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WordPress 5.9 Has Been Released

WordPress 5.9 is finally here.

If your website is set to automatically update, you would have received a notification this morning that your website has been updated. If it’s not set to automatically update, you’ll see the notification when you next log in to WordPress.

Did you know that every major release of WordPress is named after a jazz musician? Well, say hello to Josephine.

What can I do with WordPress 5.9?

It basically gives you more control over the layout of your website. You can create the layout of your pages and posts using the features in Full Site Editing (FSE). If you have been using blocks to create your posts then this is just an extension of that.

What’s new?

If you are already using blocks then there have been a few updates that will make your life easier. Here are 2 of my favourite features.

Pattern explorer and WordPress Pattern Directory

Patterns explorer

Have you ever looked at a layout and wondered if you could use it on your site. Well, the WordPress Pattern Directory has been officially launched and it contains a range of block patterns so no more trying to figure it out for yourself or looking for someone else to do that for you. Your existing theme will come with some default patterns and you can find them in the Pattern explorer. For more patterns, visit the WordPress Pattern Directory. It’s as easy as copying and pasting it into your site.

List View

Have you been waiting for drag and drop to come to the List view? You can now drag and drop blocks using the List view in WordPress 5.9. I hated doing this in the block editor itself.

List View

What if I want to know more?

If you want to play around with FSE then check out this course on Simple Site Design with FSE.

I hope this version of WordPress inpsires you to be more creative with your website.

26 January 2022
New Year, New Goals
It’s 2022 and I’m finalising my goals for the year. I don’t do resolutions but I do goals.

2022 Goals

So what are my goals for the year?

Declutter

I’m usually quite good at this and not just in my personal life but in business too but I’ve let things go. So this year I’m on a mission to declutter all the things I no longer need which includes:
- Subscriptions to newsletters
- Apps that no longer serve a purpose
- Streamlining my processes – to me, this counts as decluttering
Making the right connections

I want to attract the right clients to my business and I’m going to be working on that this year. I will be making more of an effort to network with clients, most of 2021 was networking with like-minded businesses. If things pick up, you may even see me at an in-person event.

Level up

I want to learn more about WordPress so that I can help you. I will be making content for Learn WordPress and working with the Make Training team on the goals that we set for 2022.

Those are my 3 goals, I think they are more than enough for this year.
6 January 2022
2021, Year In Review
2021, my first public year in review, was bittersweet.

What did I celebrate?

I became even more active in the WordPress community and one of the Make Training Team Representatives. I’m so excited about some of the plans that we have for making WordPress training more accessible.

I met so many people. Now I know that is weird considering we were still in lockdown (at least here in the UK) for a lot of it but I met so many people online and from all over the world.

I became an organiser for WordFest Live January and WordFest Live July. WordFest Live is a global 24-hour virtual celebration of everything WordPress. It is free to attend and if you want to learn more about how to use WordPress or just network then this is the place to be.

Shortly after that, I became a Board Member for Big Orange Heart Foundation. I’m a remote worker and having an organisation in the WordPress community that is dedicated to supporting my well-being and mental health all for free is truly a blessing.

I was a speaker at WCEU and WCUS, 2 of the biggest WordCamps in the world.

I was also featured on a few other podcasts, Unplug Tech and WP Watercooler. I also have an ongoing segment on the WP Minute which delivers weekly WordPress news in under 5 minutes. I do it monthly and talk about all the things we are doing in the Make WordPress.org Training team and Learn WordPress, my segment is called the Learn WP Minute.

I was featured on guest articles and posts including an award for the Yoast Care Fund and a feature post on HeroPress.

I launched 2 new WordPress services:
- Drop-in clinic for quick fixes on your site.
- Power Hour for when you need that dedicated one-to-one guidance.
It wasn’t all rosy though.

What were the challenges?

Despite all the wins, this year has also been my most challenging ever.

I am actually surprised at what I managed to achieve especially when 5 people very dear to me passed away this year. I view grief very differently now and I think that goes for anyone who experiences it for the first time. We all know someone who has died but when it someone very close to you, it changes your perspective. I wasn’t prepared for that, no one is.

Time! We all say that but I really struggled to manage my time this year and all because of everything that had happened. It meant a lot of things had to be put on the back burner.

Planning with so much uncertainty in the world. Especially given that we were all still dealing with the impact of restrictions as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

What have I learnt?

Have a plan in place for when you are gone. This is something that we don’t think about and certainly don’t talk about it. However, if you are a small business owner what plans have you put in place for when you’re gone? Does your family know your wishes? Write it all down, you don’t want your family or staff to be picking up the pieces when you are no more.

Not to be responsible for other people’s decisions. I can give them the information they need to make an informed decision but ultimately the decision is theirs, not mine!

Sometimes your plans get derailed and you have to pivot. It is ok to pivot and it is ok to let go!

Conclusion

In the midst of trials, I can survive and come out stronger!
3 January 2022
12 Days of Blogmas 2021, Day 12 – Recap: Lessons Learnt

To recap, in late November, I decided that I was going to get involved in Blogmas. I knew that there was no way I’d be able to commit to the 24 or 31 days so I went for the 12 days of Blogmas. So here are some of the lessons I have learnt along the way.

What have I learnt whilst doing this?

Be flexible!

I started off with a list of topics that I wanted to highlight over the course of Blogmas but I had to change them. I didn’t account for giving you a recap of the State of Word, it seems so obvious now but it wasn’t something that crossed my mind at the time.

There were topics on the original list that I was no longer interested in writing about, which meant I had to find a new topic. What would have been useful is having a range of topics to hand that I could easily substitute.

I spent a lot of time writing the content on the day. Writing every day for 12 days alongside everything else one has to do is a lot, can you imagine if I’d decided to go for the 24 or 31 days? I’d definitely miss a few days.

What I will do differently

I made the decision to start Blogmas in December. What I should have done was start this process earlier, this would have given me more time to research different topics and give you better content.

Draft an outline of the posts in advance as it would mean less time spent on writing the content so close to the deadline.

Conclusion

Plan better and early on.

I did enjoy the writing process and I will do this again but the planning will start in October.

24 December 2021
12 Days of Blogmas 2021, Day 11 – Sewing: Why it is my Therapy
Looking at the planned schedule, I realise that I haven’t written a post about sewing. Well, here it is.

Sewing is my Therapy

I find the act of sewing very therapeutic, the act of feeding the fabric through the machine relaxes me. But it isn’t just that, here are 6 reasons why sewing is my therapy.
1. It is my me-time, I get to be selfish. I find that taking time out for myself helps me avoid burnout. This is very important, we all need that balance in our life.
2. It allows me to disengage from the digital world. There are so many distractions on our devices (phones, laptops and TV). Sometimes you need to step away from all that white noise and reset your internal batteries.
3. It helps me be more mindful. I am forced to concentrate on that task alone and go through the steps one-by-one. I’m not trying to juggle 2 or 3 things at the same time, my mind is fully occupied with what I’m doing at that moment.
4. I get to create something with my own hands that actually fits me. At 5 foot nothing with an African ass (you get the picture) it can sometimes be difficult to find clothes that fit me. When I sew my own clothes, they not only fit they way I want them to but I get to dictate my fashion sense not someone else.
5. It helps me learn new skills, not just sewing but also learning to be being patient and not rush through things unneccessarily. Rushing through things can result in a lot of unpicking because I’ve done something wrong, I hate unpicking.
6. It helps me learn to love my imperfections. Sewing is meant to be a creative process and as such learning to love my imperfections not just with my body but also on the things I make. There are no mistakesin sewing, just design choices.
And when all those pieces come together to reveal the final ensemble, the feeling is truly a great sense of accomplishment. I made that, yes indeed I did!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and have a hobby that you find therapeutic.
23 December 2021
12 Days of Blogmas 2021, Day 10 – Project Management: Planning for 2022

I’ve been thinking about planning for 2022. Normally I would start thinking about the year ahead in October, but not this year (or the last). In fact, looking through the last year, I didn’t plan for 2021 at all and all my plans for 2020 got derailed. So how do you plan for the year ahead when there is so much uncertainty?

Planning for 2022

Remember that nothing is set in stone and when things change it is ok to take things slowly, fail and pivot when you need to.

For a number of years now, I have used the Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll in my business and personal life.

Track Your Past, Order Your Present, Plan Your Future
Ryder Carroll, Creator of the Bullet Journal

Ryder takes you through the preparation where you brainstorm before introducing you to the system and how to get your thoughts and ideas organised. It causes you to be more intentional about your goals and the tasks you need to complete in order to reach those goals. Although I love technology, there is something freeing about being able to put pen to paper and write with no distractions.

In planning for 2022, I’ve decided I want to include the reflection stages of the system and be more intentional in what I do and how I do it. What 2020 and 2021 have taught me is that I need to remove all the deadwood taking up unnecessary space and capture the memories so I don’t forget them. I also want to make sure that my beliefs and actions align with everything that I do.

Get the Bullet Journal Method

I highly recommend that you check out his book on Amazon and watch him explain the process on YouTube. There is even a companion app for those of you who want to add a digital component to your bullet journaling.

One thing to note is that your bullet journal doesn’t have to be pretty, mine certainly isn’t. Although I love being creative, my bullet journal has a very minimalist feel to it and shows all the mistakes (life isn’t perfect). If you do want to get creative and don’t know how to draw, you can always buy stickers.

22 December 2021