Podsters!
As creators, we immerse ourselves in the relentless pursuit of our craft, often sacrificing sleep and celebrating the chaos of our busy lives. It's a lifestyle that's hard to explain to those in the 'real world'—friends and family who struggle to comprehend the passion that drives us to dance with joy over a few dollars earned from our creations. In this shared struggle, our collective creative community becomes our solace.
As the holiday season approaches, I extend this message to my fellow Podsters: it's time to acknowledge that it's okay to take a break. Amidst the holiday festivities, we face the heightened risk of burnout, grappling with the pressure to both celebrate and create.
So, as we navigate the holiday hustle, I encourage you to hit the pause button. Give yourself the gift of unstructured time, a chance to rediscover the joy of creating without constraints.
Take a trip down memory lane
Remember when creating felt like a playground, not a pressure cooker? When the hours melted away as you poured your heart and soul into a project, fueled by pure passion and the thrill of bringing your vision to life? Yeah, me too. But somewhere along the line, the endless to-do lists, the relentless pursuit of metrics, and the constant comparison game started to squeeze the joy out of the process and we all ( if you're a Zazzle Creator) have felt the pressure from recent platform changes of late!
HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON!
Gift yourself permission to rediscover the simple pleasure of creating without constraints.
No deadlines, no launch schedules, just you, your imagination, and the open canvas of possibility.
The Gift of Unstructured Time
Instead of working (when the family is asleep and you're grabbing seconds and minutes to check on your stores, sales, stats) do some of the following:
Doodle with no end goal in sight. Remember the pure joy of letting your pen dance across the page, guided by nothing but curiosity and whim? I'm reclaiming that.
Read for the sheer pleasure of it. No more "educational" tomes or industry manuals. Just getting lost in a good story, the kind that feeds the soul and sparks new ideas.
Daydream without guilt. Let your mind wander, visualise the wonderful experiences and visual delights you will encounter in 2024!
This gift of time isn't just about indulging in a temporary break. It's an investment in your long-term creative well-being. By giving yourself the space to explore, experiment, and rediscover the joy of making, you will refill your creative reservoir. And who knows, what you might create in these unscheduled hours.
So, this holiday season, I encourage you, my fellow digital creators, to join me in the rebellion against the endless to-do list. Give yourself the gift of time, the freedom to explore, and the space to simply be. You might just find that the most valuable things in life aren't things at all, but the space to create, connect, and rediscover the spark that makes us artists in the first place.
Merry Christmas and a Happy 2024. May your dreams come true.
I take a break between Christmas and the 3th of January, to make my "to do" list for the next year, look at my budget, write down my hopes and achievements and gather positivity and courage to start a new year.
I, too, get caught up in an endless to-do list as a single mom of 4, but resting is essential. My biggest goal for 2024 is learning how to slow down and be more efficient, do I can take more breaks to enjoy my family.
I love this! It is essential to let go of the angst for a while. I made a conscious decision to silence the Mind Monkey for a month and enjoy friends, family and festivities. I’m going to take some classes in Skillshare and Liz Koehler Brown’s membership to learn some new skills and play. I’m disappointed that my shiny new work didn’t sell but I know I did my very best this year past and I concentrate on shifting away from that toxic fretting and leaning in to how much I learned this year and how I will apply it in January!