I’m struggling to make sense of the fact that 2022 is at an end, and that it’s time for me to start planning the year ahead. Somehow, with all my recent travels, it feels like I’ve skipped a few months so my brain is telling me there’s still plenty of time left this year. Which clearly there is not! Regardless of where my head is – or is not – it’s probably a good time for me to reflect on the year that has gone by, and to set a few areas of focus for 2023.
At the beginning of 2022 I said that I wanted to focus on developing my work on disability. I’ve certainly done that this year and am currently part of a team that is in the very early stages of opening a disability-focused NGO in South Africa. I’m sure that will continue to be an area I will work on in the coming year so expect to hear more on the topic soon.
That project was the reason for my trip to Mauritius last month, and I’ll be letting you know more about the trip and my reasons for visiting Mauritius in the coming weeks on the blog.
A second area I said I wanted to work on this year was a new writing project. And, to be honest, I did absolutely nothing about that – somehow there just never seemed enough time to start planning for that project. So maybe it will be a task for the coming year instead.
My final business task for 2022 was to shift the focus of my podcast from accessible travel to a more general disability related podcast. I’m happy to report that I relaunched the podcast in March with a new name – A Different Way of Seeing. The structure of the podcast is much as it used to be, based on conversations with persons with disabilities, but the subjects I cover have expanded. It allows me the flexibility to explore topics I haven’t been able to before now. So far there are 16 podcasts under the new format, and the 59 previous episodes that focus on accessible travel are still there for people to listen to. Though I haven’t released an episode in the last few weeks, I will definitely get back to it soon.
This year I’ve also been fortunate to work on several projects with partially blind professional photographer, Karren Visser and, though I haven’t had a chance to write about those projects on the blog, they have been exciting projects to be involved in. I’ve shared a little about the projects on Facebook and plan to blog about them in the new year. Collaborating with Karren has given me the opportunity to be involved in projects on visual art, multi-media, and online accessibility. I’ve learned a huge amount and am sure Karren and I will continue to work together helping people to make their online offerings more accessible. You can find out more about Karren’s work on www.karrenvisser.com
One of my best business decisions this year was to start working with Rebecca Sibya as an accountability coach. Starting my Monday with a conversation on what I want to achieve for the week ahead has been immensely powerful as a way of helping me move forward. Rebecca has helped me to get tasks completed, kept me on track with my strategic vision for the year, and has held me accountable to my stated intention of finally launching my updated website. Hopefully the new site will be live early in 2023. I’ll let you know as soon as it’s available so you can take a look.
In many ways I feel that the year gone by has set me up neatly for the year to come. Of course, I know that what happens in the next 12 months will probably look very different from what I expect, and I’m okay with that. Whatever happens, I’m sure it will be exciting!
Thank you for your support in 2022 – for reading my blog and for commenting and sharing some of your stories and thoughts with me as I’ve told you what I’ve been up to. I’ve enjoyed chatting with you all!
Wishing you and yours all the best for the holidays and for the year ahead. May 2023 be an exciting, adventurous, fun-filled year for you!
See you in 2023!
