Reflect. Simplify. Create: In Conversation with Amanda Viviers

I am delighted to share with you my recent conversation with Amanda Viviers, an author, speaker, writing coach and retreat facilitator – among a myriad other personal and professional roles that contribute to the wonderful human being she is.

I first met Amanda on a retreat a number of years ago, and have been fortunate enough to learn from and be encouraged by her, not only in my writing but in embracing all of who I am.

Out of a genuine desire to help other creatives find their voice, Amanda has designed a range of reflective journals. While these have usually been tailored towards an end of year or end of season reflection, her latest, Simplify, is a printable workbook that can used throughout the year in a variety of ways.

Read on to discover more about Amanda Viviers and her new reflective workbook, Simplify. I hope you will be as inspired and encouraged as I am.

Writing and Creativity

How did you discover that writing was something you loved doing?

I always thought that writing was a later-in-life discovery. A moment of career failure that turned into a passion. Until I stood at my 30-year reunion of high school and the MC read a poem penned by me in year 8 which I had completely forgotten that I had written. I love creativity and I struggle with grammar, but the combination with activating people’s writing voice brings my passions together. I completed a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature and History at Murdoch University. I did do units from my course though, at Notre Dame University and Edith Cowan as well. I studied Musical Theatre at WAPPA. Basically creativity has hounded my mind since I was a young girl and it expresses itself in varied ways across my career.

Writing is not the only form of creativity you enjoy – what other creative pursuits nourish you?

Creativity is powerful. I believe it is a processing tool that helps us acknowledge and hold space for stories that we all carry. I love to knit and crochet, mostly because it’s a brainstorming and processing rhythm. When I hold yarn in my hands and I don’t have my phone in my hands, it allows my mind to pace differently and find ways to express the random thoughts swirling the drain.

I also love painting for the same reasons, focusing on an image, reading the stories found in the foreground and background, then bringing the picture to life with my own lens and imperfections. The stories we carry need expression and sometimes it is a very unique process to allow the cream to rise to the top of our soul, so the insight needed can be relished in.

What does your creative practice look like?

My life is like a grazing board. I love to walk along the ocean, have long conversations and then suddenly I must express the ideas that have been hiding in my heart. I have come to realise that journaling is a powerful tool to practice the process required to express ourselves with clarity. I carry a journal everywhere I go, and I love to help others find their voice through a journaling practice also.

You work at Compassion – what is your role there?

Compassion is a not-for-profit organisation that creates content and stories to aid in fundraising for children in the developing world. I am the Brand and Creative Director, with a creative studio of staff who live around Australia. I lead film makers, writers, graphic designers, studio staff and content creators globally. Recently, I traveled to Bangladesh to participate in a Child Marriage Symposium, which gathered not for profits across the country to listen and learn ways we can advocate for the rights of children. It was a trip that changed my life. Listening to the stories of boys and girls and their desire to bring change globally was very sobering.

How does that feed into or draw from your love of writing and/or storytelling?

The gift of my work is that I get to read, listen to and learn from thousands of children’s stories a year. It celebrates the voice of children in a way that they have rights, and opinions that are different to my own. Also I love coaching creatives, so finding ways to support my team in their content creation, as we advocate for ethical storytelling from the programs in the developing world is a powerful tool for empathy and learning from the diverse stories of another.

What initially prompted you to begin creating guided reflection journals?

I have personally written from the same list of questions for 25 years. I have one black moleskin journal, that holds the answers to the same list of questions across these decades. Very quickly I can ascertain what the plumbline of passion is across all of these years and see whether I am living true to my values or not. As I saw the impact of reflection, insight and coaching on individuals and people who had used my journaling pages, I saw great impact and transformation. This was the motivation that has helped me publish this online workbook, both in print and online versions, to help others end their years softly.

These books are not about striving for more but leaning into our values and understanding what is holding our energy and focus captive. The insight that comes from this kind of listening to oneself is powerful.

Simplify

What was the inspiration behind your latest guided reflection workbook Simplify?

Each year I reflect on a word or a phrase to lean into for my audience in Australia and overseas. From social media to emails and conversations with those who have used my reflection workbooks before, I knew that 2024 was different. There is a chaos in the ether. If we think of the collective mindset across the calendar year of 2024, even the pantone colour of the year is a little muddy! I think we all need a little simplicity. A stripping back. A reflection of rest. A rebuilding of the new. Less noise, more peace— is a prayer that I have heard whispered often this year. So I created a series of worksheets, that can be used across the year, to help you press pause and simplify.

How is Simplify similar or different to your previous journals?

Simplify is very different to my previous journals. It is a printable, which enables you to print one worksheet or many depending on the focus you require. Basically, it’s a series of creative exercises to help you find your voice through expression. Previous journals have been published with a lot of journaling questions and articles, but they are focused on the end of a year and season, whereas Simplify has activities that can be used in groups or personally across the year, months, weeks, days or general opportunities to focus on your values, life goals and focus.

Do you “have” to work through Simplify from start to finish at the end/beginning of the year, or is it something you could pick up any time and dive in at any point?

Recently I printed my own version and had it bound at office works. I have it in my back pack and I work through the exercise that resonates with me. The big idea is it is up to you. You could print out a monthly exercise and do it on the first day of each month next year. You could build the journaling practice into your week and habit-stack it against something you already do. For example, each Thursday you might go out for coffee – could you add 15 minutes of journaling time to this habit you already have?

What do you hope people will get out of delving into Simplify?

I think our world needs more compassion. The word is defined as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering. The power of journaling is our ability to extend self-compassion to the stories we carry as well. Often creative people I have coached and led are very unkind to themselves and the way they self-critique their work. Simplify is toned with self-compassion in every exercise. How can I be more compassionate to myself and my work? It is a transformative tool for refection, mindfulness and motivation. Often your greatest block as a writer will be the way you speak internally about your writing.

Imagine if it 2025, you could simplify the noise in your mind. That would be a huge movement in all of our writing practice globally.

What advice can you offer to help us get the most out of Simplify?

Put on a timer, even 15 minutes long, and sit in front of blank pages to write for insight. This practice will change your life. I have always been inspired by Julia Cameron and her workbooks, especially The Artists Way. These journals are designed to help you do your morning pages, your morning processing routines with clarity and focus.

Another tip is to find ways to make this process accountable. Is it documenting it on your social media? Is it asking a writing support group to hold you accountable?

Lastly, make time to go on a writing retreat in 2025. This is a boost to your accountability and writing flow that cannot be matched. It is a beautiful way to build processing and writing into your everyday.

A Few of Your Favourite Things

Who inspires you, or has made a difference in your life, and why?

My Mum. She was awarded the Order of Australia medal for her service of the local community, starting a charity that served the homeless in our community for decades. She took our family home and made it into a refuge for women who were homeless and pregnant. She was a designer of swimwear, an actor, started a bakery and raised us all with strength and courage. Inaugural Board director of the high school my son now attends, co-founder of an exchange program that bought students from Thailand to Australia to learn and experience life in Australia and the list goes on. Entrepreneurial, determined, empathetic and studious.

But you know what sets her apart? She turns up on my doorstep with fruit fresh from the orchard, she offers food and encouragement to her local community with no need for accolade or fanfare.

If you could write a letter to your 12-year-old self, what would you say to her?

Stop worrying. You will be okay. Life will come to you in waves and seasons, and you need to stop worrying about what people think. Your dreams will come true. Your hopes are being realised. And your worrying did nothing to change it. Also, one last thought, stop trying so hard to be liked; who you are is purposed. Forget the crowd and zone in on your values. This is where the true gold lies in life.

What book has had a lasting impact on you and why?

As referenced earlier, The Artists Way by Julia Cameron bought clarity to the things I valued more than any book I have read since. It gave voice to the practices that I longed for and validated how I felt about creativity. It encouraged me to write and publish my first book 20 years ago and has been a stable on my reading list ever since. It helped me find ways to workshop creativity in powerful ways. If you haven’t read it in a while, maybe this is your 2025 reminder to pick it up again and express yourself. It shaped my book Dear Creative Self and has inspired me for decades.

Any final words for other creatives?

You can do more than what you think you can. The problem is not the problem, it’s the way you are thinking about it. Journaling changes this conundrum. How can you build it as a practice into your daily routine?

Find out more about Amanda Viviers, and order a copy of Simplify on her website.