seasonal stillness as a strategy
Can I be honest? I love Christmas and New Year’s, but I’m obsessed with the days from December 26th to December 30th—the “In-Between Reset,” as I like to call it. I love the traditions I’ve been able to curate with my family and friends over the years during the holiday season, but what I love just as much is the quiet that follows. In that space, when nothing is demanding my attention, my thoughts finally land. And somehow, the simplest thing—being still—has been the reason I’ve had so many new ideas I’m excited to bring into 2026.
Just by relaxing, re-watching The Harry Potter Films, reading, sleeping in—I’ve been able to jot simple 2026 ideas in my notes app for content, work flows, and my personal life. 2025 has been so eventful; especially the last two months of the year which was new for me. And to be transparent; right after Thanksgiving I did have some anxiety about the close of the year. What I was most concerned about was when am I going to get some down time? This has also been a reoccurring thought I’ve had throughout this year.
So going into 2026 I will be intentionally scheduling down time. No more working 7 days a week (unless I’m prepping for travel), truly resting without my phone or ipad, reading more physical copies of books, and more weeknights where I don’t watch tv before bed to make more time for reflection and journaling. I’m realizing from this In-Between Reset that my creativity and productivity depends on me using stillness as a strategy to optimize quality. I’ve gotten better with setting boundaries over the years and knowing when to say no to others but I could do a lot better with setting boundaries for myself.
My output won’t be changing in 2026, in fact it will be increasing but in a more sustainable way where stillness will be a part of the overall strategy and no longer a reactive method when I’m feeling on the brink of burnout. I need time to sit still with myself to hear my thoughts and not just a “what’s next on the to-do list?” of items; but to get centered outside of my yoga mat, my gym routine, juicing, and meal prepping. There are physical benefits of stillness too by strengthening the immune system and improving sleep quality. Which is so important with us still being in the middle of cold and flu season.
Stillness looks different for everyone so I hope you’ve been able to create those pockets of pause this season and if you haven’t yet—that is okay. I would like to invite you though to keep stillness as an intentional practice going into the New Year.