Early in 2020, I purchased a digital copy of the Do Less Planner. I was feeling out of sorts and was instantly attracted to the energy of the Do Less system created by Kate Northrup. I had followed Christiane Northrup as a women's health advocate for years, and felt her daughter may have a similar vibe and wisdom. I wanted to do all the Do Less things, and get into the material, and then my brain hit a wall. It was too complicated for me at that moment. I felt behind and overwhelmed and totally confused. So I let go of that idea, and focused on yoga and meditation.
In late June, I again felt compelled to get organized to get out of a COVID slump, and decided to try out the 12 Week Year planner. The idea being that we get the most done in the last quarter of the year, and we might as well think about a year as a 12 week cycle. Parts of me really liked the system, with its graphs and accountability. Until I felt overwhelmed and stressed because what I predicted I would do in 12 weeks became a bunch of stuff I didn't do. What this system was missing was the feminine energy component and being that my business is all about female body function, I felt that I was not honoring that aspect.
Back to Do Less, and Kate. I opened up the planner, maybe I listened to a podcast, and a few video lessons, and I was surprised that it made complete sense. Okay, well maybe not complete sense, but mostly made sense. I got how the moon creates an energy in the world, and how we can use that cycle to make decisions about how we relate to our business activities. I agreed with her philosophy about doing less, and body first, business second. (I will come back to that another blog post!) I started tracking my daily energy, and checking in with how I feel in my body when I make or don't make decisions. And I am trying to figure out what the moon phases mean for me, as an introverted business owner of a birth related event that is tied to cycles of the moon. (While the statisticians don't agree, our medical model of birth makes it hard to get true data since over 20% of labors are induced. Menstrual cycles, when unmedicated, have a moon relationship, even if women are not aware of how it is related.)
I write this blog post during the harvest full moon. During a full moon, the energy calls to connect and be visible. Yet, in my energy tracking, I do not feel like being physically visible at all! Actually I am at home in my PJs still, writing a blog post. Which seems counter to the moon cycle, and what the energy is best suited for. What I like most about what Kate teaches is to listen to what connect & be visible means for me, and not some ideal of what connect & be visible means altogether.
As an introverted business owner, connection & visibility to me means:
Sending email to business connections
Having business meetings with my support team
Following up individually with clients via text
Writing a blog post
Seeing clients one on one
Hosting small groups
Speaking my truth and inviting people to play "full moon" with me. (Tonight I am going to burn some stuff during a bonfire, perfect for full moon energy!)
How do you connect and be visible? Have you noticed a pattern that makes you want to be more or less social during a full moon?