Wall Calendar: kikki.K – 2018 version available here
Disconnect to Reconnect
Are you already familiar with the gorgeous stationery brand kikki.K? If you’ve been reading The Elgin Avenue for a while you will likely have stumbled upon kikki.K products accessorising MANY an article, or inspiring a particular thought path.
I mean, give me a gold pen, snappy quote and a rose-hued notebook and I’m there.
The brand, founded by Kristina Karlsson (one of my personal heros and our keynote speaker at Big Small Business in April), is designed with the motto: Dream. Do. Enjoy. Share. in mind.
And isn’t that a formula for life which sounds pretty darn dreamy?
Dream. Do. Enjoy. Share . . . I love those four words! A harmonious recipe if ever there was one!
So many of my kikki.K products, emblazoned as they are with motivational quotes and mantras, act as a friendly reminder for me about how to live ‘my best life’.
And with this in mind, it was my kikki.K wall calendar (2018 version available here) – which has a motivational quote for each month of the year – which prompted me to think about how I approach the summer season:
“Disconnect to Reconnect”
“I am ALL for a positive routine.
But I am also for leaning into your emotions
and really feeling where you are at . . .
sometimes you just need to lean in to a period of rest,
to really re-charge your batteries.”
Over the last few months I’ve broken almost every routine I had developed earlier in the year.
I stopped my morning meditation followed by journalling. My workout routine became much more flow-y. And I found myself working from my laptop 99% of the time.
Sorry home office – I’ll come back to you soon!
It’s funny, because I am ALL for a positive routine. In particular a morning routine which sets you up so that you feel like a superhero for the rest of the day.
But I am also for leaning into your emotions and really feeling where you are at.
I was speaking to a great friend of mine just last week about it. Said friend and I have known each other for years and we now both run our own businesses. We agreed that sometimes you just need to lean in to a period of rest, to really re-charge your batteries.
How often do you get one early night in the week, re-charge your batteries maybe 10% and then deplete them entirely again?
Historically I’ve done this ALL the time.
Every now and then, you need to recharge your battery completely.
Or even better, you can try to use less energy every day so that you always have more energy in reserve.
Now there’s something to think about!
Again, my friend and I both spoke about how comforting it’s been to stop ‘hustling’ so hard of late, and instead work from a place of rest. This work in turn is SO much more considered and effective.
When you push push push, and wear yourself down, it’s understandable that you won’t produce your best work.
As the saying goes (thank you Jenna Kutcher for the introduction – I LOVE this one!) “Stressed work is never your best work”.
Amen!
“With the summer upon us,
and your inbox most-likely full of out of office replies,
perhaps now is the season to take a break?”
With the summer season upon us, and your inbox most-likely full of out of office replies, perhaps now is the season to take a break?
Take things a little slower. Rest more. Dream more.
There is nothing like some ‘disconnect’ time, to really nourish your mind and body.
As I type (from my laptop!) I’m about to enjoy a two week holiday with my family. After six months of heavy-duty work, I’m looking forward to kicking back, disconnecting, getting salty and enjoying some cold beers!
But – a word of warning (to myself as much as you!) – don’t put too much pressure on your holiday!
Anything, I believe, which has too much pressure on it will buckle. If your expectation is ‘perfection’ then the tiniest glitch will ruin it.
You have to decide for yourself what the most relaxing version of your holiday will look like.
“this blog post is the last you’ll read from me for a few weeks.
I am ready to hang up my keyboard for a while
so that I can be more present with my family
and take a bit of a brain break.”
Perhaps you can totally disconnect.
For me, I’ve come to realise that an hour or so a day allocated to emails and a bit of work is much more relaxing than a ‘total ban’ on business. Friends of mine have said the same in their roles within a company.
The nature of running a blog, with its associated social channels, and all of the other hats you need to wear, means that day to day there are always things which require attention.
My preference is to allocate time to those tasks as I see fit.
For instance, this blog post is the last you’ll read from me for a few weeks. I am ready to hang up my keyboard for a while so that I can be more present with my family and take a bit of a brain break.
I’m also not sure about how often I’ll be posting on Instagram. I’ve chosen to go with the flow on that one.
We all have seasons which are easier to slow down during than others. For me August is a quiet period as many of the clients I work with take their holidays now too. I wrote about how and when to take your holiday season here.
A break, I find, is also SUPER important for inspiration and reflection ✨
I loved this Instagram post by The Lifestyle Edit this week, the caption reads:
“New month, new focus, new energy. Can you believe we’re already more than half way through the year?
Far too often we’re made to feel apologetic about who we are and what we’ve accomplished. We’re taught to play small, to dim our shine and be afraid to share the things that make us who we are.
So as we enter into this month, we want you to take a moment to look back and celebrate all of your wins so far this year.”
Ah I love it!
If you look back on the past six months, what are your wins?
My feeling is that your ‘disconnection time’ is the perfect time to look back and acknowledge all of the successes you’ve had this year! Big and small.
Overall
Whether you disconnect for a couple of days, a month or a whole season of rest, luxuriate in the opportunity to recharge your batteries.
Allow your mind to wander, to dream and to explore your inspirations.
If “stressed work is never your best work” then I counteract that with “rested work is always your best work”. And so, if the hustler inside of you is struggling to overcome the desire to continue pushing hard, pacify her by letting her know that resting will in turn do you huge favours – in every facet of your life.
What’s Your Take?
What’s your take on disconnecting? What does it look like for you?
Have you allocated holiday time this year, or will you take some time to yourself?
I’d love to know!
Adios for now friend ????????, I shall see you in a few weeks!
And on that note, Croissant Reading is paused for the next two weeks – you can sign up here to receive it when it’s back from it’s own little vacation.
Have a wonderful few weeks!
Love, Monica x
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