The busier life gets, the tidier the house needs to be ????
Giovanna Vieira Co
Sustainable fashion entrepreneur || Innovate UK Creative Catalyst Award Winner 2023 || Impact Leader of the Year at Black Tech Achievement Awards Finalist 2024 ??????
Welcome to Pep Talks From Me, To Me a cathartic newsletter where I talk about my journey as a fashion entrepreneur and openly share my reflections with you
This week's thoughts:
Every time I’m faced with a huge task, impossible deadline or feelings of overwhelm, I have an urge to clean and tidy the house from top to bottom. I do it pretty quickly now and it immediately gives me a sense of relief, like I can conquer any task. Is it a form of procrastination or is it self-soothing??
My time is pretty much all accounted for at the moment but I am happy because things have been going great lately. I’m more focused than ever before, I’m clear on the goals I’m working towards, the long-term vision and the plan. I spent the first half of the year really taking time to re-evaluate things and re-strategise in every aspect of my life: business, career and my approach towards my relationships with others, relationship with self, physical health, spirituality and mental wellbeing.??
When I moved on from my job as a Head of Marketing in fashion to full-time freelancer, I felt an indescribable sense of freedom. No more working around the clock and on the weekends, no more keeping quiet about my business to avoid tension and no more holding back.?
For a long time I was just consumed with work, the day-to-day and personal life dilemmas. At one point I felt like I was just busy but not really moving forward with things in the way that I wanted to. On one hand, I think sometimes the process of achieving your goals can be long and strenuous, and although you may not feel like you are making progress, the actions you take every day can significantly contribute to getting you to where you want to be. On the other hand, we can sometimes give into the tendency to keep ourselves occupied so we don’t have to go in and confront our deepest thoughts, fears and failures.
In my case, I really had to pause, reset and restart.?
In taking time to do nothing I really found all of the answers I was looking for. It is true when they say you have it all in you, you just have to tune in.?I realised that indeed the day you plant the seed isn’t the day you eat the fruit. Patience is something I’ve been intentionally working on. I move at the speed of light so I expect everything to respond to me in the same way - except life doesn’t work like that.?
Ever since I developed a more intimate relationship with myself and became more directional, it seems I’ve been presented with the right opportunities at the right time. The best part is that I can recognise them for what they are: a part of the process. Nothing more, nothing less.
I’ve been back in London for a few weeks now and although I feel much lighter, positive and energised, it also feels like I never left. I’ve pretty much been on autopilot, just getting on with building TFB STUDIOS, starting to take on new clients, ticking off my to-do list, going out, switching off…then doing it all again the next day. I’m actually quite happy that I don’t overthink much these days and have the motivation to keep working hard. I feel like I really understand the season I’m currently in and I’m at peace with what it requires from me. I did tell you that moving abroad for a month had changed me!
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On the topic of going out…I had every intention to be a social butterfly for the rest of the summer but after a few weeks of actively going out to industry events, meeting with my peers and making new connections IRL, I can confidently say networking is in fact hard WORK. Sometimes I’d actually rather stay in the office late or go home and relax but we all know that although we live in the digital era, your next opportunity will not find you in the house. I do feel incredibly inspired and excited when I meet with people so it’s definitely something I know I will continue to do. I just hope I have the energy to balance it all out with the deep work that still needs to get done - emails, proposals, contracts, projects, partnerships, events, applications, outreaches, business planning….If you’re someone who has hacked the networking/deep working/life balance, please tell me how?!
One of the things which has been helping me to relax is indulging in fictional books. I used to really be into factual and self-development books (I even had a book club for it at one point), but recently I started to read fictional books again. It makes me fantasise, stay creative, feel more more positive and it takes my mind away from my chaotic reality. It feels like time stops when I'm reading, I love it.
When I was away in Lisbon I actually got a lot done whilst also making time for self-care every day and going out to socialise on the weekends or after work. Now that I’m back, all of that has completely gone out of the window. London is an environment of its own, the pace of life is much faster here and although I work harder, I also always seem to run out of time in a way that I can’t quite explain.?My work/life balance pendulum has definitely been leaning more towards work but that’s the season I am in now and I am ok with that. Like I said, thank God for autopilot.?
Before I sign out, here are some cool things I want to share with you:
Until next time!
Gigi x