Meryl’s Personal Review for 2023: Ramp It Up
by Meryl Johnston
Every year I choose a theme and set goals for what I want to achieve. This is my year in review for 2023, looking back at the highs and the lows, the wins and the losses.
Stepping back in time a little, 2022 was the year of my sabbatical. It was supposed to be about rest, learning, trying new things and figuring out what was next. The thing was, it really didn’t go how I planned. A shock breast cancer diagnosis as well as welcoming my second daughter meant that my good intentions got very much derailed.
So this series of events was what inspired my 2023 theme: Ramp It Up.
I’d had enough of taking things slow and after being forced to put life on pause for a while to take care of my health, I was very ready to go hard again! I was ready to work, ready to achieve, ready to focus.
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So for 2023, these are the goals I was working towards across six facets of life:
Career: Transition out of the previous year’s sabbatical and figure out my new career direction
Family and Friends: Be a great mother and supportive partner to Chantelle. Take at least two family trips away. Stay in touch with friends better.
Health: Stay on top of health checks. Prioritise sleep and minimise stress.
Fitness: Fit as F*ck 40s. Specifically, getting into the best shape of my life as I approach my 40th birthday.
Learning: Build my skills as a podcaster, writer, and investor
Adventure: Go on an annual adventure with my Dad and brother. Go on a one on one trip with each of my daughters, aged 4 and 1.
1. Career
Goal: Transition out of the previous year’s sabbatical and figure out my new career direction
What went well
Overall, I had a lot of wins in the category of Career and Business in 2023 which is always great to see the evidence on paper when you write them all down. Here is the abridged version with my top three highlights (In no particular order, because you can’t pick a favourite child)!
1. Launching The Lifestyle Accountant Show
The Lifestyle Accountant Show is a podcast that helps today’s accounting firm leaders build successful businesses while living healthy, happy lives.
Ever since I got into business, I have felt strongly about having time freedom and financial freedom. So much so, I decided to start an entire podcast about it for other accounting and bookkeeping firm owners.
Our very first episode of the podcast went live on the 23rd of February, 2023. Between then and the end of the year we published 33 episodes, had 7419 downloads and been sponsored by so many incredible companies including A2X, Annature, TeamUp, LiveFlow, TaxValet, Electrafi, Brieff, Seamlss and Content Snare.
Downloads for The Lifestyle Accountant Show across 2023
The podcast has been one of my favourite things to work on because I get to speak with so many interesting people, as well as improve my craft as an interviewer and podcast host. The schedule can be gruelling at times to keep up with the weekly publishing cadence, but it’s worth it.
I want to say a big thank you to all of our guests and our sponsors for supporting the show from the very beginning!
We’re going to experiment with some different segments and formats in 2024. Watch this space!
2. Investing in TeamUp
Early in 2023 I invested in TeamUp, which helps accounting and bookkeeping firms recruit accountants in the Philippines. As the months passed, TeamUp grew rapidly and I couldn’t help but get more involved, leading to me coming on board in a Brand Ambassador type of role.
Through working with TeamUp over the past year, I have realised just how much I enjoy taking a company from 0 to 1 and being part of that really early phase where sales are paramount and everything is developing so quickly.
First time meeting Isaac Smith, founder of TeamUp and Lalaine P. in person when I was in the Philippines.
3. Bean Ninjas Team Retreat
At Bean Ninjas we don’t think of our teams as being ‘onshore’ and ‘offshore’. We are just one big global team. Finally, after three years in the making we got everyone together in the Philippines!
We had people fly in from Australia, the US, UK, Spain, and Serbia to be there.
Here is our highlights video from BeanCon in Boracay, and you can read more in this article.
What didn’t go well
My theme for the year was Ramp It Up. And I definitely did that. I said yes to just about every opportunity that came up!
This resulted in a heavy workload, lots of business travel and many early mornings to connect with the US timezone.
It was a lot, and saw me almost limping over the finish line at the end of the year with an empty tank.
2. Family and Friends
Goal: Be a great mother and supportive partner to Chantelle. Take at least two family trips away. Stay in touch with friends better.
What went well
This year, taking trips away with my family went really well.
When you have kids, it can be so easy to get caught up in the routine and the daily grind. Then all of a sudden you get to the end of the year and you kind of wonder what you did and where the time went.
But when you take a trip, it really creates memories. The kids remember it and talk about it, we look back on the photos and tell the funny stories of what happened. That’s what memories are made of.
Taking trips with two kids isn’t relaxing. It takes a lot of planning and a lot of hassle, but it’s worth it. I think I have also re-coded in a way the belief that holidays need to be, or should be relaxing. This was a goal of a holiday for me before kids, but it isn’t necessarily the priority anymore and that’s okay. This is a different phase of life, and taking trips is hard work, but it’s so worth it.
Left: One of our family trips away this year, to Hastings Point. Right: Attending a primary school friend’s 40th while away on a trip with. my eldest daughter to Sydney.
What didn’t go so well
I still struggled throughout 2023 to stay in touch with friends.
I say that friends are important to me, and they are. I do really value my friendships, but as an introvert it really becomes a struggle for me. I find that by the time I get through all my work, get stuff done around the house, by the time I’ve spent time with my kids and my partner and also prioritising extended family like my parents and brother, I just don’t feel like there’s much left of me for friends.
Often when I am presented with the rare choice to spend time on my own or to spend time with friends, I’ll prioritise being alone because that is something that recharges my batteries.
This is something I unfortunately don’t have a clear way forward to rectify or solve. Perhaps the answer is just acknowledging that our time is limited and it is impossible to do everything to the level we would like sometimes.
Something I found interesting
On the parenting front, I am absolutely loving Hamish Blake’s podcast, How Other Dads Dad. My favourite episode from 2023 was How Scott Pape Dads, aka The Barefoot Investor of whom I am a big fan.
In that episode, Scott recounted two trips he and his wife and four kids had taken. One was a luxury trip to Fiji with all the bells and whistles. And another was staying out on a friend’s property, roughing it, without showers or toilets.
When Scott asked his kids at the end of the year which trip was their favourite, all four of the kids chose the roughing it trip!
I just love that because it really drives home that kids don’t care about luxury or how much money you spend or how nice the hotel is. They just want to have fun and all be together.
So that is something I am going to remember and keep in mind as we continue to plan and take trips as a family.
Pictured: Our girls getting muddy on a camping trip!
3. Health
Goal: Stay on top of health checks. Prioritise sleep and minimise stress.
What went well
When I was 17, I had my two front teeth knocked out. The next day I went to school, missing my teeth because I was confident that people should like me regardless of what I looked like. Which for 17, I think was a fairly advanced belief to hold!
I got a lot of stares and weird looks, and people asked me if I had been in a fight (which I had. Admittedly it was between my mouth and a guy’s elbow playing a friendly game of basketball but that isn’t as good of a story.)
Over twenty years later and I still haven’t had my teeth fixed. Most people don’t know this but I wear a denture and can’t even bite into an apple. I have always wanted to get them fixed, but that involved surgery including a bone graft.
Before my breast cancer diagnosis that surgery always felt so scary and daunting, that I chose to just put it off and put it off. That was until I had to have a mastectomy and then a breast reconstruction, with all the rehab that came with it. After going through all that, all of a sudden getting my teeth fixed just paled in comparison. So I got that process started and will be completed over the next year.
Overall in 2023, I did a great job of staying on top of all my health checks, including my annual breast cancer review.
That was stressful this year as there were some images that needed further investigation and biopsy. It all came back clear but this is something I will need to stay on top of for the rest of my life.
I also saw a skin specialist to find out how I can better look after my skin to minimise the risk of skin cancer and prevent signs of aging. I ate healthy, nutritious food for the most part and I’m pleased that I managed my stress levels well.
What didn’t go well
Well for starters, getting my front teeth knocked out in the year 2000!
We had our fair share of sleeping challenges with our kids in 2023, meaning I was up a few times a night and then up for the day between 5 and 6am, making having a morning routine challenging.
I also was lax with my meditation routine - previously I would do 5 to 10 minutes after lunch in my office, which I am keen to bring back again.
4. Fitness
Goal: Fit as F*ck 40s. Specifically, getting into the best shape of my life as I approach my 40th birthday.
What went well
In my life I am generally very conscious of not owning too much stuff to store and maintain. As Tyler from Fight club says, "The things you own end up owning you."
So my purchases are usually aimed at experiences or buying back time, like hiring a babysitter so I can have a night out with my partner or paying for a cleaner. But sometimes a new item really can bring you joy and improve your life, and that was certainly true this year when my new mountain bike arrived.
I've been mountain biking for 10 years and have mostly been riding my entry-level Trek. It was time for an upgrade!
The whole experience from testing out different bikes, to having it fitted and then taking it out on the trails for the first time has been fantastic. Making this purchase, coupled with prioritising going mountain biking on a Friday morning this past year has truly brought me a lot of joy.
Taking my new mountain bike out on its first spin.
2023 was also the year of reclaiming strength and mobility following my mastectomy and the subsequent reconstruction so that I could get back to surfing. I followed the rehab routine, and overall my recovery after surgery is going well. I can do push-ups now, but I’m not sure if I will ever be able to do a chin up again (due to my pectoral muscle being stretched as part of the breast reconstruction).
What didn’t go well
Once I finished my rehab I stopped strength and weight training. In 2023, I also didn’t have any kind of race to train for and I do tend to flounder with training when I don’t have a specific goal in mind.
So with that being said, if you have any suggestions for a run, swim, or adventure race, let me know!
5. Learning
Goal: Build my skills as a podcaster, writer, and investor.
What went well
The two biggest things that went well in my Learning category in 2023 were starting The Lifestyle Accountant Podcast and the investment I made in TeamUp, which turned into an expanded role.
Both of these have become bigger parts in my business life so they got bumped up top to that section!
What didn’t go well
Actually, it wasn’t so much that it didn’t go well as it didn’t turn out like I thought it would.
In 2023, getting into angel investing was high on my list of things I was interested in and really wanted to learn more about. Early in the year I made a couple of investments and I realised that I loved vetting the business model and understanding the idea and the problem that the startup was solving. But on the other hand, I discovered I do not enjoy due diligence and trying to figure out the valuation for early-stage startups.
As I reflected on all of this, I figured to make money out of angel investing I would have to make around ten investments per year. Which in turn would mean vetting sixty deals per year, every single year. And that just doesn’t sound fun to me, nor do I think I have a special skill set in it.
So I decided to stop pursuing angel investing and have put that to bed, which feels good to have explored it and then gotten that closure as well.
I am still interested in investing in productized services solving problems for accounting firms (like TeamUp), but that is on hold for now.
6. Adventure
Goal: Go on an annual adventure with my Dad and brother. Go on a one on one trip with each of my daughters, aged 4 and 1.
What went well
Every year I like to go on a proper adventure with my Dad and brother. We had trouble fitting an overnight trip into our schedules, so a day trip had to suffice. We rode the Cascades Trail from Lake Mountain to Marysville. It was an awesome day and I’m so glad we at least fit that in!
I also was very happy I succeeded in taking both of my daughters on a one on one trip! With my youngest daughter we went to Merimbula (pictured with my Dad) and my eldest daughter we went to Sydney, and the grandparents joined us on both!
Left: With my brother and dad on our mountain biking trip. Centre: On the mountain biking trail at Lake Mountain. Right: My youngest daughter on our trip to Merimbula with her grandparents.
What didn’t go well
In 2023 I did more travel than ever before, but it was all work related and none were big outdoor adventure trips which I am very keen to rectify next year.
I guess in the year of Ramp It Up, something had to give!
Final Thoughts on 2023
Well in 2023 I definitely Ramped It Up.
When I look back over the year and reflect, I realise that I had too many things that I was trying to ramp up at the same time and that became a real challenge. Between Bean Ninjas, TeamUp, The Lifestyle Accountant Show, vetting investing deals and raising a young family I was extremely stretched.
One of my biggest takeaways from 2023 is that you can’t ramp everything up all at once, no matter how much I wanted to when I started the year!
When I set my 2023 theme, I also probably didn’t take into consideration enough the natural bias in my personality towards doing too much and always trying to achieve more. On reflection, Ramp It Up was probably not a great choice for me!
Which has lead me to my theme for the coming year. Drumroll please …
My 2024 theme is: Less.
Stay tuned for more on that very soon! In the meantime, I’d love to hear if you have a particular focus for 2024 or a reflection on how your 2023 was.
If you’re interested, here is my review from 2022 when my theme was Sabbatical.
