It’s official: we’ve reached that time of the new year where I dust off the cobwebs from the blog for a few weeks, convinced that this will finally be the year I stick to a blogging schedule, only to publish a few blogs then never come back to it. HA.
No but really: this will be my year – I swear it!! Even if history says otherwise. (And truly: I hope I can revisit these thoughts on December 31, 2024 and think “wow, she really did it.”)
It’s so funny to me that I have such a desire to blog at the start of every year, knowing the payout isn’t (generally) much. Social media and email content have their purpose – sharing products/updates and connecting with the KYBI community – but the blog doesn’t have much “use” unless someone actively seeks it out, and I have the data to show that rarely happens.
I guess that makes it my own little (public) journal in a way, and anyone who takes the time to check it out will be rewarded with a peek into my chaotic brain, lots of fun tips & tricks, and content you probably wouldn’t see anywhere else (or at least, not so in-depth). Not to mention – I was an English major after all, and I’ve gotta put that degree to use somehow, amiright?
Truthfully: keeping this blog up makes me insecure as hell. For one, there’s some pretty vulnerable stuff scattered throughout this blog from years ago, and I can’t quite remember much of what I wrote, nor do I want to revisit it right now to find out.
For two, the fact that I consistently try, and fail, to blog regularly each year feels… embarrassing. In fact, I choose to leave the blog up with all its tumble weeds as a way to force myself into the tiniest bit of vulnerability in a public show of “yes, this is an abandoned project that I’ve constantly tried and failed to start back up.” (In reality, this decision probably means the most to me and literally no one else thinks twice of it. That’s usually how it goes, isn’t it?) Along these same lines, I also like leaving the abandoned blog up as a way to show other creatives that it's okay to take breaks from things – you can come back whenever and as often/little as you'd like.
Despite the vulnerability I feel with this blog, I keep everything published and always try to come back to it because it's one of those things that I can do solely because I want to, not because I feel like I have to – and I don't have much of those things left in my day-to-day.
So yes, here we are again, with me striving to blog more at the turn of the year, but like I said: this will be my year with blogging, and here’s why – I’m ✨refocusing✨.
I have a lot of New Year’s traditions that I love, but one of my favorites – and the most simple one – is picking a word for the year then tattooing it on my forehead. (Okay obviously not the latter half, but I like to pretend it’s tattooed there so I can let it guide me.)
Sometimes picking my word is hard and takes a little while into the new year. This year, I’d had it picked out in mid-December, and shared it with my email list during the January newsletter. Here’s a bit from that email, with a few more things I wanted to share with you.
I love running my business with my whole heart. So so soooooo much. But sometimes that love goes a little too far and I forget that there’s a “me” outside of the “business me.”
There’s the “me” who’s on an endless self-love journey; the “me” who loves learning new skills; the “me” who’s had to unlearn hustle culture and has been trying her best to embrace slow living; and the “me” who started her business to be creative but then spent less than 5% of her time this past year actually doing that.
My reality is that I often spend my so much time as “business me” I forget about the “me” who craves creativity and thrives when I get to express it. This year, I’m aiming to refocus on the creative aspects of my job and life: designing more things, trying new hobbies, and doing more of the things that make me, me.
This idea of “refocusing” has turned into a much larger goal than I had expected, mainly because trying to “refocus” also means I have to “rediscover” and “restructure,” the latter of which is the most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever put myself through.
Refocusing on the creative aspects of my daily life and job has meant literally flipping my routines on their head, asking for more help that I’ve ever felt comfortable with, and getting down to the nitty gritty of what really matters to me. It’s not pretty, but nothing good is ever easy (exhibit A: running this business lol).
So back to the point at hand oneeee more time: this year is "my year" because of one very important aspect. In my efforts to “refocus” on what matters most to me, I’ve been putting the creative side of my business front-and-center. Whereas designing, blogging, etc has typically been an afterthought for me, most often happening in bed, when I have to choose between reading or creative work, it’s now one of the first things I do every day!
I literally have a note on my mirror that says “don’t rush to work. draw at house first thing.” Written on a receipt, cause it was all I could find to write on at the time. See attached. 🙂
I've since expanded what it means to me, and just strive to do "something creative at house first thing," though I can't bring myself to rewrite the note.
I made the modification very intentionally. There are so many things I can do to be “creative” for KYBI: blogging, designing, writing newsletters, editing videos, even planning & brainstorming! The beauty of it is that I get to decide what it means to “do something creative,” and the things that normally get pushed to the back burner are now a main focus of my day.
*side note here: you might be thinking, “Kyndra, you shouldn’t work from home! What about boundaries?” It’s important to note that I’ve never done any of the creative KYBI work at the studio. It’s always done from a coffee shop or home; just a little way I keep the creative aspects of my day feeling less like work because truly – I never want the creative side of my business to feel like a chore (and I promise it never has).
I’ve been following this restructured schedule for about two weeks now, and it has already made such a big difference for me. It’s a great way to wake my brain up, I’m actually crossing things off my “ideas” checklist, and most importantly: I feel happier. <3
There are other aspects of this “refocus” goal that I’d love to elaborate on, but will have to save that for a later date, if at all. For now, this blog is already much longer than I had planned, and I’ve got the rest of my day to get to!
I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing how my refocus mindset plays out IRL. I think it’s going to make for a fun year, and I hope you’ll stick around for this lil journey of mine. :’)
If you have a word for yourself this year, feel free to share a bit about it in the comments below, or email me and tell me about it! (My newsletter peeps shared some of theirs with me and it was great to hear from everyone.)