I’ve been journaling for as long as I can remember. Somewhere in a plastic tote at my parents house, a tiny 4 inch orange hardcover notebook contains the juicy details of my first kiss, documented in hot pink gel pen. I had journals with little locks that I would ultimately lose the keys to, and all kinds of notepads filled to the brim with my detailed back to school outfit combinations:
Monday:
Angel Sweater
Bongo Jeans
Skechers
Lipsmackers
I had notepads filled with bad poetry, my deepest thoughts, and my very honest unfiltered opinions. I’ve even had some minorly traumatizing experiences with my journals- like the time a girl in town stole one of my diaries and read it out loud on the bus- (in front of my crush no less).
Whether I was pouring my little preteen heart onto paper or plotting out the order for my next burnt CD- I have been using writing as a form of self expression since, forever.
My writing practice continued to follow me all through high school, college, into adulthood. It’s always been normal to have multiple notebooks on the go- multiple RANDOM notebooks just FULL of tiny fragmented fleeting thoughts, ideas, grand plans.
For most of my life, I like to think that writing things down has acted like a bit of a coping strategy for my raging ADHD and the sheer VOLUME of “ideas” I have at any given time. If I write it down, it’s no longer spiralling in my head (in tandem with 55 other thoughts and some random background track that always seems to be playing).
For a LONG time- ideas found their way into the pages of whatever notepad was at arms length at the time of the thought. No rhyme or reason. Not even in any specific order. Idea comes in- random notebook opens to a random page, idea gets hastily scribbled down- notepad is closed and is NEVER OPENED AGAIN LOL. Seemed efficient enough.
After journalling almost my entire life, five years ago I created my first “ journaling system”. Instead of 10 random notebooks that collected all my thoughts and ideas- I had 4 notebooks that were for designated topics.
Identity.
Money.
Mindset.
Journal.
They were all different colours, they were labelled, and they were sacred. No longer was I throwing any random old thought onto a random page in the middle of a book- for the first time ever I respected my journals, I used the pages in order, I stuck to the topic at hand. Each entry was dated, and has now offered me a detailed look into my own psyche. I now have 5 years of incredibly organized, well documented thoughts, feelings, patterns and DATA.
2020 also happened to be the year I left a 15 year relationship, I was 30 at the time so I had spent half of my life in this relationship. The power these words wield can still turn my stomach in knots just by reading a few lines of writing. The first journal entry in this set of journals was dated August 4, 2020- and I left that relationship four months later in December. So I have a 4 month lead up of writing before finalizing that decision (and it’s truly heartbreaking to read). I have documented in detail every emotion I processed during that breakup, the absolute gongshow DATING was for me *for the first time in my adult life *I was fifteen the last time I had dated for context, and a beautiful documentation of my healing journey.
I think it’s common to hear the phrase “doing the work”.. But what does that mean, truly? Well, I can tell you, THIS- was doing the work. I wrote my way through one of the most challenging, painful, and transformative seasons of my life. I excavated my feelings, analysed my emotions, let it all out on a page. I remember feeling so uncomfortable. My emotions were SO big and I hadn’t learned any emotional regulation techniques yet- so I just wrote.
One of my first journals dates back to when I was first introduced to To Be Magnetic—my first real dive into mindset work. Page after page, I poured myself into deep introspection, working through the TBM pathway: Unblocked Inner Child, Unblocked Love, Unblocked Money. The INSIGHTS. The lessons. The growth. The self awareness.
I’ve always been drawn to self-development and personal growth, but over the past five years, I truly leaned in—making learning and evolving a core part of my healing journey. Before leaving that relationship, I had spent four to five years forging my own path as an interior designer. The same week I ended that chapter of my life, I “officially” launched my interior design studio, Stay Here—and before even hitting publish on my new website, I booked two full-scale renovation projects.
So, while onboarding my first major clients, I was simultaneously navigating the most painful, challenging, and transformative personal experience of my life. And yet, my design studio kept growing. I took on more projects, expanded my offerings, and scaled into large-scale renovations, a TV show, a hotel! But behind the scenes, I was deep in my own personal healing, exploring mindset work, breathwork, movement—things that felt entirely separate from my design business (and entirely new to me!).
I was juggling the demands of a fast-growing studio while feeling this undeniable pull toward something bigger. I took on my first 75 Hard challenge—an experience that completely changed me.
@autumnhacheydesignWhat an absolutely incredible journey. I am so freaking proud of myself. 🥺🥲 Thank you for following!! #75hard #75hardresults #75hardchallenge #fyp
For the first time, I felt a deep divide between what I was already doing and what was impacting me on such a life changing level.
I loved interior design, but discovering wellness changed my life. Mindset work, prioritizing wellbeing, self reflection- it all changed me as a person.
It had impacted me on such a deep level that I ended up creating my own version of the challenge 75 Slow- that aimed to be a more sustainable version of a 75 day challenge that focused more on creating identity based habits and healthier routines- that would OUTLAST 75 days. I ran the 75 slow challenge twice for close to 200 people. And I wanted to do MORE of that. As it stood, it didn’t make sense for me to be leading an interior design studio and running completely unrelated wellness challenges in my spare time. I felt torn. I felt burnt out by trying to show up in so many places. My energy and attention felt divided.
I was also facing some pretty common problems with my design studio. Living in feast or famine. Red flag clients. Scope creep, blurry boundaries. I knew early last year I wanted to move away from full scope 1:1 projects and I invested a tonne of time and money trying to launch design-related scalable offers. Any of them could have been successful for me- if they were aligned.
I felt completely burnt out by my design studio and all the resistance I was facing trying to get new offers off the ground. I kept constantly juggling the idea of how I could balance new offers through Stay Here while also starting to invest more time into wellness related offers- but I felt stuck. Like I couldn’t fully commit to either thing and it felt too overwhelming to do both.
I also had a lot of ego tied up in Stay Here. So many people would DIE to have my job. I built a studio that specialized in designing vacation rentals. It was my dream job. I had just filmed an entire TV series about my company. I just designed the biggest project of my career, a hotel. I had an unbelievable amount of success in the short 4 years my studio was operating, especially as a self taught designer.
But it just didn’t feel aligned for me anymore. I was tired of “proving” my worth. I was exhausted by how demanding a design studio is to run. The stressful nature of construction just felt so overwhelming in my body. Looking at my industry peers it seemed the only way to become more profitable as a design studio, was to get bigger. More clients, more big projects, more staff. I didn’t want any of that. I’ve always valued freedom and autonomy- and locking into 2 year contracts and hiring more employees just didn’t feel like the path I wanted to take.
I still couldn’t shake all the what ifs. Was I going to make a huge mistake by walking away from design (which also happens to be one of my biggest creative passions). Would people think it was because I am not good enough, creative enough to be a designer?
I spent so much time stuck in my head and by May of 2024 I hit my breaking point.
This is where the journals come back in.
One weekend last May, Ryan was away, and I exasperated. Our apartment looked like the detective office in a true crime show—sticky notes covering the walls, pro/con lists everywhere, a full-blown brainstorm stuck to the wall out in a desperate attempt to figure out my next move.
And then, I did something kind of crazy. I took my neatly organized journals, and I began to voice note dictate them into Chat GPT. I figured, if I could show Chat GPT where my head was at over the last few years, MAYBE it could help me untangle the mess I’d made in my mind and help me forge a way forward.
After HOURS of reading my journals out loud (which by the way is a very deep experience on it’s own).. I created a master transcript and fed it into Chat GPT with a few big questions.
What are my biggest mindset blocks?
What patterns do you recognize?
What can you tell me that I am not seeing myself?
And most importantly.. What should I be doing as a career?
And the answer was there, clear as day.
It was written all throughout my journals.
My core values.
My deepest desires.
How I wanted to feel.
What was lifting me up.
What was dragging me down.
The people, places, and experiences contributing to my happiness—or my exhaustion.
The clients that made me want to pull my hair out.
The projects that left me feeling creatively fulfilled.
How I wanted to be treated—and how I did not want to be treated.
I already had ALL THE ANSWERS, I just couldn’t see them.
All I needed to do was reflect, connect the dots, and mine my own data.
That weekend was the all the confirmation I needed to completely pivot into coaching.
That weekend was also the inspiration behind my very first product.
Self reflection combined with the power of AI- literally changed the course of my life and my career.
One of the first exercises I do with my clients when we work together in my 12 week coaching container, is a life and business audit. Essentially, we work together to do a full review of everything currently happening in their lives in order to understand their baseline. Before setting goals, before making new plans- it’s important to understand where you are.
After 6 months of doing these Life Audits for my clients manually—I had the idea to automate my process and use the power of AI to help identify patterns, themes and blocks, just like I had done for myself.
So, in a full circle moment I am absolutely thrilled to announce the official launch my first product post-pivot.
Make Moves Wrapped: A Life and Biz Audit.
A comprehensive 3 part Notion system with a custom Make Moves Chat Bot to help you mine your own data and make moves with clarity and confidence.
The audit is broken up into three main sessions.
The Life Audit is a structured yet deeply introspective process designed to help you assess every key area of your life with clarity and honesty. It acts as a mirror, reflecting back your current reality while guiding you toward the life you truly want to create. This process is about radical self-awareness—understanding what’s working, what’s draining you, and what needs to shift to align your life with your values, desires, and long-term vision. The audit is broken down into six core areas, each representing a vital pillar of a well-rounded, fulfilling life.
Includes:
4 Seasonal Self Reflection Journals
6 Life Category Self Reflection Journals
A Life Balance Graph
IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS.
It’s time to get real about your business. The Biz Audit is your ultimate tool for reflecting on the past year, celebrating wins, and uncovering key insights to refine your strategy for what’s next. This isn’t just about numbers (though understanding them is key!)—it’s about creating a business that feels aligned and sustainable.
Through a step-by-step process, you’ll assess your financials, offers, and client relationships—pinpointing what’s working, what’s draining you, and where to focus your energy. By the end, you’ll have a clear, strategic roadmap that connects profit with purpose—so you can step into 2025 with confidence and make bold, aligned money moves.
Includes:
Financial Overview
Offer Alignment Workbook
Client Alignment Workbook
Visualized Data throughout
The Annual Summary Page provides a high-level reflection of your year, helping you spot patterns, track progress, and gain insights into your personal and professional growth. Powered in part by the Make Moves AI bot, this page highlights key takeaways from your Life and Biz Audit, offering AI-generated insights to help you identify trends and areas of focus.
Includes:
Themes to bring into 2025
Analysis on Strengths + Creative Genius
Core values + Core Desired Feelings
Mindset Blocks, Shifts + Affirmations
Life Audit Summary
Biz Audit Summary
Strategies for the year ahead
This report is generated in part by the Make Moves AI bot. The bot identifies correlations and patterns to provide insights, which the user will manually add to their Notion dashboard. While designed to spot trends, it is not perfect—please use your own discernment when interpreting the results. Users are responsible for manually adding the Make Moves Report to their Notion dashboard.
Weooo. So that’s the life and biz audit! My first product, my lil baby.
I have a lil’ promo going on for my waitlist and substack subscribers- you can save 15% until Friday Feb 21 using the code MakeMovesAudit. I would LOVE TO KNOW what you thought about this format of posting- please leave a comment below!
Lastly— Shout out to Daniela- my client turned friend- for suggesting substack in the first place and for also suggesting doing audio based posts! Daniela is an increeeedible designer from Hudson who specializes in color. She ALSO has a substack, and you should def subscribe. Dopamine overload!
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