2023 – A Year of Unknown
As I typed “2023 A Year of Unknowns” I thought to myself “Isn’t every year?” So, why did that flow from my fingers without thought as I began to write? All I know is what it will be – 2023 the year of the unknown!
Comfort in Habit
I was without an immediate answer to the question. The pause I took to contemplate my discomfort of not having an answer itself was disturbing. Then, the answer came to me in little pieces. Recently I have been rehearsing different scenarios for my online business. I didn’t find any one of them appealing more than another. Feeling out of control and overwhelmed was foreign to me. Finally, I asked myself what was unusual this year and contributing to these feelings.
In a Thanksgiving catch-up conversation with a friend, the answer became obvious. For 14 years, I planned the coming year around the tasks I did leading up to the Girl Scout camp each August. It was a habit to spend January contacting families for camp registration opening February 1 and set up a registration spreadsheet.
My small business required my attention in January to wrap up bookkeeping for taxes and set-up for the new year. The analytics for the prior 12 months were gathered to be compared to the previous year and conclusions drawn up on what was working well and what needed tweaked.
GS responsibilities along with my small business required juggling time management. However, after so many years, it was a habit. I knew come February all my time would be required to keep up with GS duties. Knowing and accepting got harder as the years went by. My business was suffering. Circumstances occurred to make it less painful to let go of the commitment to GS camp. I had no idea having so much time to focus on the small business would be a huge new habit to develop!
Admitting I am Human
Throughout life I have heard humans are creatures of habit. What was I if that was true? I was spontaneous. However, I am finally admitting I am a creature of habit. It is going to take time for it to be a comfortable thing to be, but isn’t admitting it the first step?
What Will I Do in 2023 – the Year of the Unknown?
What will I do in 2023? Hopefully much more than I accomplished in 2022. Reflecting, the best way I can describe it would be a blur of days/months passing quickly as I went through them in a slow-motion unproductive fog. Can’t even blame it on aftereffects of having Covid unless I had it and didn’t know it! My sights are focused on this coming year and what it will take to get me motivated to take my business to new levels.
I hope you will follow along, offer suggestions, and keep me on track whatever that track might be. Are you signed up to get notice of new postings? Easy to do on the form in the right-side bar of this post. Stay with me as I discover and rewrite what is unknown in 2023!
Have you read Sewing with Stitcher 2023 Time to Organize Quilting UFOS. If you haven’t read it, you will get some insights into the direction I hope to take.
Update may 2023
Update May 2023: I sit here with stacks of paper surrounding me as I attempt to become organized and clean up the website! Truthfully, I have shuffled these stacks so much the ink looks exhausted. There is much to do (analytics classes showed me that but didn’t tell me where the “I’ll do it for you button is”!). That is what happens when you are oblivious for years of just posting and not looking back! Oh, but oblivious was so less time consuming. Now I know what I am supposed to be doing on at least a semi-yearly basis, I’ve got this! I hope.
Hi Stitcher