Issue #55: How I'm Choosing To Rest This Holiday Season
Your yearly reminder that you don't need to close this year out strong if you don't want to.
Hey friend!
Here we are mid-November and a few weeks into a hectic shopping season. For years as an entrepreneur, I would spend weeks preparing marketing graphics and emails and bundling up my offers to be ready to launch by Black Friday. I’d spend Thanksgiving evening wrapping up last-minute details and then be up early the next day to make sure that the first few sales went through without any issues. I’d then spend the next month leading up to the new year posting consistently on social media, scheduling more emails, and creating goals for the year to come.
This season used to excite me so much. The hustle boosted my adrenaline and of course, seeing an influx of sales coming in made me want to go harder. It was like inserting caffeine directly into my veins. 😬 But as years went on I noticed that I’d spend so much time at the end of the year hustling that when January 1st rolled around I felt completely exhausted instead of well-rested and ready to begin a new chapter.
I’d ultimately then get caught up in the “new year, new me” frenzy that it would be another few months before I felt like it was ok to finally take a break.
So a couple of years ago I decided to do something different. For the holidays I didn’t do any prior planning, I didn’t put anything up for sale, and I spent a little over a month completely off of social media. And you know what? It felt incredible. There was no stress or worry behind if my offer would outshine the millions of others being pushed around the same time and I was able to truly rest and plan for the new year without distraction.
We go so hard the entire year leading up to this season and instead of taking a break, we use up what little bit of energy we have left.
Yes, this time of year is important for so many entrepreneurs. SO MANY! I would never tell you to not participate because I, of course, am not the one paying your bills. But if you’re already feeling the pressure to be “on” during this busy season when all you really want to do is lay down and watch ELF, I want to encourage you to maybe adjust your priorities a bit.
How can you put your products out and announce your sales in a way that still leaves time for rest and allows you to be present with your family and friends this holiday season?
How can you sneak in some time to be completely offline so that you can give your mind a break before entering the new year?
Maybe that looks like, not participating in every shopping opportunity this season and only putting out sales on key dates. Or maybe it looks like, just sharing your offers with your email list so that you’re also not burdened with showing up online?
Or instead of sharing new content, you take this time to share some of the great content that you created throughout the year?
What can you do this season that will serve your business but also serve your mind, body, and spirit?
For me, I’ll be popping in on Giving Tuesday to share about how you can join the ROOTED Community while also gifting someone else a membership. And then for December, baby I’m sitting down somewhere! I’ll be taking December off to recharge, snuggle up with my family, and plan out the hundreds of ideas that I have for 2024.
Speaking of ROOTED, this month inside of the community, our Self-Care Toolkit is centered around how to prioritize rest during this busy season. This month’s toolkit includes:
Tips on how to plan for your month
Four topic-related journal prompts and affirmations
A mindful moments calendar that includes 30 things you can do to rest each day this month.
Plus our monthly habit tracker.
Join our ROOTED Community today to download the Self-Care Toolkit and explore toolkits from previous months!
Cheers to a restful holiday and busy season!
– Alisha
GOOD FINDS
📱 Ready to commit to doing a digital detox? Check out these 4 tips to make sure it’s successful.
✋🏾 It’s time to set some hard boundaries because we’re not buying everyone a gift this holiday season. If you struggle with saying “no” consider implementing these financial boundaries with your family and friends.
👨👩👧👦 For the group chat: Psychologists and therapists weigh in on how to diffuse family fights and navigate hard topics this holiday season.
😜 Here’s your permission to stay awkward…even at work!
DON’T FORGET TO BREATHE
