliberation astir what my adjacent steps are and the squad I request to marque it happen.
Next week is already afloat with an breathtaking TV filming time (more soon!) and we person applications piled up already for the occupation vacancy which, to beryllium honest, was advertised a week ago. Sharing it connected my website is 1 of galore small things that person slipped my mind. 🙂
My caller adjunct is the archetypal important measurement to initiate alteration astir here. I bash not instrumentality recruitment lightly. I americium precise protective of my team, and the civilization I’ve worked truthful hard to make and maintain.
So we request to get started connected the recruitment due to the fact that it volition instrumentality rather a spot of clip to get done the applications. And successful lawsuit you are wondering, yes I americium getting assistance from a recruitment company, I americium conscionable approaching it a small otherwise this time. Because this concern is unique, my squad is unique, I americium unique! We find we don’t acceptable successful moulds – and that’s ok, we similar being different.
Team RecipeTin, my motley crew!
If you made it this far, convey you for listening to my ramblings. To beryllium honest, it’s been beauteous therapeutic, forcing myself to enactment thoughts down that person been whirling similar brainsick successful my caput successful a semi-orderly fashion!
Bear with me. I volition beryllium back! Including that darn choc spot cooky recipe. It volition not decision me! – Nagi x
PS I expect I won’t beryllium capable to enactment disconnected societal media wholly due to the fact that it’s my integer playground. I’m not chill capable for TikTok but I’m often putting real-life snippets connected Instagram and Facebook.
Life of Dozer
Video from the fundraiser astatine SASH Ryde that Dozer and I attended past week to assistance rise funds for Sophie’s Legacy! I cognize there’s smiles and laughter – and it truly was SO large gathering everyone – but determination is simply a superior connection down it truthful I anticipation you get a accidental to ticker it:
If you’d similar to enactment this cause, you tin donate here oregon sign the petition here to assistance lobby for change. But adjacent conscionable talking astir it, arsenic I accidental successful the video, means we are raising consciousness and with that comes the commencement of change.
Dozer and I convey you for your support. – N x
PS Yes, I dropped to the floor, grabbed Dozer and took this selfie not 2 seconds ago!
1 month ago
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Team RecipeTin, my motley crew!
English (US) ·