3 Things I’m Taking into 2023

2023 is on the horizon, and it’s tempting to think of new things you’ll start or stop doing come January 1st. But what about the things you did differently in 2022 that you will continue to do in the new year?

I always feel reflective when it comes to the end of a year and I embrace this period between Christmas and New Year’s Eve as an opportunity to lean in to that. Often times we are too focused on looking ahead without giving a nod to the things we did that made our year enjoyable, or even less hard than the year before.

I’d love to hear from you about what you’ll continue to do after Auld Lang Syne is sung and we wake up in a haze of promises on January 2nd. Here are mine:

1. Creative Fridays

In September I went down to 4 days a week in my (awesome) job in the EMEIA EY wavespace team to make more space for my publishing. I needed more time to write, connect with the community, share my work and focus on marketing and had been squeezing this into too many evenings and weekends.

Since then my whole working week has changed for the better. My Fridays are nourishing my creative side, Monday to Thursday is super productive and my weekends feel way more relaxed.

Credit to my amazing team who supported this decision, especially Mat and Gitanjali.

2. Park Run

After accidentally ‘running into’ my local Park Run one dreary January morning, I decided to join them the following week. Now, I never run with other people due to my running style being rather unconventional (think Phoebe Buffet from Friends but with more coughing and spluttering) so imagine my surprise when I actually enjoyed it!

Deliberately waking up early on a Saturday morning to join 800 other park runners on Clapham Common is now a weekly staple, and I’m looking forward to achieving my 50 t-shirt in 2023

3. Writing Critique Group

In the green room at Barnes Children’s Literature festival after chaperoning the wonderful illustrator / author Laura Ellen Anderson, I got chatting to her friend Chloe who had come along to see her. Turns out we grew up in the same town and had a lot in common, including the desire to write more books. Chloe was raving about her critique group and kindly included me.

Excited and daunted in equal measures, I joined their Skype call and (thankfully) felt instantly at home. Not only have I found new kindred spirits to discuss children’s books with but I get to read their amazing stories every month and talk excitedly about how to progress them. Bonus is that they do the same for me!

I have definitely grown in confidence with my writing and have written more because of this glorious group of writers, and am looking forward to sharing more of my writing with you all in 2023.

What will you take in to 2023?

In addition to working at EY wavespace, Kirstin is an independent publisher and author of joyful children’s books. Find out more at www.sequoia publishing.co.uk