A Slow Start to the New Year

It’s January fifth, and I am still easing into 2016. I spent the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day in a bit of a haze, just pottering around the house enjoying not doing anything in particular.

I had (and still have) an impossibly long list of things to tackle to get my year going, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I was happy to just be. I’d open up my e-mail, see 10+ headlines along the line of “It’s Time to Set Your Goals!” and politely ignore them and move away. (Coincidentally on Sunday I went through my inbox and unsubscribed from over 200 newsletters. Pure bliss.)

I mulled over deciding on my guiding word for the year, and even though Susannah’s course was open and active in early December, I wasn’t in any rush, and finally sat with my thoughts on Sunday morning (the first real quiet moment I’d had since December 17th) and happily worked through the exercise. I’m glad that I waited until I was ready; everything flowed.

One e-mail that I did open came from Sas Patherick. I stumbled across her Mindful Year program and it was one of the things that clicked for me. The theme for January is Rest. So beautifully apt. You can still sign up, it’s completely free.

I am using this month more as a time of reflection than anything else. There are some things that felt right to jump into right away (like the illustration and lettering challenges I started), but mostly I will be feeling my way through the month. I am still reflecting on the lessons from 2015 and it will probably be February before I am fully up to speed.

What about you? Has your approach to the New Year been slow, or did you jump in with both feet? Inquiring minds want to know, let’s chat in the comments below.