A few thoughts to start the new year

A new year is the perfect time to start something new, so I’ve decided to create this space to explore ideas in writing. I had created a personal blog a while back, mainly as a way to practice photography and share my craft projects, baking experiments, quilts, and family recipes. It was also centered around tea (called The Art of Sweet Tea, which feels a little funny now, considering I mostly drink coffee these days). I’ve always meant to get back to it, but work and life took priority. Maybe I’ll revisit it this year, because although my creative projects slowed, they didn’t completely stop.

This space will be a bit different, in that I’ll be highlighting topics of interest in my profession as a senior digital project manager.

Most of my writing day-to-day happens in very practical places: client emails, proposals, project plans, documentation, and the kind of notes that keep teams moving and projects on track. It’s a lot of structured, detail-oriented writing, and while I enjoy that work, it doesn’t leave much room for stepping back and thinking through ideas more freely and organically.

Over the past year, I started writing more outside of that, mainly through an internal newsletter at work focused on AI. I found that I really enjoyed the process of collecting articles, sharing ideas, and putting words around things I was already thinking about. It made me realize how much I missed writing just to explore a thought, not to deliver something on a deadline.

I use AI quite a bit in my work and find it incredibly useful, especially for organizing ideas or refining drafts. But I also don’t want to lose the habit of thinking things through on my own first. This space is partly a way to do that. To start with my own perspective, get the ideas down, and then use tools thoughtfully rather than letting them do all the work.

I’ve also been trying to be more intentional about slowing down a bit. I love to read, but like a lot of people, I don’t always make time for it. There’s always something else to do, something else to check off a list. This is a way of pushing back on that.

You’ll find a mix of things here: thoughts on AI, branding, design, productivity, user experience, and the occasional deep dive into something I find interesting. I come from a family of teachers, and I think that shows up in how I approach things. I love staying curious and sharing what I’ve learned along the way.

This isn’t meant to be polished or perfect (far from it!) It’s just a place to capture ideas, explore what’s changing, and make sense of the work and tools we’re surrounded by.

Thanks for reading. I’m so glad you stopped by.