Here we are, not even 5 weeks into 2025, and work has started spiralling out of control again. I need to stop for a bit to regain control, get on top of some things, and take a moment to recalibrate.
Also, I desperately need an assistant. Now accepting applications here!
Spiralling, again
From the outset, I want to say that this is not a post about self pity. I count myself lucky every single day that I have a business I can call my own, the most wonderful team you can ever imagine, working in a field that I love and makes me happy.
It is because I love what I do so deeply that I work so hard at it.
And it is probably because of this that I find myself, yet again, overloaded, overwhelmed and stretched beyond my capacity.
Those who have followed along for a while would know that things have changed quite a lot around here in the last 4 years. Back in 2020, the RecipeTin world was a quiet one-girl-and-her-dog operation who hid behind the computer screen with a small support team that worked from home.
These days, I have a team of 9. I have a food bank (RecipeTin Meals) where 4 properly trained chefs work in a commercial kitchen and make over 130,000 homemade meals each year (plus desserts!) that we donate every day to the vulnerable.
I’ve written two cookbooks, both of which I partly blame for this new world in which we now operate. Because it turns out you get a bit of attention when the first book breaks records, then the second book breaks those records. 😉 Honestly, who knew books could do that??!
We do public events – cooking, hosting reader dinners, meet-and-greets, fundraisers for charities we want to support – both here in my hometown of Sydney and interstate, and do segments on TV shows. The fun stuff!
Behind the scenes, I have the responsibilities that come with having your own business. Administration, taxes, paperwork, corporate filings, HR, legal matters, business inquiries, making decisions about “what next” for the business. Looking after the team, organising team events, trying to keep up regular communication with a team that works from many different locations.
And with RTM being a registered charity, with that comes additional obligations, like regular board meetings which include independent directors and annual audits.
And lastly, let’s add to that, creating the recipes that I share on this website. Plus photographing them, editing the photos, filming them, writing up the posts, and testing the recipes.
I share this not to complain or boast about workload. I don’t think the latter is something to boast about anyway, because I’m here today, putting my hand up and saying – I don’t want to spiral back into that trap again of being completely overloaded, overwhelmed and stretched beyond my capacity.
I can’t. It’s unhealthy. While 2024 was a year of incredible highs, I ended it in a bad state of sheer exhaustion. I spent the entire 10 days of the Christmas break recovering, sleeping 12 to 15 hours every day. Unheard of for me – 6 hours is my norm, 8 hours would be a dream!
But spiralling again, I am.
My instinct in these situations in recent years has been grit my teeth, put my head down, tell my team “I need to go underground for a while” then ruthlessly plough through the work alone – developing, testing, shooting and getting through all the “businessy” stuff.
This time, though, I’m going to do something about it – and make positive changes!
I need help!
I always tell people I have “the best team anyone could be lucky enough to have” (and, I swear, the funniest too!). But the roles they fill are largely not front end at what we call “HQ” where the recipe development, testing and shooting gets done for this website.
And I am drowning. Absolutely drowning.
I need to rebuild my team. But first, I need the time to clear my head so I can set a clear vision for what my goals are and the strategy to achieve them, the people I need to make it happen.
And so today, I’m writing this post as a means of holding myself accountable (to myself!) to action two things:
Hire a kick-ass assistant with a great attitude whose job description is to make my life easier. Apply here!
Take a break from publishing new recipes for [two to three] weeks. Use the time to recalibrate, have quiet time to think about the next steps for the business, what I want to do, my strengths and weaknesses (SWOT analysis!), catch up on sleep, lavish Dozer with attention (like every day😂), and recruit my new assistant (yes, recruiting well takes time, so much time!).
Triggered by a cookie 🍪
If you’re wondering where this all came from, it happened yesterday and it was triggered by a cookie.
Today’s post was supposed to be a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I’ve been working on feverishly for several weeks – and stupidly (now I realise!), rather publicly as I jokingly shared fails and successes on social media.
32 batches in, over 250 cookies baked to get to the cookie I was aiming for, tested then tweaked then re-tested to make it as foolproof as possible.
I’ve filmed it, photographed it, I’ve even mostly written the post up, complete with all the learnings, pitfalls, and confidently declared to Herron, my video editor – “We have take off! 🚀🍪🍪”
Then yesterday, I made it again, just to test it one last time – and it wasn’t what it was supposed to be. Did I mis-measure something? Is the oven temperature off? Did I put the wrong timer on?
This was the moment
I frantically browned more butter, intent on doing another batch, calculating in my head – “if I get it in the fridge by 1 pm, I can do the short-chill test batch at 6 pm then the proper batch at 11 pm, which will finish cooling by 12.30 am so I can pack it away”.
This was followed by the thought “OK, I’ll make the dough here at work, then do groceries for the team breakfast tomorrow, drop into the building site on the way back so I can catch Nigel before he leaves, then I better duck home and walk Dozer so he can cool down before dinner. Then I’ll bring the groceries back to the office and prep for breakfast tomorrow, take the cookie dough home to bake tonight. I need to speak to Inggrid about cashflow forecasting, and oh crap, when is the next RTM board meeting? Ohhhh…and I forgot I have that 5.30 appointment, how much will she hate me if I reschedule? 😭 And I mustn’t forget to do my slides for the team presentation tomorrow – and UGH, the air con at the office is broken, it’s so insanely hot, we need to find another location for the meeting. I need to tell everyone we’re moving, and I better get than air con fixed, asap!”
And that was the moment I realised – I need to stop. Recalibrate. Take a break.
And use my time to find an assistant!
I will be back!
So, I’m taking a break from publishing new recipes, for 2 to 3 weeks to catch up on work that has piled up, think about what my next steps are and the team I need to make it happen.
Next week is already full with an exciting TV filming day (more soon!) and we have applications piled up already for the job vacancy which, to be honest, was advertised a week ago. Sharing it on my website is one of many little things that have slipped my mind. 🙂
My new assistant is the first important step to initiate change around here. I do not take recruitment lightly. I am very protective of my team, and the culture I’ve worked so hard to create and maintain.
So we need to get started on the recruitment because it will take quite a bit of time to get through the applications. And in case you are wondering, yes I am getting help from a recruitment company, I am just approaching it a little differently this time. Because this business is unique, my team is unique, I am unique! We find we don’t fit in moulds – and that’s ok, we like being different.
If you made it this far, thank you for listening to my ramblings. To be honest, it’s been pretty therapeutic, forcing myself to put thoughts down that have been whirling like crazy in my head in a semi-orderly fashion!
Bear with me. I will be back! Including that darn choc chip cookie recipe. It will not defeat me! – Nagi x
PS I expect I won’t be able to stay off social media completely because it’s my digital playground. I’m not cool enough for TikTok but I’m frequently putting real-life snippets on Instagram and Facebook.
Life of Dozer
Video from the fundraiser at SASH Ryde that Dozer and I attended last week to help raise funds for Sophie’s Legacy! I know there’s smiles and laughter – and it really was SO great meeting everyone – but there is a serious message behind it so I hope you get a chance to watch it:
If you’d like to support this cause, you can donate here or sign the petition here to help lobby for change. But even just talking about it, as I say in the video, means we are raising awareness and with that comes the start of change.
Dozer and I thank you for your support. – N x
PS Yes, I dropped to the floor, grabbed Dozer and took this selfie not 2 seconds ago!
OMG Nagi-I love you and Dozer so much and am wishing you so much healing and the joy of being able to say no. I have come to know you to a certain level through your excellent posts and struggles and laughter. I wish I could move to where you are and just volunteer in some way that would help you to see how much people care. Get some rest. Spend time with your old friend and we will all be here for you!
We love you and Dozer! It’s good you are taking time off and getting an assistant! BTW, I have both of your cookbooks! Take care and God Bless!
Hello Nagi!
We love your recipes and making it over and over again.
Thank you for the best recipes!
I love you and Dozer.. I’ll happy to help if I lived close to you (I’m in NY) Hope you and Dozer have a great time together during this time and can’t wait to see you both back!! Love,xoxo..
Enjoy your rest and take longer if you need, the bare minimum is never enough. (I’m 18 months post-burnout and still recovering) There is a whole back catalogue to work through and only so many meals a person can make in one day!
Take care of yourself 🙂
Nagi! I’ve been using your recipes & both your cookbooks – you taught me how to cook! We’ll be here when you get back – take gentle care of yourself.
Hi Nagi,
I just went to apply for the job available but see it has been taken off the Seek site. I wish I had seen it earlier as I think I could be a good fit. I live between Gladesville & North Ryde & have zero tolerance in toxic behaviour. If you would be interested in seeing my resume, please contact me via my email address. Have a great day.
It takes wisdom to recognize the need to rest and it takes courage to do it. Well done 🙂
Hi Nagi,
Yep, that sounds like Burnout. I love your recipes and have been using your recipes at home for quite a few years, I see you’re hiring, I would love to apply for that role, but I live in the UK, so it just wouldn’t work for the both of us. All the best in finding an assistant, and hope to see you back in a few weeks time.
Hi Nagi,
I so wish I lived close enough to apply for this role. I would not call it a ‘job’ as I see it as a passion for being yours and dear Dozer’s right hand person! You are one incredible lady and I would love the privilege of being one step ahead of you to keep you from ending up with burn out. And being ‘Team Mum’ to the incredible team behind you. Plus lot’s of pats and licks with Dozer. Unfortunately I live in Adelaide. Best of luck with finding someone truly awesome to support you.
Lol. Your content is fantastic, but clearly requires a ton of effort. And your non-recipe publishing efforts are crazy!
You work hard. Thank goodness you have ~10 staff already. I think a few more would be fair, not just one, so I will not judge of you end up hiring more people in 2025!
Keep up the fantastic work! Good luck.
Hi Nagi!
Would love to apply for this amazing opportunity, as I believe I could definitely lighten your load…and hang out with Dozer <3, alas, I don't live within drive distance of Gladesville :(.
Your recipes are amazing and have been my culinary sidekick for quite some time. They are so diverse, as they are delicious!! Yum!
I wish you all the best of luck in finding that gem in the rough, someone who can make your life that bit more manageable.
Hi Nagi, I would love to be your assistant, even though I have not worked for a while. I have 3 teenage boys and two Goldies! I did submit my lack thereof resume😄. I have plenty of juggling experience !
Hi Nagi,
my sister Suzanne applied for your assistant position. I hope you consider her as I know she would be perfect. She is always looking after everyone else and putting herself last. This year she said she would do something for herself and filling in the application for your her assistant was what she chose to do for herself. She ticks all the boxes for what you need and I know she wouldn’t let you down.
Nagi, first I want to thank you all over for your recipes that made my life so easier…Take the time to rest and find helpful people surrounding you by keeping you such a lovely and caring person. You are a wonderful human being and I thank you for that.
Nagi I simply love your recipes….at this minute of writing this message I am making your mushroom soup. Smells sooo good. If I was 3o or so years younger I would love to have been your assistant. 🙂 Hope you find someone who you and Dozer will love having around to help make your life smoother 🙂
I have enjoyed reading, if not making, all your recipes, as well as the publicity that documents your incredible business. It’s not hard to see how hard you work, how much you enjoy it and how dedicated you are to both your staff and fans.
As a 90 year old with some experience of life I tell you to realize that you must value your mind and your body as nobody else will or the love people are sending you will eat you up. No matter that the intentions are good.
Rest – Breathe – smell the roses (that surely must be blooming in Sydney). And come back rested and stronger.
Thank you Marje. I needed this reminder today more than ever. – Nagi ❤️
Nagi
I would love to be your assistant and organise everything for you so that life is not so overwhelming. I find my own life getting like that and I have to pull back. Unfortunately I live in Perth, so no use applying and I don’t think I’m qualified anyway. Just wanted you to know I’m thinking of you
Deb
Hi Nagi, I hope that you find your capable assistant soon.
I love your recipes and they make up my weekly menu plan. However, I don’t expect you to have a new recipe every day or every week. It will be insane for any fan to expect that. There are already so many recipes to try. Don’t give yourself pressure.
Hope that you have time for you and Dozer. God bless. Take care!
This sounds like a classic case of burnout. One thing you can’t do with burnout is push/work harder thru it. Workaholics and people who have become successful doing it all themselves have Control challenges; it is hard to hand things off and easy to overburden yourself. As a career senior/exec accountant for decades (with a doctorate in Life Coaching, also, that I got while working full-time), I have been no stranger to burnout. You MUST stop and Back Off…or your body will just take you down. You have FAR too much on your plate. You need an executive assistant/manager who can Take On/Over ANY role you are not absolutely essential in. The skinny is this: Your site is great and loved, but Nobody needs more recipes from you where you feel pressured to “produce.” If you never created another, they would still have a superabundance! Let it be. Schedule admin type tasks for a certain time and do them calmly, until you get an Assistant – then hand stuff off. Aim for an almost total hands-off modus operandi, and you might lighten the load a bit. Burnout takes time to heal from and you can’t push; it is forced “backing off,” and it is a warning. Hire 2 assistants at half that rate each, if you need to, but get Out from under all that! Create 12 new recipes a year. You need to Live, too. Dozer has been concerning me for a while. He is getting that look on his face and he is, at this point, fighting it off and resisting, but the eventuality will come and he is facing it – you can see it on him. I would Most Strongly encourage you to say Eff It to anything biz-related that isn’t of on-fire importance and Spend Every Quality Minute with Dozer that you can, because when “they” no longer give him the option to resist, Nothing over there will matter At All!! Though you never post any of my comments, probably because I was vegan before but am NOT anymore Thank God, and don’t need to post this, I hope you will read and consider this because it is deeply and sincerely from the heart. I have been eyeing Dozer for a while and I can see it getting nearer. What I need to share, I can’t from where I am now. I will Comment later from a different (private) portal on navigating and I will show you the “way up the mountain.” For now, I suggest forgetting you have a biz, and focus on self-nurturing and spending time with Dozer, meditate, and yes, recalibrate so you can BE, Not so you can work more. You can also bring on interns from a college to help with tasks, but you can’t keep pushing. You will come to find that no matter how many books or recipes or donations, when that shift comes, none of it will matter and in the final analysis, most people don’t need to eat more and it isn’t worth destroying yourself of losing sight of what Does matter, or your health/sanity. I know; I have worked 22 hour days. When you’re sitting in the bath at night, so what. You’re killing yourself so people can have a few extra pasta recipes and taking time away from self-/soul-nourishment and Dozer. So, I’ll be his voice here – before it is too late on this side. Breathe. It is fixable. Keep repeating that, and allow it to Be. I will be in touch with the addendum and you will recognize it; accept no simile. Spend the days in the park with Dozer and some bread, cheese and wine, until someone needs you to sign something. Who needs more for a day out?! If you have a giving or people-pleasing gear or modus, you need to put that in neutral; it will consume you, because it is bottomless. There is never an Enough point. Focus on you two, like it is 5 years ago. No matter how hard you work, that it matters is So fleeting. Don’t get caught up in that. It isn’t going to be worth it. You do great things but have done enough already to coast the rest (Rest!) of your life. YOU have to set the Enough point. Quit! Go into Maintenance Mode and let people choose from your existing treasure chest of recipes. Go back to Living and Sharing a joyful life of peace together, while you can. Giving yourself a heart attack isn’t worth it, and it happens to women more than men. Sending Blessings and Peace. Angelil
Blessings to you. Your reply is beautiful. The thought of Dozer one day not being at Nagi’s side is deeply heart breaking though.
A heartfelt comment!
I’ve never had difficulty in saying ‘No’, although it must also be said that I’ve probably never found a passion as deep as Nagi’s.
It amazes me that Nagi feels that she needs to keep on creating recipes and generally working at this frenetic pace. Who on earth would judge her were she to take a break except Nagi, herself?
I am glad that she is considering a downshift in pace – all her fans would scream that Nagi is an amazing human being who has already given more than enough to this crazy world.
Hi Nagi! Love you and your website! Take all the time you need as your beloved fans will still faithfully be here waiting for you, rooting you on your life journey! We support you because we love you unconditionally like a mother loves her child or how like Nagi loves Dozer! You’re our number 1 so take good care of your headspace, give yourself some grace and know we will always be here to be your biggest cheerleader Nagi!
Just wanting to remind you of how absolutely awesome you are…
Well, I have had an absolute doozey of a week. I had half prepped your French sausage and bean recipe from Dinner… you know just some chopping ahead. Then the week went insane until I finally got to tonight. Home late. Exhausted. Definitely could not be bothered. I had to cook the recipe else waste the ingredients. Which is a a big no no in my world.
Sigh. I reluctantly put my big girl pants on and gave this recipe a spin…
Believe me, there was no love in the process tonight.
Just lucky I didn’t burn the saute step completely!
I did not bother with garlic. Which was a shame but also just as well too I think (would have burnt tonight, just no love or finesse at all and very distracted)
I forgot cherry tomatoes.
I used one can of cannellini beans, one can of chickpeas and one can of lentils because I forgot another key ingredient (more cannellini beans).
I did have wine lol!
This was destined to fail Nagi but in all honesty it was so completely tasty that I would serve it to friends and family quite proudly as is. But it will be better when I try the recipe as is I bet!
Thank you so much. Take care of yourself.