I'm not going to lie, I do kind of like a fresh start as the year turns over. Not to say I make resolutions but it's a time for me to reflect on the past year, and intentionally bring those things that brought me joy forward.
I recently listened to a podcast that was all about doing a "calendar audit". Essentially going through every day of your last year's calendar and categorizing each item into two groups - Was that item a good use of your time, money, energy? And or the other group being a: Waste of time, money or energy. While this was intended for business purposes it was also a fantastic way to look back on my year personally as well, and recognize all that brought me joy.
I use this style calendar/journal every single day in my business and life. If I didn't write everything down, I would completely forget what I need to accomplish/do/ where to be in a day. I love visually seeing these items written down on real paper and especially love crossing things off. Having this existing habit made this exercise extra simple. I sat down one evening last week and went through every single day of 2022.
While I won't bore you with either the business or personal takeaways from my year, I will say that the exercise was one i'll take with me in the future. I highly recommend the process to anyone looking to bring with them things that worked in the previous year, and build momentum on those things. When looking at my own calendar I can honestly say how grateful I am to have so much flexibility in my life. It makes all the "hats" I wear fit much more seamlessly together, and allows me time and space to do the things I love, and enjoy time with the people I love. Without a doubt my biggest win from last year was all of the time I spent with my friends and family doing the things I love to do, and sharing the experience with them.
I read this quote on Instagram recently and it really hit home for me:
"Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement. In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive. Ambition is only understood if it's to rise to the top of some imaginary ladder of success. Someone who takes an undemanding job because it affords him the time to pursue other interests and activities is considered a flake. A person who abandons a career in order to stay home and raise children is considered not to be living up to his potential - as if a job title and salary are the sole measure of human worth. You'll be told in a hundred ways, some subtle and some not, to keep climbing, and never be satisfied with where you are, who you are, and what you're doing. There are a million ways to sell yourself out, and I guarantee you'll hear about them. To invent your own life's meaning is not easy, but it's still allowed, and I think you'll be happier for the trouble." - Bill Watterson
I hope 2023 brings you health and happiness and also a feeling of being content - that you are enough and have enough. Practise gratitude and find the little things that bring you happiness each day. Surround yourself with the people that lift you up, and cheer you on, that motivate you to be the best version of yourself and are there for you during tough times too.
This month my husband Brian and I are "habit tracking". We've each selected a few habits we want to do each day, and have printed off a habit tracking sheet for our fridge. Each day we accomplish our habits we fill in the little box with our marker. We've done this in the past and find it a great way at keeping ourselves accountable. There is something motivating about colouring in that box each day and seeing your days fill up with these colours. If you're interested in this, I printed off this habit tracker online and you just write in the left hand column which habits you're wanting to track.
Wishing you all the best this year! As always please reach out with any comments or questions you may have. I look forward to all the things to come this year - including more blog posts ;)
- Amy
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