Taking a Break When Things Get Weird

Here we are a month into the new year, and well, it’s kind of weird. Okay, for some of us it’s a lot weird. In this episode, I’m sharing my strange start to the year, the power of taking a break, and a few things I have on my mind that may be helpful for you to consider right now.

When I came back to work on January 3rd, I had a solid plan. And after two weeks of being pretty checked out of work, I thought I was going to have it on lock.

That didn’t turn out to be the plan. Over the last two years through the ups and downs of COVID, I’ve very much had the attitude that my work was the one thing I could control.

But let’s be real. I can’t. And much like it was in the very early days of the pandemic, I’ve had to learn to be flexible.

This is why after two days back to work, I made a couple of key decisions. Because my January plans didn’t include Omnicron and the completely weird feeling that I couldn’t shake.

If things don’t feel weird for you, I’m happy for you. But for the rest of you, I’m with you 100%.

So what did I decide? First, I recognized that in this season, my mastermind and mentoring clients may need extra support. So I needed to look at everything we had on deck, and make that possible. (Especially as let’s be real, I’m but a mere mortal, and my capacity is limited.)

On the agency side, we had new business as a focus for the quarter, and that immediately went on ice. We’re more than fine, and we’re going to focus on existing clients for now unless people come to us. I don’t have the capacity or the headspace to be showing up on Linkedin and doing my thing right now, so it can wait.

The Podcast After Eight Years – Moving to Seasons

Then I looked at Small Business Boss. One of the most significant draws on my time is creating content including this podcast. This week I’ll have been podcasting for eight years, and most of the time, I’ve had a weekly episode going out.

Podcasting has been one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself and my business, but sometimes you need a break. Don’t worry, the show is staying, but for 2022, we’re going to do it in two seasons.

That will let us take two breaks during the year so we have a spring season and a fall season. That means that after next week’s episode, we’ll be taking a break until mid-March. Then we’ll come back for the first season of 2022, pause for the summer, and return in mid-August.

My content sabbatical last summer showed me that nothing bad will happen if we pause for a bit, so we’re taking a little winter break too.

The Best of Episodes

Here’s the good news, during the break, we’ve got “best of” episodes lined up where I’ve picked some of the most popular episodes of the show that are worth another listen. (Or a first one if you missed them earlier as they’re from 2019 and 2020.)

Random Research and Reading –  By Email

As for my other content, I’ll be sharing things on IG, but with a focus on resharing old content with a new spin.

And I’ll be doing periodic updates via email with a bit of insight into what I’m researching and reading because I love to share that stuff and let’s be real, I am trapped at home during a semi-lockdown and Canadian winter.

If you’re not on my email list, you’ll want to join that.

The funny thing about all of these decisions is that once I made them, I immediately knew it was the right choice.

And I’m sharing all of it because maybe you need to adjust. Maybe you need to throw away the plan you’re clinging to so hard. Or maybe you just need to rest and not push so hard.

Whatever you need right now is more important than the plan, no matter what the celebrity entrepreneurs of Instagram may tell you. It’s okay to settle into the season you’re in right now.

For me, that season is winter both literally and figurately. So time for me to grab a mug of tea and get a fuzzy blanket until spring.