Welcome to 2023! You made it through the hectic holiday season, and hopefully, you got to spend some time kicking back and relaxing with your friends and family.
I know that for me personally, I find it difficult to totally unwind. In addition to juggling clients and work obligations, I’ve also got 2 kids to take care of, a house to maintain, and a husband that I really enjoy spending time with. So whenever I have a free moment to sit and do nothing… guilt and panic immediately set in.
I’m not necessarily someone that enjoys being busy – but I find that when I’m NOT busy I feel like I’m doing something wrong or dropping the ball. I have a to-do list that’s 100 miles long and to just be sitting doing nothing (even if that “nothing” is actually super important, like spending time with my kids) makes me feel like I’m being irresponsible and lazy.
In an effort to combat this ridiculous feeling of laziness (because seriously ridiculous!), I’ve decided that in 2023 I’m going to be better about “brain dumping.”
Basically, whenever I have that feeling that I should be doing something (even if I don’t have to be doing it!) I’m just going to write it down. Get it the heck out of my brain.
Same goes for writing ideas, social media inspiration, newsletter topics… whatever it is – I’m just going to move it from my brain to somewhere else. Anywhere else.
(Okay actually, very specific spots in my ClickUp project manager or my content planning spreadsheet.)
By doing this, I’m expecting one of two things to happen:
1️⃣ I’m going to realize that I messed up and the thing I’m not doing actually DOES need to be done right this second. And then I’ll do it.
2️⃣ I’ll feel better about not forgetting my brilliant idea and/or getting a jumpstart on crafting my “to do” list for the next day and then I can take a deep breath. (This is what will probably happen most of the time.)
You’ll probably notice that while that’s a definite plan of action, it’s not a traditional “New Year’s Resolution.” Because I also decided that this year I’m going to be better about now holding myself to ridiculous standards – even standards I’ve set for myself.
Do I need to eat better? Yeah. Do I need to workout more? Absolutely. Am I going to tell myself that I’m going to do XYZ amount of both of those things for the rest of the year, only to feel like crap about it the first time I “slip up” (tomorrow, probably, lol)?
Nope.
I have enough on my plate without making myself feel constantly guilty! So I am going to do my best to stop that nonsense and just… exist.
What intentions have you set for 2023? I’d love to hear about them – leave a comment here or on my post on Instagram.