January is a wonderful time of year…said no one.  Not only is the weather drab and miserable, but there’s all this pressure to start new, declutter, lose weight, set intentions, reflect on the past year…blah blah blah. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE all of that, I truly do, but sometimes trying to do ALL THE THINGS in January is just…overwhelming.

 

So, I decided that this January, I am retreating. That’s right, I am retreating. I hopped on AirBnB and found a little gem of a place not too far from my house, but far enough that I couldn’t run home on a whim. It was the cutest English cottage on a farm, and y’all, this place was amazing. Not to mention it SNOWED while I was staying there. I needed to get away from my home office and away from the to-do list and GET STUFF DONE. Many times we feel guilty about taking time for ourselves (hello, self-care!) and even though this was technically a work trip…I still needed it for my peace of mind.  I had 2018 things I needed to wrap up and 2019 things that were beating down the door…so I retreated. 

I read the books I needed to read, I wrote the things I needed to write, I planned the week/month/year, I decorated my Passion Planner (super important), I scheduled my Instagram posts, I finally watched the training webinars (thanks, Jenna Kutcher) I needed to watch, and I slept and ate all the good food.  Needless to say, it was heaven on earth.  

 

I have decided…why make this just a January event? I might do this every quarter: find an open weekend, book this English cottage, and catch up on everything I need to do. Really make time for myself (and my business) and do the things I need to do and not feel guilty about not taking my husband or spending the weekend ‘Marie Kondo’ing’ my house. It’s ok for me to take a weekend to myself each quarter and grow and learn and be still.  IT IS PERFECTLY OK. So, I challenge you to do the same.  Find the perfect space, pick a weekend (or a night), and get to doing all the things you really want to do. I promise, you will feel just like I do right now: settled, accomplished, and ready to tackle January and the rest of 2019.

 

Are you ready to retreat?