Freelance Monday + What I'm Doing To Kick-start 2017

I don't know what has happened, but over the past days, a burden has lifted from my chest. I feel lighter and more positive than I have in months.Perhaps that intention ceremony we did over New Years unlocked something in me. A deeper acceptance of the difficult year that has been, and trusting that I'm totally capable of making my dreams come true in the future.To finally have the inspiration and motivation to work hard and make things happen is such a relief. I've been so impatient, yet it's been such a struggle moving forward.So it is with great excitement that I write this first Freelance Monday post of the year! First, I have a couple of thoughts on how to kick-start 2017 that I want to share with you. Further down you'll find this weeks To Do List, as per usual.Let's dive in!Ps. The photos in this post are little captures of everyday magic from the last week or so :-)Fridge cleaning lunch! Rice & quinoa linguine with a vegan cashew alfredo sauce, carrot "schorizo", lemon zest, parsley & pumpkin seeds.Over the last two weeks or so, when the internet has been bursting with new years chronicles & resolutions, I've felt a lot of resistance. For the first time, taking part of everyone else's ambitious New Years Goals has left me feeling overwhelmed and pressured. Like I picked the wrong goals or missed some important bullet point.But then another voice in my head reminds me that I'm the only one who knows what's right for me. And once I let that thought really sink in, I felt this surge of energy and motivation to make this year MY year. Regardless of how everyone else is doing it.2017 will be the year that I let myself be guided by hunches and gut feelings, rather than expectations or someone else's ideas.It will be the year I stop feeling ashamed about my anxiety and my seasonal work flow.It will be the year I turn my passion into my full time occupation, in my own curious, rollercoaster kinda way.I don't care if someone out there think there's a better way of doing it.This is how I do it.Winter came back, with biting cold, fluffy snow and plenty of sun.Based solely on what feels sparkly in my mind when I think about it, here are 4 practices I'm implementing RIGHT NOW, to kick-start 2017:

1. Starting with the fun stuff

...instead of feeling weighed down by all the boring day to day tasks that eats up my time and prevents me from initiating dream projects. A lot of shit can actually wait.It is the big and fun tasks, like creating a guide or an online course or plan a trip or test recipes or launch a new blog that will truly bring me forward.Starting with the fun stuff also ensures my motivation is on top if I can begin the day with what I enjoy doing the most.

2. Establishing firm self care routines

I want my short morning meditation + stretching + yoga session to be as natural as brushing my teeth. Therefore I'm doing it every. day. Even when I don't feel like it. Even if I already slept until 10 am.The reason is simple: I am five times as good of a person when I do it. And a really shitty/irritable person if I don't.I'm pretty flexible with my day otherwise, but this routine I desperately wanna stick to.Power breakfast of galaxy smoothie bowl topped with chia, bee pollen, pumpkin seeds, almonds & coconut + new favorite turmeric tea, that Pukka kindly sent me as a gift :*

3. Daily practicing letting go of old struggles

To me this means to practice viewing my feelings and thoughts from the outside as much as I can, by noting them as either Feeling or Thinking, and leaving it at that.I need to adopt this less emotional and more factual point of view as I easily spiral down into worrying or anxious thought cycles. I ruminate on things I've done or said, and possible consequences that might (or might not) happen.This can sometimes take up all my energy, and it's seriously preventing me from moving forward in my life. That's why I'm practicing this, even if it's one of the hardest things ever to do.To my help I have the Headspace app, in which this technique is incorporated in some of the guided meditations.Slow morning in yoga tights with a warming bowl of oats, persimmon, chocolate nut butter & blueberries + Elizabeth Gilberts "The Signature of All Things". So captivating!

4. Implementing "focus weeks"

To make sure I get those big tasks and projects done, instead of constantly postponing them because "I don't have time". So, all of the time that I'm not creating blog posts, letters or freelance work, I'll be working with the designated task for the week.I've roughly outlined my focus weeks for January & February, of course knowing that they're not cut in stone but totally open for change and #life.

Here's what I'm planning for the following two months:

• week 1 (last week): catching up after the holiday, with emails & planning etc.
• week 2 (starting today): Accounting. Finishing leftover book keeping from 2016 so that I'm all set for the coming year.
• week 3 & 4: Blog move and everything that comes with it. Installing new theme, tweaking design, import blog posts etc.
• week 5: Promotion & active social media presence (seeing as I plan to launch the new blog around this time).
• week 6 & 7: Aimless creativity, explorations. Just letting go of the hard work I've been doing over the last couple of weeks. Start again with new curiosity and collect ideas and insights for the time ahead.
• week 8: Self care and extra free time. I've realized that I need way more frequent vacations than the summer/winter holidays. I can only work hard for a month or so at a time, then I need some slow time to regroup and feel out what comes next. It also calms me, knowing that I have dedicated resting time coming in the near future.

Do you have any particular strategy for making things happen this year? I would love to hear it!Most days I'm sipping on this hot superfood chocolate with tahini & turmeric to stay warm and nourished <3

To Do, week 2

• Today is accounting day. I'll be spending the whooole day organizing papers and typing numbers into my accounting program. Most likely while sipping some hot superfood chocolate 👆
• Tomorrow is a very exciting day, cause I'm going to look at an office space in a creative collective in Stockholm! The space is run by the influencer network we have here, Influencers of Sweden. I really hope this is going to work out for me, as I would find it so inspiring and empowering to work alongside other influencers 1-2 days a week!
• Wednesday is recipe testing and photo shoot day. Two favorite activities! I'm thinking something green and hearty...
• On Thursday I'll be writing one recipe blog post and one Freelance Monday post for scheduling.
• And on Friday I'll pick up the accounting again, finishing any leftover tasks, or putting new systems in place if I have time.
• On Saturday I'm bringing a handful of friends to the closing party for the Acclimatize project I was involved in last autumn, remember? The party is at Moderna Museet (who co-organized the Acclimatize initiative). Will I see any one of you there? :-)

All in all a pretty eventful week for an hermit like myself ;-)What are your plans for the week?xoAgnesMagical morning sunlight after a rainy night <3All photographs, recipes and content are Cashew Kitchen originals, unless otherwise indicated. Feel free to go wild on pinning, but always link back here and credit Cashew Kitchen when sharing. Thanks!