I started writing lessons and learnings posts in 2017, and since then it’s been an annual thing. I look forward to it, and I like traditions. It prompts me to dive back into the year, and think about the experiences, circumstances and situations I encountered prompting recognizable learnings. Most are business related, some are personal. This reflection also helps consider intentions/ goals, and a renewed mindset going into a new year. Here’s what topped my 2021.

Everything is Figureoutable

It took me a long time to get here. With an incredible amount of detail required, and many moving parts, the design industry is ripe with ups and downs. Things go wrong. It happens. Of course, how we manage the ebbs and flows is half the battle. I used to immediately go to the worst case scenario. I would wallow in negativity until I had convinced myself that I would be ok with the worst thing that could possibly happen, and only then would I start to feel better. During that time, I would practically make myself sick with worry. I’ve worked hard over the years to transform this thinking, and flex my mental muscles to better navigate the times when things don’t quite go as planned. The more we use our muscles, the better they respond. 2021 was the year where my auto response shifted to an “everything is figureoutable” mindset. While I still sway sometimes, and need to make sure my metal muscles remain in shape, there’s a solution to everything. Even if it hurts a little, it’ll all be ok.

Designer = Planner

2021 was a huge reminder that the work we do extends far beyond aesthetic. Designers are, by definition, planners. The execution of a space, a home, takes an incredible amount of planning. While a lot of it is creative planning, there is also the administrative side of follow ups, confirmations, tracking, question answering, note taking, analyzing, invoicing, budgeting, researching, data inputting, and specifying. By the time the room is complete, all the hard work is done, and we’re left with a beautiful photo. 2021 brought extra planning due to navigating unforeseen circumstances, acts of Mother Nature, and yes, an ongoing pandemic. Information changed on the daily, and keeping up was a full time job. But that’s just it, it is our job. Planning is the underlying, behind the scenes act to which beautiful spaces, and homes come to life.

It’s The Little Things

My coffee tasted better in 2020 than it did in 2021. Why? Because I actually took time to enjoy it. In 2020 I took time to smell the roses, I paused to appreciate things. The lockdowns, quarantines and slower pace seems really brought this forth. In the summer of 2020 we drove to Tofino, a change of plans from our usual California trip. When we arrived, I wept when I saw the ocean. Not because I had never seen it before, but because I was so grateful, so in awe, as though I was seeing it for the first time. The feelings were real, recognized and appreciated. 2021 got fast and furious really quickly, and before I knew it, I was wondering how we got back there. You know, to the pre-pandemic state of busyness where you didn’t even have time to think. Pandemic aside, it’s good to be alive, and in 2022 I want to go back to that feeling of awe, of mindfulness, of quiet time, and great tasting coffee.

Pivot!

It’s a comical, iconic scene that makes me laugh every time. Truth is, it was practically the theme of 2021. No sooner would we confirm an item’s in stock, only to order and be told otherwise. Or how about being told an item is not available, madly reselect, re-order, and then have it arrive at the office two days later. There were good pivots and tough ones, pivots that make you want to pull your hair out and, others that are a blessing. The fact of that matter is learning to pivot has been, and will be, an asset for years to come. This skill (combined with the above mentioned “everything is figureoutable”), offer additional navigation tools for the ins and outs of the world of interior design, especially those we’re facing currently with Covid, supply chain, demand of products, and anything else that may come our way. Now, if only the action of pivoting burned calories, I’d be a little thinner :)

JOMO

I wish I’d discovered this acronym a long time ago, and been more comfortable with missing out. As we’ve settled into a new normal over the past two years, being content with not going out has become something to relish in. I enjoy being at home. I enjoy quiet gatherings. I enjoying being with my family. Making decisions accordingly most certainly means I’ll miss out on things, but to be confident in doing what feels right, and good at the time, simply means I’ll have joy while missing out, all the while content where I’m at. It also means disconnecting from devices. This is still a work in progress. As a business owner it’s super hard, but I’m mindful of it. Being assured in this is a form of self care I’ve been working on for myself.

Thank you 2021, for the ups and downs, ebbs and flows, and all the lessons. There’s something to learn in everything, and while I learned more than simply the above, these were the standouts.

Here’s to 2022, and many days ahead of wonderful things to learn.