five things I'm taking offline

a practical way to create space

Yesterday was the most perfect autumn day; cold at first but then warm enough to feel like the last of summer was lingering. I pruned the English lavender and I’m willing to bet there is no better-smelling garden chore. Granted, the heady scent combined with late-afternoon sun felt giddily overpowering at one point. But, it did its job; I was cranky and anxious before I grabbed my sunhat and the secateurs and afterwards, I floated through the evening in a cloud of contentment.

Despite the fact that I’m flying back to Sydney this week for a quick work trip (my first keynote speech and a segment on the Today show), I’ve been sinking into a productive rhythm at home. I write every day but I’m curious about spending more time away from my laptop and I’ve started considering what I can take offline (or off my phone).

And so, a list!

1. Finding good coffee

On a recent trip to Melbourne I googled cafes close to my hotel. A short time later I was ordering a latte in a clinical space where the staff were polite but also rushed; there was no time for chit chat, no opportunity to connect. Despite its position in an iconic inner-city locale, it was a liminal space; there were very few chairs and therefore no room to settle; customers walked in one door and exited another. The coffee was as bland as the decor.

The next morning I set out on foot without a destination in mind and found myself in an old Italian cafe where the dark timber booths inside were cosy, and the red metal chairs in the courtyard sat under the trees that, if you looked close enough, were just starting to brown; the very first sign of autumn. The coffee was superior, the staff lingered to chat, the sun rose high enough to filter through the leaves and warm me as I stared off into the distance, thinking about the trust I’d placed in a search engine and starred review.

2. My alarm clock

In A Brain That Breathes I briefly mention my very simple alarm clock yet I’ve received dozens of messaged from people asking where I found it. When I decided to make my bedroom a ‘no phone zone’ a few years ago — to improve sleep and actively separate myself from the screen (a practical way to enforce a new habit) — I replaced it with a clock my teenager had bought and never used.

The beauty of this particular clock is that it only lights up when you press the button so there’s no distracting light. It pains me to link to a Kmart clock, but that is precisely what I’m doing because it has been chugging away on the same set of batteries for two years and continues to do precisely what I need it to (and nothing more).

3. Cooking

I am never going to be one who is exuberant or fancy with the meals I make. I bake cakes and cookies, I slow-cook stews and simmer curries, I roast chickens and let broth and soup gently bubble on the stovetop. Most meals are accompanied by greens or a rainbow salad.

But, I have also become somewhat complacent and I’m keen to spend more time with the cookbooks on my shelf and less time looking at recipes online. Again, I find myself googling ‘best recipe for xyz’ so I forgo the curiosity, joy and the innate slowing down of sitting with a book and flicking through the pages to find a recipe that delights me (in the moment and on the plate).

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Hewson’s Home Food is precisely the kind of cookbook that I love. Someone recently referred to her as a ‘young Maggie Beer’ and I wholeheartedly endorse this; she’s beautifully authentic, there’s absolutely no fuss to her recipes and she exudes the kind, comforting, homely energy you want in your kitchen - spills on the counter, an extra mouthful just because, the rustling together of something quick-ish but undoubtedly wholesome mid-week when you can’t be bothered doing much else.

And do you know what my absolute favourite part of this book is? There’s notes on most recipes titled: leftovers - how long the dish will last in the fridge, the best way to reheat, and what ingredients you can use to top-it up and make a whole meal.

4. Writing

I know the benefits of handwriting but when it comes to my work, I still largely do it on my laptop. I want to change this in small increments, by habitually reaching for pen and paper. I don’t intend to do this all the time but I often forget how beneficial handwriting is for creative flow and I want to lean into it more, especially for my fiction writing.

5. Weekends

I will still continue to send this newsletter on Sunday evenings (morning if you’re in the northern hemisphere) but this often means that I spend the weekend writing it. When you work for yourself you have to be so strict with your time and your space; work easily impinges on both and there’s often no clear on/off boundaries.

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and while I’ll still write in the early morning after my walk (I come home, make a cup of tea and sit down at my desk and it is honestly the most beautiful start to the day), I want to make weekends free of work.

But I’m flipping the narrative slightly; I’m going to schedule rest, reading and pottering on the weekends. And I know from all the research I’ve done (and which I detail in A Brain That Breathes) that this intentional off-time is actually the very best thing I can do for my creativity. Of course, there will also be children’s birthday parties, musical rehearsal drop-offs and pick-ups, at least six loads of washing and baking for school lunches. But all the in-between moments? They will be my space.

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other things

• I finished A Far-flung Life and I’m filing it under the not-often-used category of: instant Aussie classic. I cried often!

• I’ve been dipping in and out of The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating and it’s the gentlest of nature writing that immediately slows you down

• the Sydney Writer’s Festival programme is shockingly good. I will admire from afar and listen to the podcast when it’s released months afterward

• if you’re in the pregnancy and birth stage of life, you may enjoy my conversation with Poppy from Pop That Mumma

• if, like me, you have dry skin, there is only one moisturiser you need: skin food

Till next week, take care x