Winding Down for Summer

Hi friend, I’m Sophie, an introverted, coffee-loving creative and your guide here at Finding Simple & Calm, a forest retreat for burnt-out business owners, creative parents, and quietly ambitious souls whose body, brain or life doesn’t allow them to work a typical 9-5.

This is where I share stories of motherhood, neurodivergence, and building a slow, sustainable business in a world that wants me to have a ‘proper job’. If you’re craving a gentler way to work, a business that’s baggy enough to live in, and a life with space to breathe, you’re in the right place. You're so welcome here. Take a seat by the campfire.

There are two weeks left before my children break up from school for summer, and I know that a lot of you are in the same boat. Even if you don’t have children, perhaps summer is a good time for you to slow down a little and recharge.

Lots of you have other needs and responsibilities outside of your creative businesses, whether it’s children, caring responsibilities, your mental health, or your neurodivergence, it’s a lot, and there’s no need to do it all.

How are you navigating summer as a business owner? How does it all feel? What are your plans? Do you have any?

It’s absolutely fine if you don’t have plans, but I do think it’s important to allow yourself to take some time away from your business over the summer.

Let’s take a moment to check in and have a brief reflection on how the year has felt so far.

Here are a few journaling prompts:

• What worked well in Q2? What were your wins?

• What didn’t go as planned?

• How did I handle challenges that came up?

• What work/ parts of my business brought me the most joy or satisfaction?

• Which tasks or projects felt like busy work or drained my energy?

• What unexpected opportunities or lessons did I encounter this past quarter?

• How did I feel in Q2?

For me, there’s no way I can work the same with three children at home, so I’m stepping back. Although I also know that I struggle without the usual routine, so I need to have at least a small amount of structure over summer.

I’m not sure about you, but for me, there’s always that sense of urgency just before summer, where I feel like I need to do one more thing, batch create all of my content. or schedule all of my Substack posts.

That’s great if that’s your cup of tea and you have time, but what if everything you’ve achieved, written or created up to now is enough? Who’s actually counting anyway?

Can you challenge yourself, maybe, to step back for a while? We know that rest is productive, but we don’t do enough of it. Or when we do, it feels alien and we actually don’t know how to slow down or stop.

But we are allowed to. Think about nature and the seasons, the flowers don’t bloom all year round. The trees lose their leaves while they rest for winter. Can you give yourself permission to rest? To do all of the things you’ve been wanting to do, but haven’t had time to?

Give yourself time to rest, spend time with your loved ones, catch up with friends, read a book, enjoy your garden, and do something creative just for fun without the need or desire to monetise it. Let your brain wander, notice small things, and see what inspires you.

September will come around before you know it.

Paid subscribers, here’s your quarterly business reset where we reflect, explore and plan out the next 3 months of your business. I’ve just worked through this myself, and I feel so much clearer about what I want to focus on.

Not a paid subscriber, but you’d like access to the Quarterly Business Reset? Upgrade your subscription and join us, we’d love to have you 🥰

Speak soon,

P.S, working in quarters is so helpful to me. I find I can’t plan quite as far in advance due to William’s health, but breaking it down and reviewing things every 3 months really helps me to check in and see what’s working, what’s not and what I have capacity for the next 3 months. If you don’t work in quarters, perhaps give it a go from July to September and then October to December, and see if it helps you too?