At the end of every month in my planner, there are these prompts to help me review the weeks that were. It really helped me highlight the achievements and lessons learned for the month. I put the call out on Instagram and everyone seemed to want to read more, so here’s a bit of what came out of my February monthly reflection exercise. Oh, and it’s probably not surprising, but I should point out that I use my planner primarily to track my goals and tasks for my tapestry weaving.
February was pretty big for me!
It culminated in an arrangement with the National Library of Australia Bookshop stocking some of my Specere tapestries. Safe to say this was the most memorable part of the last month! It consumed a fair amount of my headspace for a good 2 weeks at least and I’m still jumping for joy over it!
Other accomplishments included the sales of the cutest cushion and a little basket of joy, full of unicorn yarn. And it’s quite nice that there seems to be growing interest in my regular email updates! If you’re not already signed up, there’s an opt-in when you scroll right to the bottom of this page, or just look for the Tea with Lee ribbon at the top of the homepage. ?
The lessons learned…
- Follow the warm leads!
I watched a Susie Moore webinar on guest posting, and then applied this nugget of advice to approaching the NLA Bookshop after I heard of their interest in my work. Basically I followed an opportunity that presented itself and umm… it worked! - Celebrate the wins and don’t be afraid to tell others.
First of all, I doubt I’m alone in sometimes forgetting to celebrate those wins! But I did actually take the time this month and enjoyed a lovely dinner out with my husband. (Canberrans, if you have not been to Rizla yet, probs get on it!)
Also I learned that I don’t have to feel awkward telling people good news. Even those you least expect to be interested might be pleasantly supportive! - I don’t always prioritise the self-care stuff.
Again, not alone here. Although weaving in itself is an act of mindfulness, my personal goals for February included more yoga and reading. While I didn’t fail completely (I started the month really well… don’t we all?!) the yoga was a bit sporadic and I didn’t quite finish the book I was reading by the end of the month. (FYI I’ve been reading Quiet, by Susan Cain.)
Who/what I was grateful for this month ?
The family and friends that supported and cheered me on to a big opportunity! A few in particular helped with their encouragement, photography and proof reading of emails. Also, I loved that dinner with my husband, who is always my biggest fan. ❤
What I’ll work towards for March
- I’ve got 3 weeks of intensive weaving coming up. So I will need to include dedicated blocks of weaving time to every day!
- Block out time in my planner specifically for yoga (and stick to it!).
- Continue to include reading in my evening routine.
Do you also find a monthly reflection exercise useful? Feel free to share your own February takeaways in the comments below.
