Andy Byrne

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Andy Byrne

🚀 Empowering Productivity, Elevating Mindset, & Mastering Business 💼 | Entrepreneurship📈 | Success Hi there!

I'm Andy, and I've spent the last 25 years working in sales, training and running small businesses and now I'm looking at ways to share my experiences with a wider audience. This page will showcase my content around productivity, mindset and essentialism. In the last few years I've flipped my perspective, and how I work to be happier, healthier and make more money overall and here I'll talk about

some of the steps that I took to turn around some of the more challenging parts of my life. I'll show how I've become more productive, focusing on things that I'm really passionate about as well as spending more time with the people I care about and what is essential in my life. I hope you'll join me as I discuss some of the systems and processes that have worked for me, as well as some of the challenges and opportunities that we all face. If you like my content, please feel free to follow me on my other social media accounts all available here: https://linktr.ee/andyssmartlife

29/09/2025

Top of Mind - September 29th
Pictured: Our little fashionista strutting her stuff before a party in Leisure Plex Blanch at the weekend. She's really into the 'rock-chick' style which is a bit of a contrast to us building engineering toys over the weekend and her usual GAA attire.

Still taking it easy after a bad bug the week before, I was working on projects at home for most of the week, and am currently working on wiring some devices I've created. I did manage to get out on Wednesday night for a bit and was delighted to see that my keyrings are on sale in RIOT bar which really made my day.

I've some other, new products I'm working on, and with a bit of luck some new shops in the wings to sell the items in. In the meantime, while ETSY has slowed down I have the time to work on some custom orders and requests which hopefully will lead to more down the road.

Anna's schedule continues to be packed as ever with play dates, parties and after school activities coming out of her ears. While the week was dominated with seeing friends and her GAA practice, at the weekend she played a match in Long Meadows and then seemingly had enough energy left to go out to Blanchardstown for a birthday party with bowling and arcade games.

I joined for a couple of table hockey attempts, but Anna was too quick for me and beat me hands down 2 games in a row. It also gave me the chance to do a bit of mooching around the shops, but as usual came away with nothing but a small notebook to keep in my pocket from Tiger.

Reaching the end of September seems like such a milestone with 1 year in the new house and starting my 3rd year lecturing, but this time of year always causes me to have a bit of the blues for no particular reason, so am trying to keep occupied as much as possible and rewatching Marvel movies with Anna to lift my spirits.

For this week I'll focus on trying getting ahead on content for the next few weeks as well as building my own smart home 'everything' sensors from scratch.

22/09/2025

Top of Mind - September 22nd
Pictured: Scrabble is fast becoming Anna's favourite game. I return to teaching while Halloween prep is well underway, but we were hit by a bug in the house which hit me first then Anna. At first she cheered me up reading to me until it hit her too...

I figured with the first week back in work and the week after my birthday I'd be taking it easy, but I wasn't prepared for a tummy bug to knock me for a loop. This had me in bed most days, and just about able to teach all my classes. Thankfully it was the first week so light and no tutorials.

Poor Anna got really worried for me and sat by my bed reading me Avengers stories to help me feel better, but then she got the bug too and, despite protests from her, was unable to go to school for a few days. There were lots of sofa naps and binge watching of Star Trek TNG.

Her biggest complaint was that she felt she wasn't doing anything with the time and this was really frustrating, so when possible she and Marie-Helene took in a game of scrabble or some cards. The spelling and vocabulary is definitely benefitting from the games.

To cheer her up on Saturday I 3D printed a 'Bubble-Gun' which, when motorised shoots out bubbles all over the house, so she now has a new favourite 3d printed toy.

The obsession with Halloween has begun early in the house this year, and there's already been 2 trips to the Halloween pop up shop in Jervis for supplies and decorations. You'd think that the things we have up now would be out of place at this time of year, but there's so many skeletons and skulls around the house during regular times that it all just seems to fit in.

Given my general lack of productivity last week I'll be spending most of the evenings prepping content and trying to get ahead. I'm also looking forward to a new router arriving this week which will appease my inner geek. It should keep me occupied along with the ESP32 micro controllers I've been playing with to build my own smarthome devices.

15/09/2025

Top of Mind - September 15th
Pictured: Birthday celebrations at home with Anna cooking me an amazing 3 course meal and giving me the best little gifts. At the same time inside the house there were minor repairs on the 3d printer and outside some roadworks left us with a 'bridge'.

September means my birthday rears it's head yet again, and, given that I was still off for the summer, it meant I could take it easy and do things at my own pace.

On Wednesday night I caught a load of friends in RIOT for some bday drinks and was spoiled by the staff and friends alike. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the evening, but it was nice without being too crazy. I still managed to do an Irish goodbye when I saw my bus outside, so if I didn't say bye, my bad!

For the rest of the week I was treated to food and fun at home, and over the weekend, Anna, who is learning basics of cooking, made me a lovely birthday dinner with sweet and sour chicken, smoothies, and chocolate caramel & ice-cream muffins. I loved her enthusiasm around making everything and this for her was the highlight of the week.

The only disruption was some roadworks right outside our door for the week. It was meant to last a day, but ended up lasting for 4, yet Anna had some fun with it as there was a bridge over the holes in the ground to our door for a day or two so this was a novelty she enjoyed.

I kept my inner geek happy during the week doing some minor repairs and maintenance on the printer as well as experimenting with making my own smart home devices, so I'm hoping to make the house even smarter without breaking the bank.

This week I'm hoping to get back into a routine as the new term starts. While I'm looking forward to getting back into the rhythm, it's gonna be a shock after so much time at home. There's a couple of new modules this term, but they're very similar to ones I've already delivered, so it shouldn't be too much of a challenge. So on that note, I don't forsee anything crazy this week.

08/09/2025

Top of Mind - September 8th
Pictured: Lunch over the weekend with Mammy-Phil (who avoided photos by taking them!) Anna undecided over which Halloween decorations to get first. Her amazing self portrait in the school and some new 3D printed magnets of Ireland locations for ETSY...

Back to school is in full swing now and Anna is loving it for the most part, particularly since her new teachers are very muscial and artistic. With that in mind the class were encouraged to draw themselves and Anna really managed to capture herself down to the smallest detail and is very pleased with the result.

While she was doing that in school, I was busy at home creating new products for the business following meetings with several shops around the city so hopefully you'll be seeing more of the products popping up in more locations.

Alongside that I've also be frantically writing content for a couple of new modules in the college. With 1 week left before I go back, I'm both apprehensive and excited to return after the summer break. I've taken on a lot more in the NCI this term so hopefully it will all pay off for me and the school.

Anna is already gearing up for the Halloween fun, which is a family favourite in our house, but there's just too much choice when it comes to decorations and if she (and I) had her way, we'd probably have the place spooky-fied all year round.

We also managed to catch Mammy-Phil for a lovely lunch in Café En Seine at the weekend and catch her up on all our activities, but as you can see myself and Anna were just big messers in the place pulling faces and acting like big kids. I'm sure we can never go there again! :D

This week I'll be celebrating that yearly milestone of another orbit of earth around the sun with me on it, so while I won't be doing anything exciting I'm hoping to catch a few people before a quiet family day at the weekend to mark the ever insistant passing of time.

Outside of that it's more writing content this week and more prepping...

01/09/2025

Top of Mind - August 25th
Pictured: The long anticipated first day back at school arrived, but not before Anna really showed us some amazing word action on scrabble, getting the highest single score of the game. We had another little cocktail day and a milestone in 3D Printing...

Most of the last week was taken up with the usual August / September thing for all parents and that is the return to school. Unlike a lot of kids I'd guess, Anna was looking forward to going back and really enjoys school so she was ready and willing on the day itself and seems to have had a good first few days and has gotten on well with her new teachers.

Before that though we wanted to make the most of the week and the time after school before homework and all other activities begin, so we took another trip to RIOT for some non-alcoholic cocktails, but unfortunately their kitchen was closes so we missed out on burgers this time, so, while she was a little disappointed, she still enjoyed getting out.

At the weekend we chilled out at home and played some old computer games, Anna is particularly fond of the Secret of Monkey Island and is already on number 2, so we all did that together to try and solve the puzzles.

Afterwards she was in a game / puzzle mood so we cracked open the scrabble and Anna came in a close second with some really good use of high scoring letters and ended up getting the highest individual score during the game with 36 points and was leading until near the end of the game. Great to see all the words, vocabulary and spelling coming on so strong.

Elsewhere I've been working on some halloween and christmas products for 3D Print Dub, and the printer hit a milestone of over 3000 hours of usage since late last year so has been running consistently about 35% of the whole year. I've had to do some maintenance and cleaning frequently, so it's probably time to considder a second one given the usage.

This week I'll continue college prep and course creation so nothing new...

25/08/2025

Top of Mind - August 25th
Pictured: While I work on 3D printer maintenance and creating new storage for filament, Anna practices early Christmas songs on the Ukulele before taking part in her first Hell & Back challenge. She also found time to help me make Anna in space stickers.

With school returning next week, Anna wanted to capitalise on the last few days of freedom and, along with play dates and crafts at home she also did her first Hell & Back in Kilruddery, Co. Wicklow. She was only disappointed that it wasn't more challenging in the kids course, but fun was had with her GAA team all taking part.

After receiving a box of books and goodies from one of MH's friends in the UK, along with a Ukulele book of Christmas songs, a lot of time was spent practicing these with the intention of doing a little show on Christmas Eve this year, but it's also encouraged her to write her own little tunes.

We had a couple of Anna / Daddy afternoons where we played computer games, built a scale model of our own house and even designed some stickers of Anna in space using AI tools and some printable sticker paper, so these are now littered all over her room.

Along with some meetings in the college, I've been prepping for the new term and have a lot of content still to write, but it will be good to get back into the routine when the classes start, but at home I've been doing the usual of tinkering with the 3D printer as well as creating some keyrings for the team at the bar I drink in, just for fun.

With so much printing going on I had to build more racks to store the extra filament so a brief trip to the hardware store later I've increased the storage space by 50% with room for more down the line if I need to, but the setup is pretty crowded now with all the tools and materials.

This week we're prepping for Anna's return to 3rd class on Wednesday, which is causing some apprehension, but we're keeping busy to take her mind off it and will make the most of today and tomorrow...

18/08/2025

Top of Mind - August 18th
Pictured: Crafting, designing and making were the order of the week and myself and Anna built everything from home made clocks to water pistols, while also creating recycled plastic skulls. Also got out and about a couple of times and cleared the garden.

Most of last week was spent at home just doing bits and bobs. With my exams and assignments finally corrected and behind me we focused on crafts and Anna wanted to get a clock for her room, so we decided to build one with 3D printing, markers and a clock mechanism.

She designed little penguins on the face chasing the fish on the hands so we were kept busy for a while and this is now proudly displayed in her bedroom. We also built a 3D Printed mechanised water pistol as it's something she's been looking at since having water fights with her cousins in France.

We also took in a couple of movies at home, so Anna is now a big fan of the Enola Holmes movies on Netflix and can't wait for the 3rd one to come out, but still re-watched her new favourite, K-Pop Demon Hunters about half a dozen times.

For the 3D business, I've been working on recycling print waste and excess plastic and have made some molds of skulls and tea-light holders, which not only uses up all the extra material, but also means that failed prints can now be re-purposed into something useful.

Given that I'm still on summer break, I got out a couple of times during the week also, but nothing crazy and both nights home at a reasonable hour to get up and do things the next morning bright and early, but I think, getting closer to the new term this will fade out, particularly as I still have lots of content to create for the modules.

In the house, I organised, created new storage spaces and shelves and most importantly cleared some old plants and weeds growing out of the back wall to hopefully prevent any damage to the stone work down the line. The clear garden meant some star gazing at night, and Anna even saw a shooting star.

11/08/2025

Top of Mind - August 11th
Pictured: Full week with the girls back from France, so plenty of trips and activities, including cinema nights, fancy food and an extra special Anna - Daddy day with burgers and kids cocktails. We also had a visit from Mammy-Johanna which kept us busy.

The week began with a day out with myself and Anna just catching up after her month long trip to France. As something a bit different we waltzed down to RIOT bar in the afternoon for a delicious burger and some custom made kids alcohol free cocktails. Anna even played a fantastics game of pool while we were there.

Later in the week we wanted to get to the cinema where possible so myself, Anna and MH took in the Fanstastic Four at the Lighthouse Cinema, our preferred place to go. We really enjoyed it and Anna thought it was 'Fantastic', but her favourite movie of the week still went to K-Pop Demon Hunters on Netflix... :D

Anna still had a packed schedule of activies including a trip to the zoo with friends and then a the weekend we had Johanna visiting us which left them to paint amazing waterfalls while myself and Marie-Helene went to see Superman and had a couple of drinks in the Belfry.

Mammy-Johanna took us to our favourite bistro PHX on Saturday and as always we had a lovely late lunch after some shopping in town. Anna's appetite is huge these days, and it never ceases to amaze me that she can finish off huge burgers wherever we seem to go. Myself I enjoyed a long overdue Steak au Poivre.

Although she was disapointed when her granny left on Sunday, Anna has been keeping busy with Lego and making them into K-Pop characters, so I think she has a new favourite movie.

This week I have to pop into the college a couple of times for some papers and to check in on some exams, and I'll be working on some new designs for 3D Print Dub, but overall I'm going to focus on starting the early prep for the new term where it looks like I'll have about 5 modules to teach. Watch this space for more...

04/08/2025

Top of Mind - August 4th
Pictured: Anna & MH are back from their month in France so there was lots of Anna / Daddy time this week as she was delighted to be back home. I've been working on some Halloween 3D items, but also getting out to see people in different bars for a change.

With a mad scramble to clean the house earlier last week, I more or less had the place ready for Anna and Marie-Helene returning from their month in the north of France. Anna was excited, emotional and very happy to see me and the feeling was definitely mutual so lots of time together followed for the rest of the week.

Even after only a few weeks she's grown and become more confident and her level of French, as well as her appetite, have come on leaps and bounds. So as the girls settle back in we've been taking it easy and staying at home mostly to catch up and chill together.

The house is now much more lively and strangely this has actually helped me to focus and I managed to get some tricky networking and IT problems solved which had been eluding me for a while so always a plus. At the same time, the chaos of a young girl running around can already be clearly seen with teddy's and toys everywhere. :D

I did still get a couple of opportunities last week before they got back to pop around a few places and catch some friends, and had a great old laugh with Ro from Pawn Shop as well as some more of the industry people before they headed off to All Together Now. Part of me was jealous I haven't done those festivals in years, but I also don't think I'm up for camping and dancing in the rain. :P

For the little 3D business I've been working on some custom orders as well as some designs for Halloween products, while also finally finishing some Irish / Dublin related items that hopefully will do well when launched.

I've a few repeat assignments to mark this week as well as prepping some new content for the coming term, but at least I have plenty of time so I'm not going to focus too much yet.

28/07/2025

Top of Mind - July 28th
Pictured: Anna literally burying herself in the the French beaches along with a trip to the Dragon of Calais as she gets ready for her last week over there. I spend too much time working on 3D printed products, while also catching up with some old friends.

With only a few days left on the long trip to France, Anna is getting in as much excitement as possible, between trips to the beach, ziplining and seeing the famous Dragon of Calais, the entertainment doesn't stop. That along with an impromptu celebration for Papi-Dou's birthday it's mostly keeping her mind of wanting to be home.

Back at the ranch, I've been working on a new product for the business which took me far longer to design than I had anticipated, but hopefully it will do well as I'm fairly pleased with how it came out as well as how much I've learned about CAD and graphic design in the last few months. Watch this space as it will be launching soon.

With that in mind I've had to stock up on filament for the machine to be sure that when orders do come in I've plenty of supplies and everything can be produced pretty quickly.

Still though taking some time to get out and about and caught up with some old friends on Friday evening in the form of Paddy and Anne which is always chaotic, fun and interesting all at once. Brought me back to old Gypsy Rose and very early RIOT bar days. :D

This week I'll have a lot to get done before the girls get back from France. Between cleaning the house and getting everything ship-shape to marking repeat assignments I'll have my hand's full the next few days. The emails from students contacting about the repeats at the 11th hour are coming in thick and fast so always a stressful time.

Other than that I plan to be mostly off the grid for a bit to catch up on some sleep debt that I've accumulated over the last while as well as fixing some servers and techie stuff I've been putting on the long finger. My inner geek / OCD head will thank me later....🤪

21/07/2025

Top of Mind - July 21st
Pictured: The girls are still having a ball over in the North of France and enjoying the sun, food and family. While at home, I'm prepping an order for another retail store to take the 3D products, as well as doing some coding for the first time in ages...

The house is still kinda quiet with Anna and MH still in France, but I've been blaring rock classics around the place for the last couple fo weeks and binge watching TV shows that I've been meaning to check out for ages, so while I'd love to say I'm being really productive, it's mostly chillout this coming week now that I've finished another module for the college.

We got another retail store stocking our 3D printed products this week and I worked around the clock, or at least the 3D printer did, to get the order ready as quickly as possible, and this morning I delivered it so watch this space for the next shop selling my designs!

I'm already gearing towards the Christmas period and hoping that some of the festive and gift related products will do well including reusable gift boxes for small items and jewellery. I'm working on some other ideas but it's early days for them at the moment.

In the meantime, I've been meaning to work on a couple of useful projects for my home lab, so took a couple of days to do some vibe coding. For those not in the know, this is AI assisted coding as I'm very rusty, but after a couple of false starts I finished off a couple of useful pieces of webcode to help me around the house and with other projects, including a web based 2 factor authentication backup tool incase I ever lose my phone.

The plan is more of the same for this week and maybe divert to looking at some designs for Halloween for the Etsy store, but I want to make sure I don't neglect some of the more popular ideas and designs.

I'll also be marking some repeat assignments and papers, and doing some more coding, so nothing exciting planned, but at least I'll be kept fairly busy during the day.

14/07/2025

Top of Mind - July 14th
Pictured: A new product launched in our Etsy store in the form of a reusable gift box. The girls Whatsapp calling me from France. Delivering anther order to one of the retail stores, and the temperature spiking upstairs in the house during the heatwave. 🥵

After 4 long weeks of evening classes, I've finally finished teaching for the summer, again. Assuming the college doesn't ask me to take on anything extra. Now I have the fun task of marking repeat assignments and exams, but hopefully this will mean some time to work on my own side projects for the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, Anna and MH are still enjoying the food, weather and fun over in France, but calling every day to check in and keep my spirits lifted. Anna is having a blast, despite occasionally missing home. Having her cousins there helps though, but reminds her sometimes why she's glad she doesn't have siblings.

I've been struggling a bit with the heat ove here, and in particular during the last few days with the heatwave, and on the top floor of the house there were times when the place went above 31 degrees which made sleeping difficult so my routine is all over the place at the moment. At least with nothing pressing to get up for in the morning, I can binge watch tv at night and crash during the day as needed.

Elsewhere I've been working on a couple of ideas and products for the little side business, with an eye towards Christmas and Halloween. The reusuable jewellery sized gift boxes will hopefully be a hit when the gift giving season starts, but for the moment I'm looking at designing things with a more local or Ireland focus.

We're still working on getting our products into more stores, and I've another order to drop off today into a local place and will follow up on some of the potential new places this week along with fulfilling some adhoc requests.

For the rest of the week I'll focus on odd jobs at home and hopefully get a little sleep if the temperature drops.

Address

Smithfield
Dublin

Telephone

+353856969133

Website

http://www.andyssmartlife.com/, https://linktr.ee/andyssmartlife

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