I write for women business owners who are successful, capable, and quietly exhausted by how much they carry and still somehow wonder if it's enough. I'm Amanda. I'm not your hype girl. I'm the friend who gets it. Subscribe for honest, weekly notes on what it actually feels like to do a lot and still give yourself permission to pause.
I've been on my back patio...
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Hey Reader, I stopped. Not everything. I kept showing up for my clients (my fav!) but the podcast, the emails, the posting, the planning, the constant hum of what's next, I let it all go quiet. It started when someone I trust looked at me and said: "It seems like you keep trying to break down a brick wall, and your strategy is just to get a bigger hammer." He paused. Then said: "What if there's a door open on the other side of the room?" Ugh...I didn't want to hear it. But I couldn't unhear it either because I knew it was true. So I did something that felt equal parts terrifying and necessary. I put a date on the calendar (March 2 - April 6), stepped away from everything except the work I love most, and gave myself permission to just... stop. The end date came and went. And I didn't want to come back in full swing. Not because anything was wrong but because something was finally right. I've been taking longer walks. Sitting on my back patio in the sunshine. Knitting things for the people I love and for myself. (I finally finished a tank top I can actually wear. Picture proof below. ๐) Working about 10-20 hours a week, bringing in the same revenue, and feeling โ genuinely โ lighter. The most surprising part? Nothing broke. The clients are thriving. The business is fine. The only thing that changed was me. I'm not coming back the same way I left. I'm choosing less instead of more and a quieter kind of showing up. I don't know exactly what that looks like yet but I know how it feels. Easy. Simple. Real. I've also been quietly thinking about something. Something small, a little old-fashioned, and I think exactly what you need too. More on that very soon. For now: hi. I missed you. And I'm so glad you're still here. P.S. If any of this resonates โ the hammer, the door, the terrifying pause, the knitting โ I'd love to know. Just hit reply. My proud knitting moment captured ๐ |
You're doing a lot...and it still doesn't feel like enough.
I write for women business owners who are successful, capable, and quietly exhausted by how much they carry and still somehow wonder if it's enough. I'm Amanda. I'm not your hype girl. I'm the friend who gets it. Subscribe for honest, weekly notes on what it actually feels like to do a lot and still give yourself permission to pause.
Hey Reader, How many first-day-of-school pictures have you scrolled past lately? From kindergarten backpacks bigger than the kid wearing them to the (genuinely shocking, see below๐) professionally-designed college dorm transformations... it's everywhere right now. Fun to see, but here's the interesting part: that whole back-to-school moment does something for our brains even decades past needing new pencils. It's called the Fresh Start Effect. It shows up at New Year's, on birthdays, and...
Happy August Reader, We've entered one of the weirdest months. It's kinda summer, kinda creeping into fall. Where I live it's still sweltering, but pumpkin candles are already hitting the shelves. I love pumpkin season. I'm just not ready for summer sunshine to end. You might be feeling that same tug-of-war. Part of you wants to hang onto slow summer days, part of you is ready to get back to a routine. Good news: it's coming. September and October tend to be the most productive stretch of the...
Hey Reader, do you remember the song "The Boy Is Mine"? Brandy and Monica, two of the biggest pop stars of the 90's and everyone assumed they hated each other. So they got in the studio and made a song together and it was a hit! A true win-win for everyone. (If you want to go down memory lane, here's the music video link. You're welcome ๐) In the spirit of women supporting women, I wanted to share a few things with you today: First, my friend Sabrina. She runs a fantastic business and hosts a...