š the crap I cleaned out in my office
while I was making room for serendipity
Iāve never been one for New Yearās resolutions, quarterly planning, or even choosing my āwordā for the year.Ā
I gave up on resolutions about five years ago.
Around the same time, I realized āwork-life balanceā was marketing bullshit sold to us by savvy advertisers. (True story my friend, sorry to burst your bubble.)Ā
Since then, Iāve learned to manage my business as a freelance writer, so quarterly planning has become an essential skill. But even with that, I can be very realistic about January - Juneā¦ beyond that, everything else feels like a guessing game. I know lifeās gonna change so Iām kinda meh about the rest of the year and just fill in the blanks to have something on the page.Ā
Please donāt judge me for that.Ā š³
I wanted to keep it real with you about all the resolution and goal-setting stuff. Because Iām always the one who gets all her planning done by the end of January and Iām learning to accept this about myself. (Maybe you can relate?)
But my real strength is intention setting. I put my heart and head into setting intentions like some people do with redecorating their homes.
Intentions are about identity.
And meaningful change happens when we align our energy with our actions. I love that itās an internal process of self-awareness mixed with dashes of behavioral changes.Ā
My first step is to clean out or create a physical space to make room for the new.Ā
Itās a signal to my subconscious that I'm serious about sticking with this.Ā
And this is why I thought of you.Ā
Iāve been thinking about my intentions, while Iāve been purging and reorganizing my home office.
So when I took a photo to share here, it occurred to me that my home office matches where I am with my intentions.Ā
Here they are:
š Iām a profitable writer who values her time and expertise because I understand how to make money for my clients and my business.Ā
š Iām a woman who says no easily without questioning or guilt.
š Iām a woman who listens to her body and puts her health first.Ā
Behold the situation in my home office:
Notice the desk looks very stylish and neat. But there are papers and boxes and some random red thing in the corner. (Itās an old filing cabinet I have to donate.)Ā
You can almost see underneath some of that stuff, thereās that profitable writer, the woman who puts her health first, and someone who says no to old stuff she doesnāt need to hang on to.Ā
There are just a few layers that still need to be purged. Itās a work in progress. But it feels like it can happen with just a little more focused time and elbow grease.Ā
Thatās the art and science of intention setting.Ā
And hereās what Iād love to know from youā¦
How do you feel about setting intentions? (š Meh or blech is totally acceptable.)
Or do you clean and purge to make room for new changes?
Which one of those is most like you?
And if youāre bold, share a photo of where you work from. I love seeing peopleās desks. (Geeky writer thing.)Ā
Stay creative,
Jen
P.S. Get ready. January 20th is my 2nd anniversary on Substack! Thatās how Iāve started my 2024 planningā¦
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I'm setting intentions AND cleaning and purging to make room for the new. I was so inspired by your post, I decided to do my ownĀ !