First, I have a confession.
For the past two years, I’ve grandly announced that I was taking a break in August. I meant it. I needed it.
But I lied.
It wasn’t deliberate. I really intended to take the time off. But the best of intentions fall apart if you’re good as putting obstacles in your own way. And I am a master of this.
Here’s how I did it:
- I didn’t plan for my break properly.
- I created a mountain of work do beforehand, so that I felt I’d ‘earned’ time off.
- There was always just one more thing to do, before I could rest guilt-free. Then another thing. And as always, the work expanded to fit the time available.
This year will be different.
You are reading this in August. But I wrote and scheduled it in July. Along with all the other content I’m posting online or sending to my mailing list while I’m off work.
Some of what I’m sharing will be new. But much of it will be repeats of popular content.
This summer, I planned ahead.
As part of that planning, I arranged a trip with a friend at the start of the month, so I wouldn’t be tempted to just do one more thing before stopping work. Then another. Then more.
It’s mid-July now, and I already know that it will take a miracle to reach the milestones I’d set myself for the book I’m writing. Or for the new course I’d hoped to launch before the end of the year.
But I can live with that.
The book will still be finished on schedule, if I come back to it rested and ready in September. The course can launch next spring.
I’m getting better at noticing when I tell myself I don’t yet deserve a break. That I haven’t earned it. Or that I should just get these projects over the line first, because then I can really relax.
A break isn’t something any of us should have to deserve. It’s just something we need. Seeing friends, spending time with family, enjoying the summer, having fun isn’t a reward we need to earn. It’s simply an essential part of any truly joyful, juicy life.
Full disclosure: I am working one day.
Three of my clients asked for sessions. They all had good reasons for needing this, so I’m happy to do it. And because I asked them to, they all managed to make time on the same day.
I’ll answer urgent emails, though I won’t check them every day. So if you get in touch, please be aware that I’ll respond much more slowly than usual.
And if you can, please cut yourself some slack too.
Take a break, guilt-free. Don’t take your laptop on holiday if you can help it. Relax, have fun, explore and try something new. And come back to work in September refreshed and raring to go.
The final months of the year tend to be my most productive.
I love that back-to-school feeling, after the summer. It’s the perfect time for a fresh start, or to get an existing project over the line.
And if you want to your creative life a kickstart this autumn, my 10-week group course on growing your creative business will start on October 3.
If you’re established in your creative career, it will perhaps introduce some new ideas and give your business a health-check. (One member of the last group described it as “an MOT for your creative life.”) If you’re just starting out as a creative professional, it will give you strong foundations to build on.
I’ll tell you more about it later.
But for now, I’ve opened registration early, and reduced the price from £475 to £395 for anyone signing up before September 10.
Click below for more information, to book your place now, or to schedule a short chat with me in September if you want to see if it would be a good fit for you.
In the meantime, wherever you are in the world, have a fun and restful August!
What do you think?