Happy New Year!

Entering the new year feels like an excellent opportunity for me to reflect on priorities and what I wish to have more of in the upcoming year. Today, I want to focus on one of the greatest realizations of the past year, which relates to the quality of life, creativity, motivation, overall well-being, and ultimately, productivity.

How not to be frustrated

One thing that became crystal clear to me in 2023 is how immensely and absolutely important it is to maintain and protect my sense of ease and joy.

How important it is to say NO to things, to return to myself, to take the time to let go of everything I need to release. How valuable it is to support myself and find a way to return - not only to a state of non-fatigue but to a state of authenticity, joy, fluidity, and ease.

Not just because I feel good then. Primarily because that's when I perform at my best. I think best, I'm most creative, most innovative, can help and motivate people the best, write the best, have the best ideas, and respond best to life.

It took me a long time to recognize how wrong and misguided the belief that I have to be "serious" and "suffer" to be "productive" is. Not only is that untrue, I believe it's even the opposite.

Joy generates energy

Perhaps you've already seen this quote online:

“Instead of asking, ‘Have I worked hard enough to deserve rest?’, I’ve started asking, ‘Have I rested enough to do my most loving and meaningful work?’”

Nicola Jane Hobbs

I like to take it a step further here: It's not just about resting and taking a break.

For years, I was exhausted and was looking for a way to rest. And yes, that was absolutely necessary. I'm certainly not the only one who had to learn to allow myself to rest.

But then comes the next step: Can I also find a way to energize myself? What are the things that fill me with energy and spark my motivation?

Is my life merely a sequence of draining tasks and rest, or can I incorporate activities that I enjoy and nourish my soul into it?

Artist date

An important discovery for me last year was the concept of an "artist date." The idea of an artist date is to dedicate a moment once a week solely for your inner artist—something that genuinely delights or interests you. Something for your soul. The most important thing in this is to listen to yourself. It comes from the book "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron.

The concept of an artist's date involves dedicating a specific time each week to do something solely for your inner artist— something that genuinely brings you joy or piques your interest. It's about engaging in activities that nourish your soul and most importantly, listening to yourself. So it's not about doing something you think you "should" or feel obligated to do. It's about listening to your inner curiosity and letting it guide you.

It could be attending a concert, visiting a gallery, museum, or other cultural events, but it's not a necessity. You can play with Legos. You can gather chestnuts. You can use those chestnuts and toothpicks to create little figures. You can do origami. Draw something. Explore a part of the town where you've never been. Go sledding. Build a snowman. And so on.

You can create, assemble, visit, anything.

The possibilities are truly vast, but let me reiterate, it's not about how it looks from the outside or what you think you should do, but solely and exclusively about something that brings you joy.

It’s not as easy as it sounds

I absolutely recommend weekly artist dates. It's a great way to bring a little more joy and ease into your life and connect with yourself.

But believe me, it's not as easy as it sounds. Especially if you're not used to taking time for yourself. When you're pressed for time, the artist date quickly becomes something you 'easily skip.'

But that's precisely the point of my writing.

Your artist date

Perhaps while reading, you've already come up with a few ideas for your own artist dates, or maybe this concept is entirely new to you. Don't worry, today I'm sharing a great exercise with you that can provide some inspiration for dates that truly resonate with you. The exercise is from the aforementioned book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.

Before we begin, I suggest you grab a piece of paper or a notebook and a pen so you can write during the following exercise. If you can't do this right now, that's not a problem. You can also imagine what you would write.

Before we begin, I suggest you grab a piece of paper or a notebook and a pen so you can write during the following exercise. If you can't do this right now, that's not a problem. You can also imagine what you would write.

Exercise

1. Imagine that alongside your totally awesome current life, you have ten additional parallel lives.
2. Write down what you would do in each of them - what profession you would have, what you would do, etc. Allow yourself to dream, there are no limitations.

Got it? Great.

3. Then, next to each, jot down how you could do something small in this life that's related to it.

For example:

• If you wrote that you'd be a painter, perhaps you could create a video tutorial about painting on YouTube.
• If you'd be a photographer, you could take a walk and try to capture five photographs.
• If you'd be a chef, this weekend you could try a new recipe or even create an entirely new dish.
• If you'd be an herbalist, you could learn to identify an herb you don’t yet know.
• If you'd be a singer, you could take ten minutes and sing your favorite song.

And so on.

At each point, there are, of course, numerous possibilities; I've just listed a few examples. You can always consider your schedule and see how much time you can dedicate to your artist date. Whether it's five minutes or a whole day doesn't matter as much. It's not so much about how long it lasts or how intense it is. What's important is that it exists.

And if you've completed the exercise above, you now have at least ten ideas for an artist date.

Your task for this week is to actually do one of them!

Let January be light and playful

To many, the start of the year brings new goals and intentions. Let me remind you that you can always decide how you approach them - and that adding a pinch of playfulness and lightness to new endeavours makes them much more fun and fulfilling.

If you enjoyed the post, share it with a friend (if you didn't, you can always share it with someone you don't like 😉).

And if reading it sparked any inspiration, insights, or new ideas for you, I'd love to hear them - you can simply reply to this email. 

Otherwise, I'll be back soon with a new post ✨

Until then, take care!

Katja