I'm back! What to expect + Why you should strongly consider gifting yourself a hiatus
*Scroll down for my tips on "Why you should strongly consider gifting yourself a hiatus"*
Dear cushion-fluffing friends,
I’ve been on a hiatus from my blog making some life-altering plans.
When you hear the word “hiatus” you may think of a dreamy escape from city life, locking yourself in a cabin in the woods far from civilisation, unplugging your brain from work or projects, ceasing all to-do-lists (those that stretch beyond planting tomato seeds anyway), and just doing nothing.
But alas I’ve had a hiatus far from that. A better one than that. Really.
When I say I have made life-altering plans, I mean just that. And as the old proverb goes “Nothing worth having comes easy” sure enough instead of forest bathing I’ve spent the last few months working really hard on some changes I'm making, which my blog Fifi McGee will be a part of.
I don’t want to announce my life story in this one post, so for now, I’ll close with some “here’s what to expect” scribbles from me. I’ll be sharing lots on my blog in the next few weeks and months to come about each change.
1 We're saying 'bye bye nice knowing you' to our huge kitchen diner renovation.
Long story short, we had a financial epiphany and won't be doing our kitchen-diner renovation quite so big, for many reasons. I will write all about this, our thoughts, our new plans and why we're doing it very soon. I can tell you right now it's really is a huge weight off our shoulders and I'm excited to design our new kitchen in a humble way knowing that it didn't break the bank for us.
2 I have a new career calling.
It’s a calling I’ve been subconsciously doing all along. I have a huge passion/talent for it but it's never been obvious that I need to do more of it until my “a-ha” moment not so long ago. Yes I’ll be working for myself and yes I’ll be using my creativity more - exactly what I wanted. I'll be announcing the collaboration when it begins in June.
3 I’m saying goodbye to other business ideas I’ve had.
Kindred Living. My idea to do online decoration classes. It served a purpose in my life and got me to where I am now - I finally feel like I’m beginning to know my calling - I’ll share more about the process of starting and failing a business idea soon as it did suck but needed to happen. If you've had any new ideas that haven't ended up coming to fruition, you'll be able to relate.
4 There are some truly incredible collaborations coming up for Fifi McGee
Finally, I'm collaborating with creative people and brands I know and love over the coming months, so expect a lot more new faces and life/decoration inspiration on here. I've got lots to share and show you.
This hiatus has been just the tonic I needed to reconfigure my life and get more from it. I hope you'll hang out with me in weeks and months to come as I share it all unfolding. The good, the bad and the ugly ;)
Before I go, I just wanted to finish by sharing the reasons why if you’re a blogger, creative, freelancer, you run your own business, you're a mum or full time worker that feels overwhelmed with to-dos and ideas that never get done, I think you should seriously consider taking a hiatus from the projects you’re working on.
Note again, that my experience of hiatus isn’t locking myself in a cabin in the woods to do nothing. It’s scheduling out time, preferably a big chunk (like 1-2 months, say) to work out and then plan and work on the thing that matters to you or the change you want to make.
I know, I know. “How can someone just take a month off work?” Truth is, a month is nothing and it’s more within reach than you think. Save your holiday allowance, hire someone in your place temporarily. There are always solutions if you search deep and think creatively.
My reasons why you should strongly consider gifting yourself a hiatus
1. You’ll work out what really appeals to you.
If, like me, you feel spread too thin across tasks (be it at home or at work), time away will help you pause the overwhelm. Before the hiatus I felt like I was taking on too many things. All I wanted was to do one thing well. I felt like I had no time to give my all at something, and so I gave everything 50% attention, trying to tackle my to do list as fast as possible rather than with care. My time out helped me work out how I really wanted to spend my days – doing the work that appeals to me - styling + co-ordinating shoots and projects - not tackling 50 different projects at once.
2. You’ll learn what to say no to.
Once the hiatus helps you learn the thing that appeals to you most, it doesn’t mean going back to doing everything you used to take on PLUS make time for that thing you’d like to do more of. So many people forget that they can - and need to - say no to things. I don’t mean invitations from friends, although you can say no to that too, I mean mentally say no to that idea, job, or habit you’ve lost love for so you can swap the time you would have spent doing it (or trying to do it), and replace it with the thing that lights you up. It's all about freeing up headspace for the things you love.
3. You’ll accept that you can’t achieve everything all at once
Having the time and space away from my usual routine during the hiatus gave me perspective on just how short a day is. Time goes so quickly and yet we put a lot of mental pressure on ourselves to complete everything in one day. In my experience, a hiatus will help you practice self-care, and realise it’s ok to not do everything right now. It taught me to stop punishing myself mentally for not doing everything today.
4. You’ll have time to plan and organise.
I don’t know about you but I know a lot of women who feel “guilty” spending half a day organising what they will be doing or focusing on over the coming months. Similarly, I know people who feel guilty spending half a day organising their cluttered computer files as it feels like “not real work”. My response to this is that that “not real work organising” is the best work you can ever do. Not only does it tidy your mind and help you focus, but it means you’ll work more efficiently, structuring your time better. A hiatus is the perfect opportunity to clean up your inbox, computer files, life admin and clear your mind, ready to take on the projects you love with ease and organisation.
5. You’ll check in with yourself.
Sounds all hippy dippy, I know. But I found that a scheduled hiatus and a structured course like Do What You Love (full disclaimer, I work for them but bloomin’ love their courses and had to mention them here) will help you check in with what you really want from life. A hiatus gives you time to dream big, then plan how you’ll get there working backwards from the goal.
In conclusion
I hope that from this post you’ll either a) contemplate *seriously* gifting yourself time off from your daily routine to have a hiatus or b) stick around my blog to hear the life changes I’m making thanks to having time away from it all.
Either way, wishing you all the luck in life and finding your way,
Fifi
