How to Start: Prepping for fall

Hi strangers!!

It's been a minute as summer has been a delightful mix of a quiet working and enjoying time with my family. On a personal note - we went to Austria for my sister’s wedding and I could write an entire post on traveling to Europe with small children. Spoiler alert: it was AMAZING. No complaints, no notes, my kids were champs and we had the best time!

But I’ll leave that post to the mom bloggers who write organized listicles of their travel hacks. Instead, I’m here to write about what August has meant to me over the past 10+ years, the PTSD I got from reading that “Christmas is less than 24 weekends away,” and how I’m thinking about spending this last month of the summer.

If you’ve been a STIK fan/follower for a while, you know that we ran a HIGHLY seasonal business. While we tried to stay present in the summer months, the sales were so small in comparison to our Q4 revenue that it made the most sense to spend our time prepping for fall. While the fall was full of events, every day sales tracking, influencers, PR moments and stress - the summer was a time for me to be creative, think big, and take some much needed R&R to prep for the busy season ahead.

Being a bit of a procrastinator, I would typically wake up in August and be like OH SH*T, fall is right around the corner. This would put me and the STIK team into a frenzied dash as we solidified plans, wrote out marketing initiatives, and scrambled to get the first shipments in on time. The fact was that our entire year hinged on the months of October - December was pretty anxiety inducing.

This year, my “oh sh*t, it’s August” realization is more about being sad about this time with my family coming to an end than about work, and that’s a really nice thing. Campbell and I made a “summer bucket list” this year and I can’t recommend doing that enough. It’s made me feel like we haven’t let a week go by without doing “special” things like a setting up a lemonade stand, going out for ice cream, cutting out early to jump in the pool, or planning a “take your daughter to work day” with Alex. We have made the most of the summer and I’ll be truly sad to see her hop on the bus in a few weeks.

I also have a “oh sh*t, it’s August” feeling to get my butt into gear with work, my consulting business, and the volunteer roles I have in the fall. I’ve given myself this time to take it slow, prioritize my health (and mental health!), and wrap my head around how much has changed in a year.

So here are some things I’m going to do this August to prepare me for the fall - it looks different and more moderate this year - but I thought I’d share anyway.

1. I asked Lanae to put all school events/vacations (Harriet is starting nursery school this year!) into our calendars. This year I will not be surprised by a “professional training day” aka no school day! It feels good to have a glance at what’s ahead.

2. I’m starting to ramp up outreach for work, knowing that meetings likely won’t be set until the fall. This gives me ample time to hear back from people, find time, and lock in a meeting come September.

3. Buying school clothes ahead of time!! No more rushing orders for new sneakers or collared shirts (Campbell wears a uniform). I am ordering it now so that those first few weeks we’re all lookin’ good, feelin’ good.

4. ENJOYING these last couple of weeks!! Taking time to do things that I didn’t get to on MY bucket list. Like playing golf by myself in the mornings or visiting a friend for a beach day. This is the time to do it!

5. On the note of ramping up work - if you haven’t checked it out yet - check out my new website!! Designed and built by the brilliant Kate Zeitler team. I plan to have a hard launch in the fall (again, taking this quiet summer time), but since you’ve read this far, I thought I’d share!! www.christinapardy.com

6. Heading up to Cape Breton soon! My family has had a house up there since the 70’s and it is my happy place. I can’t wait to get up there!!!! That is where I really relax, KNIT, read books, and spend time with my family.

7. Write out my goals for the new year!! If I learned anything in the past year, it’s that consistency is key for me. Lots of small steps, repetition, and working steadily towards a goal is effective. One goal will be to write more regularly here and share more on Instagram. I am also considering changing my handle on Insta to make it more personal to me… taking suggestions in the comments!!

All of this is to say - this August is looking a LOT different than last August. I am grateful to be in a calmer spot, more at ease with my situation, and not having a full blown identity crisis. I hope this inspires you to write out a list of things you want to do for the next month and actually do them!! ESPECIALLY if your are a business owner on the precipice of Q4. Play hooky and take your kids to the beach! Read a book instead of checking emails when you do take time away! EAT the ice cream at 3pm for no reason! Take care of yourself!!

XO!

Christina