Be Intentional With Your Time & Energy
The past couple of months have honestly been a super fast blur of events, feelings, and beyond, making November 2023 a mix of struggle, intentionality, and the delicate process of prioritization. It reminded us of one of our 5 main intentions we set for 2023 back in our December 2022 Monthly Retrospective, Tis The Season To Be Intentional, of wanting to be more intentional with our time and energy, specifically.
In the midst of a longer-than-expected hiatus for our move and other major life events, we grappled with the necessity of taking this time for ourselves and recognizing its importance. Setting up our new home, navigating the demands of the holiday season, and keeping our clients content all demanded a considerable amount of our focus. Among this, our goals for our passion project and everything that encompasses Nush & Doza took a back seat, and we couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for not making significant actions pursuing our biggest life dream as we initially intended or planned for the month.
Although we rekindled our commitment by creating videos again, the challenges persisted as we navigated the labyrinth of priorities, trying to strike a balance between personal aspirations and professional obligations, something we struggle with navigating on the regular without the added newer hurdles as of late. Between the two of us, our schedule is filled with numerous calendars spanning time commitments in every aspect of life imaginable and beyond to passionate self-inflicted goals that we want to accomplish and overachieve in.
As we head into the last month of 2023, with the excitement of resolutions, we urge ourselves and others to pause and reflect. Where did our time go, and where did it serve us best? Were our choices intentional, or did we stumble along the way? These moments of introspection are crucial guides for our future endeavors, and we found they were quite similar to when we first set the intention last year in the first place though it's more prevalent than ever now.
In the realm of productivity, we discovered a valuable lesson: the importance of swift action. If a task takes only a few minutes, do it immediately. The energy spent pondering and worrying often surpasses the effort required to complete it. Whether it's sticking to a self-care routine, tackling chores, or addressing seemingly taxing tasks, the philosophy of "just do it" holds profound wisdom beyond selling shoes. Instant gratification becomes a reality when we earn it by choosing to seize the moment.
As we navigate the intricate dance of time and energy, it's imperative to recognize the power of intentionality in shaping our long-term goals and the rewards that come from the choices we make. Acknowledging it is the difference between things you feel you should do out of obligation or guilt versus what you want or even need to do, even if it means reprioritizing or taking a break.
Here are some things that happened this past November in our lives:
Enjoyed the first rain at our new place, which was way more peaceful than any place we've lived before.
Celebrated Diwali by lighting diyas, watching a special Bollywood movie, and eating delicious Indian food.
Made some serious strides in setting up our bedroom, which may sound silly, but it's a big deal that we're proud of since we've never had a bedroom big enough to really make cozy before together.
Celebrated Thanksgiving by cooking the closest traditional meal for 2 we've ever done, including making Turkey legs for the first time.
Set up our little Christmas tree and our modest Christmas décor in time for Thanksgiving to watch the parade.
Took another huge risk and step with our creative services business that has been years in the making, we are super nervous about it but hope it'll pay off in 2024 and beyond.
Continued to make progress in setting up our place and took advantage of holiday sales to get things to improve our life in our new space.
Published 13 videos.
Shared exclusive content with our amazing Patron Globs:
Games we played: Overwatch 2, Elden Ring, Age of Empires, Old School RuneScape
Things we watched: Jeopardy!, Rocky Aur Rani, Survivor, The Great British Baking Show, Bob's Burgers, Amazing Race, Hell's Kitchen, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Home Alone, Crown, She's The Man
As we get closer to the end of the year, it only feels even more important to take a moment and think about what choices we made, where it led us, and how we can make sure that our future choices can be better informed by our past ones too. We also hope that you will give yourself the time and energy you deserve too. If there are any decisions that you made that led you to a better place or led you to a place that could have been better but you'd like to learn from, please feel free to share it with us in any way you'd like! Thank you for reading!
