Learning and resetting.
All it's taking is a few simple, tough steps.
3 drafts later and I think I finally have the right one. Hi there, it’s been some time again. Lately, it feels like the gaps between posts are getting longer as I try to find time to set aside time for myself and my thoughts. My intention with this blog has always been to not only keep you, dear reader, up to date with my progress on projects and illustration-based endeavours but also as an avenue for me to express myself outside of my work. The busier life seems to get, the more I find myself needing this escape, but I really do need to get better at dedicating time to it and I’ve come to realise the importance of setting clear boundaries in both the personal and professional spheres. It’s not been easy, and definitely not straightforward, but I’ve had to prioritise my health. These last few months, particularly the summer months that I feel have whizzed by, have been a mix of exciting and exasperating emotions. I feel like I’ve made leaps in my career, leaps that I’ve openly welcomed, but needed time to adjust to. I’m at a point where I find myself weighing out what the priorities are and what I need to focus on to move forward.
Here’s a few things I’ve slowly started to implement in my day-to-day that are helping in my focus.
Limiting Phone and Social Media use
Yep, I’m really putting this at the top of the list. I’ve cut down the time spent on my socials and my phone in general, I take longer to answer to messages, and I do not feel I have to make myself available to everyone all the time just because messaging apps and social media make it seem so. It feels so liberating to be able to chuck my phone away in a drawer while I work. It not only provides less distractions since I cannot see it, (and if I don’t see it, essentially it ain’t there because that’s just how my brain works) but I can be more authentic when I create and I am not influenced by everything else going on in my feeds. And don’t feel bad, you don’t have to answer to texts now, if you feel like you need a few days, take the few days, it’s not like the phone will combust, right?
Creating boundaries around work and out-of-office hours. I’ve fixed my hours on my Google Business page, and NO, I do not answer any work-related messages or emails on the weekend, especially on a Sunday. If I’ve decided I’m taking a few days off, I need to remind myself that it’s ok, we are all entitled to a few days off to recharge, and all it takes is an out-of-office email, this isn’t a life or death situation we’ve got on our hands. I’m also trying to figure out how to switch off my work email notifications after hours on my phone, I haven’t had luck so far, do you have any tips for this? ✨
Learning to say ‘no’ and listening to my gut a bit better. I’m an adult who still struggles to speak up for herself but this year has been what I feel was the strongest lesson in all this. On more than one occasion, I’ve realised how important it is to stand up for yourself and enforce boundaries you feel are necessary to safeguard yourself. No matter how friendly or positive things may seem, there are signs to look out for - toxic and negative ones which I have decided I am better off without. It’s so easy to be swayed of your decisions, but sticking to your guns is key (a difficult and tough key but well worth it).
Making time for activities and hobbies outside of my work time. I’ve managed to get some reading done before bed, which is a huge accomplishment for me. The next step on my list is making time during the day for some leisurely reading - it’s so refreshing to be able to escape to a world of your choosing. I’ve been glued to Skye McKenna’s Woodwitch these last few days, absolutely loving it! And do you know what’s been helping through all this? Putting my phone far far away from my bed, so it’s not the first and last thing I open in the day. I’ve also gotten myself an actual, physical alarm clock! I got a Winnie the Pooh one just to make things more interesting, but whoa does it feel great not to be woken up by texts or phone alarms.
Understanding what workload is too much. This, I find is one of the hardest parts of freelancing. The thing about freelancing is it can give you so much flexibility if you allow it. This does not mean flexibility to accommodate people’s needs. This is flexibility you need for yourself as a creative, to be able to recharge your senses and creative juices. For anyone who does not work in the creative sector, no, we are not starving and no my job is no less important than yours. I’ve made jokes about this myself in the past, and now realise how damaging it was.
It takes a good deal of planning, as weeks can be jam-packed at times, and this is where learning to say no and prioritising is crucial. Like most creators, I take my work seriously, too seriously sometimes, to the point where I forget that it requires me to be playful and as mindfully carefree as the children I create work for. This year has been a tough one, I’ve been dealing with a number of personal things and the work I do can allow me the time to process things at my own pace, if I let it. So if you have any freelance friends out there, no, working from home or having the luxury to decide what hours we work, does not mean we’re free 24/7, and no we can’t just always “pick up our laptop and work from anywhere.”
A wise friend recently told me, no matter what you choose to do, remember you are always in control. (dearest, you know who you are and know that this wisdom is one of your many strengths) Weigh out what’s worth your time and energy in your life, for me, it’s my friends and family (all the family, even the little furry ones). Without realising it, I’ve been on the cusp of another burn-out - thankfully I feel like it’s been pointed out just in time for me to take control of the situation I’m in and take some measures, because yes, I was convinced I wasn’t (I clearly never learn). I promised myself this year, that I would look at things more positively, so I intend to do so and to wind the year down peacefully.
I need to remember that I’ve had such lovely opportunities and accomplishments to celebrate this year, and I do not plan on wasting time pondering the negative ones. They were lessons, lessons I’m taking away for future me to learn from. I hope this post has been somewhat useful, and remember… it’s ok to say NO, and if you, like me, are just realising the error of your ways, remember that it’s not a matter of how well you battle the waves, but how well you can ride them. ✨
Also, just look at this beautiful dew-drop filled web! This was such a wholesome moment I spent with my mummy when my parents visited earlier this year 💙 We were both in awe of it. I’ll never get over the beauty in nature this country has shown me time and time again.
