“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”
- Lewis Carroll.
Jack Frost has been doing the rounds this week! The blankets of intermittent snow and ice have made it a little easier to stay home this past couple of weeks, but the beauty of it shows that every season has its time to shine.
Happy New Year! (I know it's too late to say it, but it's also the first time this year that we've spoken!) I hope you all had a lovely Christmas New Year, whatever you were up to (although we know at the moment, that can't be a lot!) I don't know about you, but I certainly went through a phase of feeling like 2021 has got a lot of pressure on it, then it hit me that perhaps I was looking at things all wrong. It isn't 2021's fault!
So instead of making resolutions and listing a million goals (I bloody love a to do list!) I decided to take this fresh start and set daily intentions - keeping things simple takes A LOT of work, but daily intentions or habits, are the things that get us from one goal to the next, without that constant pressure or overwhelm it's so easy to feel at this time of year.
So try taking Sundays off, think about each meal as we make it (as opposed to starting that new fad diet) or simply list a couple of to dos for the day (a personal, a work and home one perhaps?) If we get them done early ("eating those frogs" as the expression goes!) so that we feel accomplished and get those wins behind us early on, it may be then that we can start to feel motivated to do more, and if we don't, we can rest easy in the knowledge that we did what we needed to do that day.
I'm really going to try and take those little steps this year, and it's already having some interesting results! The simpler life becomes, the more simplicity our brains seem to crave. It frees up time for us to do the important things, gives us perspective and allows us the downtime to be at our best for the things that matter (you can start to see the wood for the trees if you like!) It may sound preachy, but as a Type A control freak and lifelong list lover, if I can make a start, anybody can!
While we're on the subject, we've also taken the opportunity to really slim down our to do lists! Essentially rewriting, highlighting the important stuff and setting a specific day to do something means we have a larger window and adequate time to get things done if our day moves around! We've been using our A5 set of notebooks - gorgeous and sturdy! It's easier said than done to break any pre-existing habits, but if not now, when?
Do you believe in resolutions? I'd love to hear how well they work for you and if you have any this year. If not, are there other ways you like to start a fresh year?
The Pretty Odd Team x
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