Well hello there, Reader.

I know it's already mid-January, but for me it feels like the new year is just starting – I've been in New Zealand for the past three weeks, spending time with my family totally unplugged from work. Check out the views from one hike we did 😍

Anyway, I'm getting a bit of a late start to the whole "new year, new me" thing now that I'm home.

I've always loved a new year. Just like I honestly love a Monday – there's this 'fresh start' vibe to it that feels optimistic. It's a chance to leave behind what didn't serve us and make conscious choices to do things differently. (Of course, you don't need a new year for that, but there's something about the new year energy that really makes you feel like you can do it.)

This new year though, I'm feeling a little more subdued.

I'll be honest: I thought that by the time 2025 rolled around, I would have my business back up and running at full steam, and that burnout would be a distant memory.

That's not the case, and you know what? That's okay.

If you saw my income report​ from last year, you'll know that my business revenue dropped by about $40k compared to the previous year – the cost of stepping back to recover from burnout.

That sucks, but I've learned a ton from it. Namely, that my business and the way I was running it was not sustainable.

So this year, I'm not trying to get my business back to what it was; instead I want to turn it into something better. Something that I can run alongside my job as Creative Director at Kit without the overwhelm.

To do that, this year I'm aiming to:

• Create another digital product to sell alongside my font, Scribbles vector pack and Crafting a Personal Brand workshop.
• Publish 6 YouTube videos (way down from my previous weekly uploads, but actually doable I hope!)
• Have regular writing sessions to make progress on longer term projects I care about like my book and a course.

My theme for 2025 is "working calmly."

I want to grow. I want to create. But I don't want to do either of those things at the expense of my peace.

At Kit, I'm taking these same lessons into how I lead the Brand Studio team.

After spending most of 2024 focused on our rebrand, this year I want to pour into making our remote environment more ✨ creative ✨. I'm going to work on bringing in new rituals that inspire creativity and develop the creative professionals on my team.

So that's what you can expect from my content this year: I'll be sharing what I learn as I work on fostering more creativity and more creative excellence.

If you're interested in diving deeper into my plans for 2025, check out the latest Design Life episode where Femke and I chat about everything from work to side projects to hobbies.

304: Setting our goals and i... Jan 13 · Design Life 36:08   ​

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I'd love to hear how you're approaching this year. Hit reply and let me know if you're making any intentional shifts in how you work.

Here's to doing things differently 🥂,

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PS: I also have a ton of sewing projects planned for the year (including attempting to make my own swimsuit and maybe even a pair of jeans??) so look out for little updates on those over on my Instagram or in this PS spot in emails if you're interested 🪡

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