Working 9 to 5 (and then some...)

I’m turning 30 this year. I used to dream about what my life would be like when I was 30. I knew I wouldn’t be married or have children, I hoped that I would live in New York (still hoping) or London (had a wonderful time living there in my mid-20s but happy to be out of it) and I wanted to have a steady career that I worked damn hard at and loved.

I used to think about my work space a lot. I feel like I’ve finally created an environment that’s conducive to getting things done but doesn’t feel oppressive or pressurised in anyway. It’s organised, but not sparse and super tidy. I like to keep meaningful items and things collected from my travels around the office, and if I see something in a magazine I’ll tear it out and put it on my wall. I like structure, but I also like the freedom of not having a specific colour scheme or decorative theme.

Having said all of that, I’m typing this on my sofa so I’m still not used to having dedicated writing place, but I’ll get there.

All photos were taken by the amazing Anna Harding from Hello Ding.

Wearing a second hand grey sweater from Beyond Retro, navy corduroy skirt from Uniqlo and tortoiseshell glasses by Ray-Ban. The chair was bought by my dad from Habitat in 1980; it looks like it wouldn’t be comfortable but it works perfectly as a desk chair.

My locker is by Mustard. I purchased it from Trouva, an amazing online store that sells pieces from beautiful independent boutiques. it’s my favourite item I have bought for myself - it really ties my entire office together. I like to swap the pictures and postcards on the locker around. I love keeping photos of my family and boyfriend on there to remind me why I do what I do - to make them proud.

Old magazines, crystals and a delicious candle from The Box Of.

The figure of Leslie Knope was a present from my brother last Christmas. She now oversees all of my work, which just feels right. The Ben & Jerry’s print is actually a napkin from a Ben & Jerry’s shop in the US that my parents had framed over 25 years ago - the frame is completely broken but the napkin is still very much a piece of art.

Much to the joy of my neighbours, I also practice saxophone in my office.

Here We Go

It's been a long time.

I don't know how I haven't managed to keep this updated, but I'm back and I'll be posting more often. Time to get motivated! Which is what this post is about. What a seamless transition!

Since my last post I have left my full time job and become a full time musician. I've performed at loads of exciting places in the UK and abroad, formed the The Hannah Castleman Quartet, and released an EP, available here. Even though I was performing frequently before, the change in my lifestyle since quitting my 9 to 5 has been huge. I love being self-employed for so many reasons. I love planning my own schedule, being able to have a random day off in the middle of the week when I've had a crazy weekend of gigs, being able to have a lie in if I've been up until 3am the night before because of a gig finishing late, choosing what work  I take and when...it's pretty dreamy.

There are always downsides to whatever you do. One of the downsides is the fact that when there is no work, there is NO WORK. Days stretch out endlessly. I am counting my money, which is terrifying when nothing is coming in but payments are coming out. This throws me off my game; it makes me panic, want to sleep A LOT, and much to my boyfriend's delight, I get grumpy.

I've wasted a lot of time doing nothing on the days where I supposedly have 'nothing to do', but this is where I've been going wrong. There is always something to do. I need to keep working towards what I want to do, which is music, and there is a way to do that even when I'm not actually being paid to sing or perform.

I've decided to set myself from tasks for each week. I want to learn at least two new songs a week. I've signed up for a weekly Burlesque Class for autumn and an online music theory course (for £9 thanks to Groupon).  I'm going to spend 30 minutes playing guitar everyday, which is terrifying because I am rubbish at it but by the end of the year I want to be able to play songs without staring at my fingers while I change chords. I'm a terrible cook but I'm going to make dinner more often instead of eating toast. It's okay that I'm not good at these things now. Everyone has to start somewhere. Even Leslie Knope. 

Whatever happens, I just want to make sure I keep moving. I don't want to look back on my week and think 'what did I achieve this week?' and not have an answer. Being self-employed means it's not always going to be a good month for work, but the positives outweigh the negatives by a significant margin, and so it's all worth it. I just have to keep going.

I've got to start drinking my morning coffee from this amazing mug, available here.