Oh January, why are you so difficult? Why do you always make me feel so dreary new yeary?
How did that old song go? “January, sick and tired, you’ve been hangin’ on me”. Yep, that about sums it up.
Getting back into working after a break is always difficult, but getting back into working in January is super-duper tricky. Every year it’s the same – the making muse ups and leaves and I sit at my table trying to make sense of what to do without her.
I’ve been trying to set myself some goals for this year. I have a workbook to complete and everything.
I’ve sat in front of it several times now, but so far it’s still blank.
One of my tasks is to come up with a word for how I’d like to feel this year. That should be easy, right? I know lots of words! I use them every day!
But how do you pick just one word to encapsulate a whole year? And a year that hasn’t even really got going yet, at that. And even if I could pick one, how is a single word going to help me? What am I supposed to do with it once I’ve picked it? Chant it? Doodle it? Shout it out?
I’ve never been a good planner. I’m a “let’s sleep on it and see how things pan out” sort of girl.
Not to mention my current lack of consistently restful sleep, so that as well as my muse, my get-up-and-go also seems to have got up and gone.
Dark mornings followed by wet, grey days render decent product photography impossible (not that I’ve made any products to photograph anyway). The weather has turned the park into a mire, making even walking Brian the dachshund less fun than usual (well, for me anyway. Brian doesn’t seem to mind).
Although the best things about winter are definitely comfort food and evenings by the fire eating Christmas chocolates, I’m trying not to succumb to stodge and podge, so even those seasonal pleasures can’t be enjoyed entirely wholeheartedly.
Other people seem full of new year vim and vigour, busy making plans and spring cleaning. I’ve done lots of cleaning since Christmas, but all it makes me feel is resentful. Housework? Humbug.
As an antidote I’ve been trying to make myself keep active (despite the slippery-slidey struggle of walking on the park) and eat healthily. I’ve been counting my blessings and I’ve been trying to organise a few things to look forward to as well as just looking forward to spring, which surely will come eventually.
But so far the making muse hasn’t been tempted out of hibernation by such shallow and half-hearted efforts.
What is it that other people do that I’m not doing? What am I missing that will conquer this dreary new yeary feeling and put a spring back into my step?
Is it just me that suffers with the winter blues?
How do you cope with feeling bleary, weary, dreary new yeary? ♥
Oh, now come on. Your stuff is lovely and full of joy. People adore what you do and you are the only one who can do it. So: courage. It will be light until 7.00 by the end of March. Xxx
Thanks Ann! I need to get involved in something easy, probably something I’ve made before, just to get those making muscles working again. I keep expecting a grand new idea to present itself, but I should realise that it doesn’t work that way – you have to coax all the best ideas out by stealth!
I think it just depends on how your brain is wired, or the chemicals it naturally contains – you can’t fight it, anymore than you could fight not having the body shape to be an Olympic high-jumper, or the brainpower to be a nuclear physicist, and you definitely shouldn’t beat yourself up about it (those were quite extreme examples, but the principle is the same). I’m really lucky – my brain is wired to keep on even keel, pretty much no matter what. If I get angry, exasperated, depressed, it never lasts. After an hour or so, the feeling has worn off, and the only thing that stays is a feeling of guilt if I’ve shouted at someone while I was cross!…
Is there a dull/repetitive part of your makes that you could force yourself to do – so you didn’t have to do it later on, when you are feeling inspired… Bodies? arms? legs? or are they different every time?? (for me it would be cushion backs)… Or is there something non-making-but-still-work-related that you could tackle?? Have you ever thought about having cards printed with your beautiful photos on? I’d buy them… I think other people would too. You could investigate something like that, even if it didn’t lead anywhere in the end…
All good ideas – thank you. I really do need to pull myself out of it and just do something, anything, to get things moving again! That’s the trouble with self-employment – having a manager tell you what to do may be unpleasant 90% of the time, but just sometimes it’d be nice to work on autopilot, with someone else telling me what to do!
You need some sunshine, girl. Have some of ours; we have altogether too much of it. Please send drear and grey and wet and overcast. Hard to give you a word; it was difficult enough to come up with my own even when it was staring me in the face. But what about delicate, evanescent, ethereal, dreamlike, fantastical, fey…?
Thanks Kate. This is what my sister always says when I speak to her – she longs for fog, frost and drizzle, whilst I am yearning for warmth and brightness! I think my Aussie niece has inherited her mother’s tastes – she is currently travelling in Italy and has just posted about enjoying waking up to the sound of rain. Meanwhile, I am sitting here in my kitchen looking out of the window at a day that hasn’t yet got properly light (at approaching midday!) and hoping the rain stops later so I can attempt to not fall over in the mud on the park with the dog this afternoon!
Brian the dachshund! Yay for that at least. Agree that the dark mornings and dark evenings make January tough. A single word for going into the new year? I like the simplicity of that. For me it’s HOPE. I HOPE to launch my daughter out of high school and into an exciting journey wherever that may be. I HOPE this year is a little less tinged with sadness and loss than last year. I HOPE we can see a glimpse of justice for the poor and a shift in our climate doom. I HOPE we can see a big shift in our terrible government. Oh there is so much to hope for. I hope you settle on a word. But why rush? Sleep on it 🙂 xox
Hope is definitely a good word at any time of year. And as you say, just now there is so much to hope for. I did have a lot of hope prior to the election before Christmas, but I have a lot less now.
I’m considering the word “connection” at the moment. I would like to connect with more people, both socially and work-wise. I will sleep on it. x
Realise you are not the Lone Ranger, everyone feels like life is a mud puddle sometimes. Some you can jump over, some you have to slog through and sometimes you lose your footing, fall down and lie there awhile! It’s a normal part of life, its okay and it passes. Thank you for sharing and not being fake!
Let me recommend Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert and Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I’m rereading both of them. Wonderful books about creativity and joy. AND the absence of them. And thanks again for not trying to portray yourself as a constant positive upbeat Ray of Sunshine and making us normal ups and downs people feel bad 😺🙀
Thank you Margaret. I’m glad that to you at least, I’m not just coming across as moaning on about nothing! I’m not actually miserable, just feeling somewhat hibernatory and uninspired. And I do realise that I have a lot to be thankful for.
I will check out the books you have suggested – they sound both interesting and helpful.
I agree with the others. Your creations are lovely and bring much needed joy. Perhaps you might get inspired by taking a class or going someplace you’ve never been! Look at all your creations and see which ones are your favorites and see if you want to make more of them with a twist? For an inspiring word or phrase, I’ve been using Marie Kondo’s mantra: Does it Spark Joy? It’s a snowy 23 degrees F. in Minnesota as I write this. I’m thinking a cup of Earl Grey Creame will Spark Joy right now! Join me?
Thank you for your lovely comments! I have just indulged in a Christmas chocolate (a praline!) which has sparked a great deal of joy! And I’ve recently booked a day trip down to London to meet up with a friend and visit The Stitch Festival, where I’m going to do a workshop. I’ll blog about it when it happens!
I love the idea of notecards with photos of your lovely creations on them. Hope you will consider this.