My post about my plans for 2013 the other day got me in a reflective-post-writing mood, and it occurred to me that perhaps I could share some of my resolutions for the new year here as well. Perhaps making a public declaration of sorts will help to hold me accountable and keep me on track, who knows!
I know I am rather late with this stuff, but things were way too hectic over Christmas and New Years for me to have any real time to think, and instead I've sort of been working things over in my mind throughout January. I want to make some lasting changes that are important to me, and hopefully they will actually help me to become a happier person in the process. I am hoping they might be realistically achievable too?! We'll see...
1. Manage my stress
I have always been a bit of a worrier/stress prone type. I do tend to put a lot of pressure on myself. I have come to accept it as part of who I am, and that sometimes it can be a good thing in that it motivates me and makes me productive. When I let it go on for too long though, it can become overwhelming, and I become tired, crotchety, and generally un-fun. When it gets to that point, I am unable to enjoy life properly and that's bad for me and everyone around me. The stress levels reached this point too many times in the last year, and that needs to change. I need to be more realistic about how much I can take on and how much I can reasonably get done in the 24 hours of my day, which leads me to my next goal...
2. Balance
As is probably the case with most freelance/small business types, I worked super long hours running Frances Baker in 2012. I pretty much became a workaholic. I stopped doing a lot of things, skipped out on most socialising, and stressed out when I wasn't at my desk. If I wasn't working I felt guilty because I was so focussed on trying to make my business work, everything else felt like a waste of time. I would even take work to the pub with friends, and try and sit there and update etsy listings while we chatted. I'm not sure if it's because of caring so much about what I do, or if it's just my crazy brain, but it was starting to get to the point where it actually wasn't fun anymore. This year I want to get a bit of perspective, and try and take time out more often for the things I enjoy outside of sewing, such as hanging out with my boyfriend and my cat, and giving dinner parties for friends! Obviously Uni is going to add a whole new element to my days as well. I think this will hopefully benefit my sewing too, as it means I will sit down at my machine refreshed. I always find that after a bit of time away from sewing I cannot wait to get back into it. I think it's actually really important to take some time off to allow inspiration to come!
3. Get domestic
I am a serious homebody. I love being at home, and making it pretty, and cooking and cleaning and general domesticity. Due to the aforementioned time-poor-ness/workaholism in 2012, looking after the house and garden became another stressful thing in my life that I had no idea how to find time for. If it wasn't for my boyfriend doing most of the cooking, I probably would have gone without dinner most nights! I am sure there are a lot of people who feel the same way, life is so busy these days! Maybe it is unrealistic of me to hope to become a domestic goddess or anything, but this year I want to try at least to rediscover my homely fun.
4. Try not to care so much what others think
I'm usually not too bad at this, but I don't believe anyone is truly impervious to criticism. I feel I know myself pretty well these days, and I try to remain true to what I know. I am generally quite confident in the choices I make in life and the reasoning behind my decisions. Why then, would I let other people's opinions cause me to question my choices, or lose confidence in my work? I notice myself doing this from time to time and I think that it causes unnecessary anguish. There is a big difference between listening to other people's advice and taking suggestions on board, and just letting myself be weighed down by criticism so that I doubt my work and/or my decisions. This year I want to get better at making that distinction.
5. Tread lightly
This is a pretty simple, straightforward one: I want continue to make my lifestyle more environmentally sustainable. I definitely think Sam and I have made some good changes in this direction over the last year, and I hope that we will continue to work on this and stick to our changes in the year to come. It has already brought a lot of positive things into my life! I tend to feel a lot of anxiety about Climate Change and the future of this planet, and I've found that the best remedy is to be proactive about becoming part of the solution.
Well, that's all for my 2013 plans! Now that I've got that out of my system, I hopefully wont bore you again with more reflections any time soon.
I hope everyone is having a great 2013 so far, with lots of exciting plans on the horizon :)