LifeCircle 2012: Who's joining me this year?

It's nearly New Year and we all set resolutions. Well, maybe not everyone but it's a very reflective time with the year changing and there may be changes you want to make about your life but you know you need a little push to get going. This is the reason I started LifeCircle - I set various tasks to help you reflect on what it is you need to change and start to work on the changes that you really want.

Whether you joined in last year, either fully or fell by the wayside, whether you never quite got round to joining in but wanted to, or whether now is the time for you to start changing things in your life, then this is for you. I really don't mind. I just want people joining in, and supporting each other. There are few rules - just write your post, add the badge and link up your post. Apologies now if some of the tasks  from 2011 are repeated - feel free to skip the task if you don't want to repeat but some of them may be useful to revisit if you did them before. 

I have decided to change it this year as setting a task and writing my own response in one post got too much for me, and setting the task one week and publishing it the next felt too slow. So, from now on, it will work like this: I will set a task on a Saturday, hence the post today. I will then post the following Thursday, which is when you can link up your posts. I've changed the provider of my linkies so we'll see how it goes but they will close two weeks after publication. This should give you enough time to post but also encourage you to get your post . If you do fall behind and the linky has closed, you can still add the link in the comment under the post. 

If you're new to LifeCircle, then please read the first post I wrote about it here, as it contains some guidelines you need to bear in mind. They are not rules as such, but keep them in mind and they will help you with the process. When you publish your post, don't forget to add the badge, which you can find on the LifeCircle page.

All this stuff and I still haven't told you what we're doing this week! It's quite simple really. I want everyone to introduce themselves. Who we are, what we're about, where we're coming from, and where we're headed. Why we're here. What we want to achieve out of joining LifeCircle. Why? Because I think it will be useful for us to do a little bit of team-building. A little bit of background, however much you want to give, will help with that. Think of this as the ice-breaker at the start of a course. Include some funny things if you like, anything really, it doesn't have to be relevant to what you want to achieve; just something that you think displays the measure of YOU. 

As always, only share what you are comfortable sharing with the rest of our LifeCircle. Even if you cut out so much that it doesn't really make sense, publish it! The discipline of working through the tasks and writing a post, however limited it may be, will be enough because it's more about what goes on in your head than what you share with everyone else. Some people started up blogs just to post LifeCircle posts and that helped them to retain their anonymity. That's fine. You do whatever you want. I'm prepared to host anonymous posts related to LifeCircle too. I'm also always available via email or twitter if you want to discuss something you're struggling with. 

It's a New Year. Let's make it an amazing one for all of us. The longest journey starts with a single step. Let's take that first step. I dare you!

Life Circle - Celebrating Success

My main success since starting the Life Circle has been with work. I've had more work to do from my main client and although I've not actually started work yet, I've landed myself some work for another client which will be kicking in in a big way in December. All of the work I've found so far has been through people I know and I'm proud of the fact that I've got it this way as these people have been happy to recommend me. I'm feeling very positive about how it is all going, even if it does mean a lot of work and the usual juggling that working parents do. I'm still learning that one, but I'm getting better all the time.

My overall mindset has become more positive and I believe I can do all the things I set myself. Even if they aren't in the timeframe I'd initially hoped, but who said this was a sprint? Life Circle has provided a focus I needed very much. I think others have noticed that I am more positive in my outlook and I feel happier and calmer than I was before.

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I was going to set another task today, but next week is the start of December and you know what? We've all got a lot on our plates for the next month. The number of people taking part is falling each week and I'm guessing that the spectre of Christmas shopping, and the social whirl that is December (even if it is just your kids that get to do the social whirling!) is impacting on people's time and their motivation to blog.

So how about this?

1. I'll relaunch Life Circle in the New Year, when we'll go over some of the tasks we've done before. Some of those tasks will be a useful review for those who've posted every week but will allow people who want to get going in 2012 to join in and get the most out of Life Circle. You won't have to wait for long. I'll start it as soon as possible after New Year as I can, to catch that first wave of enthusiasm for change.

2. In the meantime, I need your feedback on what has worked and not worked for you on Life Circle thus far. Have you posted every week? If not, what has stopped you from posting and joining in? What did you find useful and what was not?

In particular, I would like to know about the timings and format. I'm finding having to write two post in one quite hard so I am thinking of changing it again. (Sorry!) The options are:

a. Keep it as now (not my preferred option).
b. Set the task on Saturdays with link up posts the following Thursday.
c. Go back to my original format - set the task one Thursday and link up the following Thursday. My only worry with this is that the pace is too slow.

3. How about you write your ideas down in a post and link it up? (Yes. I know I wasn't setting another task; I'm not - I'm just collating feedback!) I'll post a linky up in early December so that I have time to read and take onboard your thoughts so that I can plan what I'm doing. Any feedback would be appreciated - even if you've not been taking part in the linkys, I'd love to know what WOULD make you join in and what you think. And when we come back in January, I'll need your help to spread the word to as many people as possible and I'm sure many more people would benefit from joining Life Circle, especially when they have an impetus for change but lack moral support.

Finally, if you have been involved in Life Circle in any way - posting and linking up, reading or just retweeting any of my tweets, THANK YOU. I really appreciate your support.

As ever, I look forward to reading your posts.