Somehow it’s December again? I don’t know what happened.
I also feel like it’s already been winter forever (since I live in Minnesota and it actually did snow on October 14 this year). So, you know what that means:
Time to up our self-care!
(And we probably need more than we normally give ourselves, anyway!)
Here’s a round-up of useful blog posts and podcasts that I hope will help you stay more grounded and present this holiday season:
This is one of my most popular posts ever, and it has plenty of applicable stuff for creatives of all types, not just musicians.
Tracy Benjamin from Shutterbean has some great quick tips, and I love the visual style of her blog, especially her handwriting!
Angela Beeching, a career consultant for musicians, highlights gratitude as a way to not only de-stress, but ultimately to help your career. I love how she focuses on mindset.
We always talk about what to do during the busy lead-up to the holidays, but Lauren Cummins of StarHaus Psychotherapy, who created the Self Care Solitaire decks that I really like, wisely focuses on how to take care of yourself afterwards, as well. She also has some good ideas about how to embrace winter here.
PODCAST EPISODES
If you’ve been following along with my posts for any length of time, you probably know how much I love Mara Glatzel’s work and podcast. In my opinion, the most important factor in taking care of ourselves is knowing what we need and giving ourselves permission to go after it.
I loved this episode because it focused not just on being over doing, but also talked about rituals as a way of connecting to the winter season (I’m all for trying to make friends with winter!)
This episode with physician Beth Ricanati focuses on baking as a ritual for self-care (since that’s what her book is about), but encourages us to give ourselves permission (there’s that word again, why is it so hard sometimes?) to take time for self-care.
EDIT: I also did a Facebook live about holiday self-care, which you can watch here!
I hope that these resources are helpful for you - they certainly have been for me, and I’m revisiting them this season (because self-care is a practice, and wellness is always a moving target).
If you need extra support to keep yourself feeling like a full and healthy human during this season, I offer a few different ways of working with me through Coaching for Creative Wellness, including email coaching for people on a budget or with less time to schedule a call.
I also have some free resources available here, as well as my weekly newsletter which is chock-full of supportive real talk about staying well while doing creative work. Sign up at the bottom of the page!
What do you do to take care of yourself during the winter and/or holiday season? Let me know in the comments!
