Un-Deck the Halls
January is here but are you facing or embracing the new year?
Tuesday 6 January 2026, the day after Twelfth Night and second day of the first full working week of January. The decorations are down and we probably have a feel for how kind this first week back is going to be to us.
At this point it’s easy to feel disheartened if the week is hitting hard. Maybe you are reflecting on what has or is not going so well in your business. Whilst I support others with the running of their businesses, I am also a business owner myself. With over 7 years’ experience, similarly I can identify things that have both gone well and not so well.
Choosing the weight
The things that haven’t gone so well can feel heavy. This is maybe a good time to consider those things as suitcases, meaning you can choose to put them down or transport them in a different way. Lightening your load is a choice you get to make.
Reflecting on last year for myself, I would name my suitcases PAIN, REHABILITATION, LEARNING and HELP. HELP is a key one that you might think isn’t heavy, but accepting I needed it and what I needed it for was. Likewise LEARNING, until you consider that some lessons are easier to accept than others.
This year, I choose to put those suitcases down. Those I will carry instead are NEW, HEALING, COMPASSION and GROWTH. My family bought me a shopping trolley for Christmas (picture below) to help me carry physical loads – moving me forwards – and I will use the metaphorical equivalent for the less tangible things!
One of the greatest things I think having a PA gives to a client is someone in their corner. Our job is to act in the interests of our client, meaning a lot of noise from situations falls away immediately. We’re good sounding boards, we just get administrative tasks done for you – instantly creating headspace – and look for ways we can help your business run more efficiently, even and especially when that may mean ultimately you require less of our time.
Brighter times
It may feel like a long time to summer but January is a fantastic time to embrace change and accept help. I am mum to a January baby, born at the end of the month. Once Christmas is out of the way, we start looking forward to his birthday. It’s really helped January feel less bleak as I know by the time his celebration comes around there will be a sizeable increase in daylight hours. This year, with cold crisp weather in Devon, I’m noticing the stretch already.
January is about brightening and renewal, not continuing darkness.
