Three Simple Challenges to Spark Something New in Your Life

A few weeks ago, I sat down to write a blog post and ended up creating an entire 5-day Creative Challenge. That’s how most things happen around here lately: I sit down to do one thing, and something else entirely reveals itself. And I love it! I’m following the urges wherever they may go right now. Simple challenges to spark something new is all it takes to change our routines and our lives.

I didn’t know I needed to write that challenge. I didn’t know I needed to reconnect with my creative practice in such a focused way. But the more I lean into making things without the pressure of selling them or performing them for the internet, the more I realize how much room there is to explore. “Let’s just see what happens when I do this…” is becoming fun again.

That creative challenge turned into a journaling challenge. But of course it did. And then it turned into a solo travel challenge. Obviously. Now they’re all connected, working together as little sparks for people like me who want to come back to themselves, one small creative act at a time.

Why Do We Need Simple Challenges to Spark Something New?

If you’re new here, welcome! I’m in the middle of what I’m calling my creative sabbatical, where I’ve taken a step back from consulting to focus on building this blog, creating art, writing books, designing audio courses, and finally doing something with the stacks of journals I’ve been filling for years. I’ve traveled more than 20,000 kilometres solo across Canada, and I’ve documented so much of that journey in words and art and digital breadcrumbs scattered across social media. Now it’s all coming together here.

These challenges are part of that process.

They’re short. They’re powerful. They’re designed to help you make something, feel something, and start something. I’ve resisted starting something new for a long time, believing that a successful business meant there was no need to continue to explore my options. But I’ve been so wrong and I wish I had started this journey sooner.

The 5-Day Creative Challenge

This one came from a letter I wrote to myself in a brand-new notebook. You know the kind: Fresh. Full of potential. Terrifying.

I didn’t want to ruin it with something bad, so I wrote: “This is not the best page. It’s just the first.” And something in me clicked. We don’t have to begin with brilliance. We just have to begin. I hadn’t realized I was such a perfectionist, but when you’ve got your work down to a science, you don’t leave much room for experimentation.

Writing on that notebook page is what’s at the heart of the 5-Day Creative Challenge. Each day, you get a simple prompt to follow in your email: It may be that you need to write a letter to yourself, draft a messy drawing, or explore a story that unfolds from a random book pulled off your shelf. You’ll make something with your hands. You’ll try something that scares you. You’ll share a piece of it with the world, or maybe just with yourself. It’s about showing up, not showing off.

You can choose to participate in all of it, or none of it, but I think you’ll find that once you start, it becomes hard to stop. It’s like a light goes on and you suddenly remember you can just make things.

I used to think creativity had to be earned. Now I know it’s a practice. I don’t need a permission slip. I write my own permission slip. But we’ve always known that, haven’t we?

The 5-Day Journaling Challenge

When I was writing the creative challenge, I kept coming back to how much writing has saved me. Not in a big dramatic sense, but in small daily ways. I write in my notebooks to figure out what I think. I journal to remind myself what I want. I write to listen to myself.

So I built the 5-Day Journaling Challenge as a companion to that practice. It’s a deeper dive into your thinking with space to sit quietly and ask better questions.

Each day, you get an email from me with a prompt. Sometimes it’s reflective. Sometimes it’s a bit of a gut punch. Sometimes it’s a little philosophical. The point isn’t to write perfectly. The point is to notice what comes up. To follow the thread.

These are the kinds of prompts I’ve used over the years while working through big shifts in my life and business. They’ve helped me unlearn some of the “shoulds” and replace them with softer ways of being in the world.

There’s no right way to do this challenge. Some people write for 5 minutes. Some for 50. Some people just think about the prompt on their morning walk. The magic is in the noticing. I can’t tell you how often I let a thought run wild and see where it goes just to shut it down. I’m not doing that anymore though. These days, I’m following all of the thoughts to see where they may lead. And so far, they’ve led me to this creative platform, these 5-day challenges, saying yes to more in my life and saying no the things I don’t want to do right now.

The Overnight Solo Adventure Kit

I’ve traveled alone a lot. I’ve traveled for work, for fun, because I needed to heal something in me and just for the hell of it.

The first time I planned a solo overnight trip just for me, not for a meeting or a conference or a client, I didn’t realize how powerful it would be. I just knew I needed a change of scenery. That trip turned into a series of trips. One night became two, two became a weekend, and now I build solo travel into my year on purpose.

This kit is a 5-day email series that walks you through how to plan and execute your own overnight solo trip. It’s not a checklist of destinations. It’s not about being the most organized traveler. It’s about asking: what do I want to feel on this trip?

Each day covers a different element from choosing your destination and packing what you actually need, to finding little rituals on the road and making time to reflect while you’re away. If you’ve been curious about solo travel but didn’t know where to begin, this is your sign. You can start now, where you are, with what you have. And you don’t have to go far to get out of your element and try something new.

Why These Challenges Matter

I’m in a season of making. I’ve stepped away from consulting work, put my energy into writing novels again, started painting and sharing my art online, and built an entire audio course about solo travel for women (coming soon!) I’m showing up on this blog every week and experimenting with how to build a creative business that feels like me.

These challenges are an invitation into that world.

They’re also a way to slow down. To take 15 or 20 minutes each day to connect with your creativity, your voice, your curiosity. They’re not prescriptive: I’m so done with that kind of writing. These challenges are not polished. They’re not pretending to be more than they are. But they are powerful. Simple, story-based emails to help you feel inspired and take action will land in your inbox every day for 5 days if you want to invite these ideas into your life.

Ready to Start?

You don’t have to wait to start making creative and intentional changes if that’s what’s calling to you right now. There’s no right order in which to participate in these challenges either. Take what you need, leave the rest: that’s what’s working for me right now. Maybe it’ll work for you too.

Decide what you need right now. Start there. And be sure to tag me on Instagram and let me know what you’re working on! I’d love to cheer you on!