#83 No reflections, straight to it

Have you ever sat on something, an idea, a piece of content, a photograph, for so long, waiting to get it perfect before you can release into the wild, only for so much time to pass that it no longer feels right?

I kinda had the same about my EOY newsletter I was going to write ready to send just after the new year’s celebrations. And about 5 post ideas I had drafted in my head but the time had passed and I felt what if I missed the boat with the right timing. And also a video I was going to make about a trip and an event that never left my drafts.

And most recently, also some reflections for the start of the year only for me to realise that it’s a lil’ bit self-indulgent to think my life musings will serve anyone but me. So instead, I decided to drop all those and just get back to why I started this newsletter in the first place: to give you 5 mins of visual, mental detox and remind you:

• You’re more than your work or your latest title you’ve added in your LinkedIn bio.

• What you do outside of work hours matters: your hobbies, passions, playful experiments, they all contribute to your brain’s neuroplasticity (in other words, it helps your brain make new connections because you introduce novelty, new challenges, consistent effort learning and doing something different)

• You can be be as strategic, logical, and technical in your work as you need to be, but working on your creativity is just as important if you want to learn to see things through different POVs, to find alternative routes, to approach problems differently, to get better at brainstorming.

You don’t need tons of time, money, space, or motivation to do any of this. You don’t need to be a writer to write, you don’t need to be a photographer to shoot photos, you don’t need to be an artist to try doodling — you get the idea.

My eye also caught one post that spoke on how easy it is to get into a routine, and for time to quickly pass you by if you don’t have interruptions, like a new hobby, a simple day trip, a walk in a place somewhere new. That novelty breaks up the pattern and gets your brain to pay attention.

So, here’s a few moments from the end of my 2025 where I did some of that.

First up: candle making.

This was a gift from previous Christmas that was patiently sat waiting, but we finally did it. I think, I’d been putting it off because the box was so big, with so many different parts and items that I felt overwhelmed to even figure out how to start.

But honestly, it was pretty simple and just a few steps to follow on repeat. We added a stronger drink with a mixer, a live DJ on Twitch, and it was actually pretty fun. Less arty, more basic chemistry lesson because we didn’t need to make the candle jars, but just fill them with the right wax, colour, and scent combos.

Solo adventure

I flew back home (Riga) for a couple of weeks just before getting back for Christmas. I’d arranged to shoot a gorgeous model in the city, so I figured I should make the most of it and plan a few more things around there . Ever since leaving home, I’d been wanting to visit the Corner House, a historical building with bloody past — only a block or two away from where I used to live as a kid.

It’d reopened a few years ago to the general public, now serving as a museum for those who want to learn more about the deepest, darkest parts of our recent history and the price our people paid simply for being in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

They have tours everyday and there was only an English-speaking one available on the day I was there, so I signed up because it’s literally two mins walk from where I arranged to photography my model. It was as harrowing as I had expected. I told my auntie about it afterwards, but she said she wouldn’t be able to stomach it, but if you’re interested in Eastern European history, I recommend it.

It was interesting to see it through the eyes of British tourists (as well as a bunch of other Europeans, but particularly Brits because of how different the general mainland European history, esp. Eastern European, is vs Western European).

It’s a fine line balancing that dark, self deprecating humour when you’re talking about something that hits so close at home.

Going solo, I think I found myself digesting the information a bit more because I had more time to just stand and think, and observe.

You definitely don’t need to go for something so dark, but think of a solo adventure doing something you’re interested in regardless of what others want or like. What would you pick?

P.S. After all that, my model had to cancel our shoot.

5k race

Can you get any more cliché than doing a run just after New Year’s? Totally coincidental and unrelated to any new year’s resolutions, we had booked in a race from months ago only because it was an evening race through an empty wildlife park, all illuminated with lights installations. It’s our favourite wildlife park so how could we say no?

Compared to our first race earlier in 2025, training for this one was a mess. We had illnesses, injuries, other sports competitions to prep for, travel, work and family stress, you name it. A bit of a shitshow but we made it through and the best part — it was very cold BUT no rain. A win.

I still don’t love running but throwing random things in our workout routine is a good challenge.

Colouring

My Q4 obsession was definitely colouring. It’s so soothing. There’s something about conforming and colouring inside the lines, it’s just so straightforward and simple — an opposite to some of the stuff you have to deal with in your every day life.

I got a couple of pencil packs, one colouring book (from Vinted of all places), and just put some YouTube video or podcast on. I think for me it’s very much a comfort hobby, reminding me when my granddad used to teach me how to colour neatly inside the lines. So, that’s exactly what I did.

Photo moments

As a photographer, I can get caught up in trying to perfect everything (from what I use to shoot with to how I present it to what’s the purpose if this photo even), so I wanted to go back to why I started photography in the first place.

In reality, your gear doesn’t matter much, especially now when phone’s have such great cameras you can easily shoot and print your photos without even picking up a DSLR or a mirrorless. So, two things I started doing was:

• A simple monthly photo journal where I slot in a few photos each month to remind me what I did, what I saw, what I experienced. It looks like this, and took me 5 mins to put it together in Notion, but at least it makes me feel those daily phone snaps now have a more permanent place. And it’s good for learning to cull your images, too, because you probably won’t upload 100 variations of your cat from the same day (although, I totally would).

• I started taking quick selfies, less so arty self portraits, but more like little snippets of myself on days I feel good. Sort of a small ritual to pause and actually digest that yes, today I’m feeling good and I appreciate it before that feeling fleets away.

And to finish up my list, I went back to analog daily planning. I am that girl who has had 100 different planners, templates, Notion and Xtiles pages, and I realised that:

• Digital planning encourages overestimating how much I can actually get done. It’s too easy to add way more than I can actually handle, and then I feel like crap for not being as productive as I had anticipated to finish my silly, 100-item long to-do list that felt totally doable.

• I already used a paper planner last year to make myself jot down a sentence or two each day, but I felt a bit of a disconnect. The planner didn’t feel like something I want to actually have on me, and so I’d go days without writing anything.

So, now I opted for an A5 size planner that has a page for each day so I can add my must-haves I need to get done, plenty of notes sections (e.g. I noted ideas for this newsletter issue in one of the pages).

Actual client work and all other work admin stuff stays digital.

I do feel a big difference because it just fits. I know for a fact that the process of writing stuff down feels different than doing it digitally. The separation now makes way more sense in my head, when previously I tried to make things fit in way they never fit.

I can’t do elaborate worksheets or weekly, or daily planning. I can watch 20 different productivity videos and none of the methods or science-backed systems will really work for me, because my brain refused to co-operate.

I will take those extra 10-20 mins out of my day versus an arbitrary productivity gain if I were to send a quick voice note with tasks to my AI agent that then pulls it into my Notion. But the point is, you have to find what works for your brain. They’re funny that way — you can tell them one thing, but they’ll quickly make sure you know when it’s not working for you, regardless of what so-and-so says on LinkedIn about the latest daily productivity hack.

Oh, and we started a new tradition this year, inspired by a bag full of receipts I found in my mum’s house.

We’ll stick ours in a bag too, and burn them at the end of the year. Out with the old, here’s to new money coming in, new opportunities. Just make sure you do it safely.

Hope to land in your inbox more frequently this year after my brief writing hiatus. Here’s to a good 2026.

That’s all from me this week—if you enjoyed this newsletter issue and haven’t subscribed yet, you can click the button below. I’d love to have you here! Hopefully, catch you next week.✨