Having a slow start this year
Over my winter break this year, I knew I'd been too busy. In December I did six market days in three different towns/cities in just three weeks. It was brilliant but that is by far the most trading I've done all year. I love markets but it brings exhaustion with it, packing and unpacking my stall every time, driving to a new location, meeting new people, weaving enough bookmarks for demand: it's a lot. Alongside my part-time job and the volunteering I do, I'd stretched myself a bit too thin. Lesson learnt. (It's a lesson I keep having to learn.)
Just as everyone was sharing their 2023 highlights on Instagram, I realised I had zero motivation for that right now. Instead I needed to disappear a little. I needed a Gentle January.
So what am I doing to be gentle?
1 Well, nothing new - that's the key!
Don't feel like you need to drink 8 glasses of water a day, make time for exercise everyday, do self-care etc. I'm adding nothing new to my plate at all. If I add new things that require mental load to sort out I'm not being gentle. If I get a creative spark and want to try out a new weaving technique, I will. If I suddenly have a brainwave then yes I'll write it down. But I'm adding nothing new.
2 Give it a name
Are you going for a 'Gentle January' like me or maybe you're having a 'Slow Start'. Give it a name. This gives you language to use. When we know how to talk about something (even internally when we're thinking) it exists and it can become tangible. Easy.
3 Talk about it
Tell people about it. I spoke to my husband about it, explained why I needed it and that my plans were changing, I was going to do less with Woven by Eve for a little while. It's a shame because I had great plans, but they can come later. I also put it out there on my business social media so people wouldn't think I'd dropped off the face of the Earth. I then received messages where people were like 'I love this!' and it just shows the 'New Year, New Me' trope is not for everyone.
My favourite mugs with contour designs of some of my favourite landscapes.
4 Re-prioritise
My January to-do list was pretty full. There was business stuff, new creative ideas to try and experiment with, lots of plans to make for the year etc. etc. And it still is full but most of that will now be my February to-do list. I've kept some things in that will fit with my Gentle January and delayed others. If delaying isn't an option, how can you streamline and gain a slither of margin? Can you carve out 10 minutes extra in bed? Or half an hour reading instead of scrolling on your phone? Don't add to your load but you're an adult, you can decide where your time goes!
Instead of rushing on a car journey this January, I tied in a visit to the Hepworth, Wakefield and found some inspiration.
5 Keep the break vibes going
Post-Christmas days were passed reading books, playing games, eating great food, crafting fun things, watching my favourite TV - taking things slow. So I've tried to extend bits of that into Gentle January. I'm having one day a week where I rest: traditionally a Sabbath. Why can't those slower rhythms fit into my life more easily? They get lost in the busyness but I'm be intentional to keep them around this year.
Make it sustainable
I'm still doing the basics, I'm weaving and working on some special pieces. But what I can I'm slowing to recover. I'm hoping to make this change a bit more sustainable, that there are parts of this I can keep going to balance everything that little bit better.
So I hope this inspires you to not add anything to your plate that you don't want or need to right now and be gentle to yourself.
Happy New Year!
Eve
To support my business in this time, do check this out!
Comments