A month of new starts, fresh planners, and its fair share of resolutions, January is a bit of a strange month. But if you break it down, it’s really just like any other month, with up’s that go along with down’s, and good things that march along with hard ones.
I’ve rounded up a few of my all-time January Faves, things I’m doing, feeling, or can’t get enough of right now. Here they are:
Fresh perspectives
Recently, I wrote about how going away felt like coming home.
While we were away, I snapped this photo of the Ballarat Art Gallery. I loved it then, and I love it now.
The clever positioning is only part of it. After surviving 2020, the message — see things from a new perspective, is one that feels both relevant and inspiring.
Because there are always ways to tilt things on their side, flip them upside down if necessary and see things differently.
You just need to be willing to try, and brave enough to give it a go.
Copywriting Course
Until just a week ago, I’d never done any formal writing training.
Writing has always been more of a hobby for me than anything else. Everything I write is based on my personal experiences and what I know about the world.
But when a career counsellor suggested I take a legit writing course, I looked into it and signed up faster than you could say, ‘I wonder why I’ve never thought of this before.’
The course I chose to enrol in is by the Australian Writers’ Centre and is called Copywriting Essentials. Yes, you guessed it — it teaches you how to be a copywriter.
I’m about a week into the course so far, but I’m loving using my brain again, broadening my horizons and learning new skills in a professional environment.
The way the tutor put it in her first lesson: anyone can technically become a copywriter. But learning the skills properly eliminates the guesswork, and makes the entire process more streamlined because you have the formula in your hands ready to go.
Outdoor Lap Swimming
Until recently, even though I absolutely love to swim, I would get anxious doing laps in a regular lap pool. My ‘swimmer’s anxiety’ kicked in a while ago, but really became problematic when the public pools first reopened during Covid.
There were timed swim sessions, and even though I wanted to just get into the pool and start swimming normally, I couldn’t. The pools were filled to capacity with accomplished swimmers and I couldn’t get myself together enough to not freak out in the water each time.
I slowly had to rebuild my confidence again from the ground up, and I’m now proud to say that I feel like I’m finally getting there.
I went swimming at this exact pool one day this week. It’s a 50m pool, so it’s big and intimidating at the best of times, but I just tried to take it slowly, at my own pace, switch strokes when I needed to and stop and take breaks, even if it meant stopping half way through the lap.
And I did it. My anxiety behaved itself, and it was one of the best feelings.
Kiehl’s Butterstick
I’ve been a fan of Kiehl’s skin products for quite some time now. But if you’re on the hunt for the perfect lip stain that feels like a lip balm and is super nourishing, this is it.
I don’t like wearing lipstick because I find it too heavy and ‘made up’, and it almost always smudges and dries my lips out.
This stuff is like magic; try it, you’ll soon see why. It has SPF 25 built into it, too, so it acts as sun protection.
It has enough colour to look like a lipstick, and a mostly matte effect. I liked it so much, I bought it in two colours.
This post is in no way sponsored by Kiehl’s. (But wouldn’t it be cool if it was?) It just happens to be a great product. If you’re interested, you can purchase it here.
That wraps up my January favourites. What’s made it onto your shortlist?