Easing Into The New Year

It’s hard to believe that we are in the new year, let alone the MIDDLE of January already! 2024 was a mixed bag of super low lows but a few fun highs, and honestly, I’m ready to see what 2025 brings. Hopefully, it brings along a lot of GOOD!

Last week we had a very short but significant snow storm, and instead of freaking out or complaining about being “trapped” in the house, I took advantage of the down time and RELAXED. Before the storm hit, I ran my errands, got food, water and snacks, and other necessities, and spent 2 days curled up on my couch reading, watching movies and YouTube, and napping. Rest is so imported, especially now, for me. I primarily work for myself, and while I love my busy seasons, I’ve learned to embrace the slower ones when they come. Moments like this are when I really take time to figure out what I want for my life over the next couple of months.

I like to try to use this time to ideate, take care of things around my home, and relax. I say ideate instead of planning because try as I might, I am not a huge planner. That’s not to say that I don’t have overall goals and plans that I make for myself, but my brain doesn’t work the way most people’s does when it comes to ‘planning’. I have always been a person that breaks things down to its simplest forms, so I tend to skip over writing out every. single. step. that I might have to take in order to achieve something. I usually already know what I need to do, so I don’t necessarily feel the need to write it all out. If I’m being honest, I feel like people waste a lot of time writing and planning stuff out. Many times, they plan things to a fault but do so without any intention of actually doing what they plan. The planning component is “enough”.  I don’t operate that. I’d rather do than just think about it. So I’m not saying don’t make plans, but if you find yourself constantly writing out your goals and plans but hardly ever take any actionable steps to achieve those things, it’s honestly no better than someone who doesn’t have any plans at all. You have to take action in order to be the master of your life. Planning can help you outline the steps for a specific thing you want to achieve, but if you never actively work towards those goals…what exactly is the point of your plan?

So for me, I prefer to spend time ideating. Finding inspiration any and everywhere that I can and seeing how I can implement what I learn and apply it to my own life. I’ll have a general list of things that I want to achieve, but I take time out to visualize what that looks like. For example, if I know that I want to take pictures with a specific type of setting, I’ll imagine myself at that location, what I’m wearing, what I want the weather to be like, etc. to get a full idea of what I want to create. After I think about a few scenarios, I’ll then figure out when I want to do this, and get my list of outfits, props, etc. together. So there is a level of planning to it, but it’s very low level.

With all of that being said, I have been thinking out this first quarter of 2025 and what I want to achieve. EASE is at the forefront of everything for me right now. With the weather being so chaotic due to the season, I personally don’t want to fight the elements in an attempt to achieve things. It’s cold, and I really just want to be cozy and chill. So for that reason, I’m easing into 2025. This doesn’t mean that I won’t be doing anything (a creative entrepreneur can never really stop, lol), but what it does mean is that I’m content with moving slowly in all areas. I’m loving spending so much time at home, and I’ve even had friends over a few different times. I plan to do more of that during these next few months, take time with creating my own content, finally read some of the books I’ve bought over the last few years, enjoy working with my clients without feeling the need to just work, work, work, and more importantly, take care of myself. Move my body regularly, cook more meals and enjoy coffee at home, indulge in all of my self-care rituals, and just do whatever I can to ensure that I feel happy, healthy and rested every day.

When Spring arrives I’m sure I’ll be motivated to do more, but for now, I’m content with having a life and schedule that’s simple and easy. If you think similarly to me, take this as a sign that you don’t have to have it all figured out right now. Enjoy the slowness that this season brings up and take time out to really focus on the things that fill up your cup.

What are your plans for the New Year?