It’s almost the Christmas holidays and I’ve been thinking about how I’ll be winding down and taking a bit of time ‘off’ from my hectic schedule.
The second half of this year has been pretty hectic for me. I launched Ada & Alfred in July and since then I’ve been putting every working hour I can (around the kids of the course) into growing the business and bringing in sales.
As well as that, my blog has had some amazing collaborations and I’ve had lots of posts to write and share over the past several months.
Working from home around my 2 boys is wonderful, but very exhausting. I love the freedom of my job(s) and being able to do as much as I can with the boys. However, my brain is pretty frazzled by the end of the day/week and I really struggle to switch off from the many responsibilities or tasks to do, whizzing around my head.
If it’s not work related, it’s life related. PTA commitments (yep, I joined the PTA and help as much as I can). Volunteering at school and reading with the children in Lambs class once a week. Laundry (why is there so much?!), food shopping, gift buying, play dates, birthday parties… the list goes on!
My last ‘working day’ with Ada & Alfred is this Wednesday and after that I intend on really switching off over the Christmas period. I’ve been suffering with anxiety a lot lately and really need to give my brain a rest.
The first thing I’m going to do is take regular baths. This is something I used to do a lot before I had kids but it’s just not something I allocate time to these days. We have a beautiful bathroom, like these from Bathroom Luxuries, and I need to make use of that. Instead of instantly picking my laptop up every evening, over the Christmas holidays I’ll be opting for a hot bubble bath and a good book.
This leads me onto the second way I’ll be winding down over Christmas. I want to read a book! Again, before kids I used to read a few books a year. Not many, but 3 or 4. The last book I read was over 3 years ago on our last holiday before I fell pregnant with Bear. That’s crazy! I love a good crime novel, or something with a twist, but will take a look at recommended books for 2019 to see what takes my fancy.
The next thing I’m going to do is organise my make up. At the moment my dresser is covered in make-up. And although it’s fairly tidy, it’s spread out and still looks cluttered. I’ve actually asked for a big make-up vanity case on my Christmas list, and I’m lucky enough to get it, I will be organising my dresser at the first available opportunity and try to clear up some clutter! I need my bedroom to be my sanctuary – and clutter doesn’t equal sanctuary!
Winter walks are an absolute must. We actually took a walk to the park with the boys last night. Although it was freezing and dark, the boys had fun holding their torches and riding on Daddy’s shoulders. While Daddy is off work I want to make sure we get out the house daily, even if it is a little walk to the park.
I’ve been using my Kikki K planner this year and like with all the diaries I buy, I get out of the habit of using them and end up becoming rather unorganised and forgetful! I have promised myself I’ll start using my planner again and buy myself the new inserts for 2019. I just don’t have the brain capacity not to write things down. With school commitments, parties and play dates, as well as work tasks, I’m surprised I’ve made it to the end of the year without forgetting something super important!
Finally, and something that is really important to me, is to spend some quality time with my husband. It’s our wedding anniversary in the 21st and we’ve managed to get a babysitter for a few hours. We’ll be going for lunch and doing a bit of last minute Christmas shopping. We rarely spend time together without the kids. It’s important for our relationship to have a decent conversation without being interrupted several times! So I’d like to have a few movie nights over Christmas where we get the kids to bed at decent time and sit and spend the evening with my husband.
Overall I think these goals are pretty achievable, and will really help me switch off and unwind over Christmas. I won’t be going tech free of course. I can’t run an online business without updating social media and promoting my products. And of course I’ll have some sort of Boxing Day sale to organise! But I’ll schedule as much as I can and only check my phone a couple of times a day.
Will you be trying to have a bit of ‘me’ time over Christmas? How do you like to unwind?
~A~
* Collaborative post
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