Reflection on CUltivate Central Illinois Women's Retreat
This past weekend my mom and I attended the first CUltivate Central Illinois Women's Retreat at Allerton Park in Monticello. Back in September, CUltivate Central IL sent out a call for session speakers. For some reason, I felt drawn to submitting my application to lead a session. I can only believe this was divine intervention, because I am NOT someone who feels comfortable with public speaking. I just really felt it on my heart to share my story and the resources that have helped me, in hopes of helping other women on their own journeys.
So, I submitted my app and I was added to the weekend line-up of amazing speakers covering a wide range of topics, including self-care, organizing your business, leadership, intentional mornings, and collaborating with other businesses. I invited my mom to join me for the weekend, so it became a relaxing weekend getaway for us both, complete with a stay at the gorgeous Allerton Mansion.
The retreat was designed to be “a time to reflect, refresh, and re-energize” - especially created for female small-business owners but open to all women looking to start the new year with a refreshed mindset and renewed energy to work toward their goals. Looking back on the weekend, I definitely reflected a lot on my business and where I’d like to see it grow this year. Even though it felt like information overload at times, the speakers shared so much valuable information and nuggets of wisdom.
Outside of the sessions, one of my favorite parts was just connecting with other women and tapping into a different small business community outside of my own. I got to reconnect with some people I already knew, meet some people for the first time who I had only followed on Instagram, and make some brand new connections as well. It can be hard to put yourself out there, but it is always so rewarding. You just never know who you’ll connect with, and you truly never know someone’s story.
Towards the end of the retreat, we talked a lot about taking some time after the retreat to reflect on the experience. It can be really hard to attend things like this and get all these big ideas, then go home and jump right back into your daily routine and forget to take action on these new ideas. They suggested really taking a few moments to sit and decompress, soaking in everything we had just learned. I thought one of the best ways I could do this is write a blog post for you and share a few of my takeaways from the sessions I attended and the retreat in general.
Self-care should be healthy, happy, and effective.
I don’t know if it’s because this was the first session we attended, but this session with Robyn Gobin (The Self-Care Prescription) really had an impact on me. We talked about self-care and how it’s kind of this buzz word lately, often paired with face masks and candle-lit bubble baths and such. I think everyone’s starting to understand that self-care actually goes much deeper than that, but we took it to another level. As we were chatting about ways that we engage in self-care, I realized that some of my own methods often make me happy, but aren’t always healthy and/or effective. Sure, I can unwind at the end of the day watching Netflix, but that’s not necessarily healthy or effective relative to the goals I have personally and professionally. Of course you need to relax and can’t spend every minute working, but there has to be a balance. We discussed six areas of self care: social, emotional, spiritual, physical, mental, and work.
Do your best work when you’re at your best.
Maggie from Organizing CU hosted a session on how to organize your business. One thing that stood out to me is the need to organize my schedule better. She emphasized the importance of determining your goals, writing out all the tasks you’re currently doing, and then figuring out when you’re at your best to do your best work - things that will move your business forward. For instance, sometimes I get bogged down with emails first thing in the morning, when I should actually be working on more creative, strategic projects. I mean, I also do some really great work at night with a glass of wine in hand, but sometimes the work doesn’t happen if I wait until that late in the day. Also, I really need to stop writing random to-dos on several different post-it notes…and a running Google doc…and my notebook… and an online project manager… it’s too much. No wonder I’m exhausted trying to keep up with everything. Choose one spot for your to-do list and work from that.
Morning intentions and practices are really powerful.
While I have yet to get into a really good morning routine, I do fully believe in the power of mindful mornings and setting your intentions. Last year I started a gratitude journal that I usually write in the morning, and I found that to be a really helpful practice. But I want to do more. And do it more consistently. Caitlin from Light-Filled Mornings said it’s important to “Do things you love that make you happy in the morning, before anything else.” So, even though I talked about doing some creative work first thing in the morning, before that, I want to consider taking some additional time for myself. Lately I feel like I start my mornings scrolling on Instagram, filling the silence with podcasts, and just keeping myself busy busy while I get ready for work. I do sit and relax while I do my make-up, but like I said, I usually turn on a podcast instead of just sitting in my own thoughts. So I’m consuming all this information before I really even take the time to formulate my own feelings and ideas for the day. I definitely see the value in the advice she shared and how she starts her mornings with these things in mind: cozy, movement, inspired.
You have to advocate for yourself.
I went to a session called Stepping into Greater Leadership led by Michelle Huls Rice, founder of Women’s Dreamvision Network. We talked a lot about positive leadership characteristics and things we might want to work on in our own careers. She talked about the power to physically bring in more confidence based on your space and posture. One thing that stood out to me from the beginning is the fact that people aren’t necessarily going to advocate for you. It doesn’t mean that they don’t want to, or they don’t see the value in you, it just means that people get busy and we all kind of go about our days. You have to step up for yourself and then bring others along with you. The same goes for your business. People aren’t necessarily going to believe in your business out of the blue - you have to show up and share what you have to offer, consistently. One quote she shared from Maria Shriver is “Never doubt that you belong at the table. Never doubt that you bring something to it. And never forget to save a seat for someone else.”
It’s time to have more fun, and get some hobbies.
I went to a session about prioritizing play, and I totally need more of this in my life. Kelsey from KOOP Adventure Play discussed how children get so deeply involved in what they’re playing and challenged us to think about activities where we feel the same - when we are totally engaged and time just seems to pass. Some things that came to mind for me were writing, designing, and crafting; these are things that take me down a rabbit hole and light me up. Music was also a huge part of my life for about 15 years, and I feel like that’s something else I need to revisit. Of course it’s important to consider how you can also incorporate play into your business, but for me the things I enjoy kind of naturally lend themselves to my business (wedding planning and blogging). Overall, I just want to have more fun and get some hobbies. I want to learn to play guitar, learn how to knit, become a really good mixologist… so let’s all make some space in 2020 to have a little fun.
I know they’re already dreaming up ideas for next year’s retreat, so I hope you’ll consider joining! Let me know if you have questions about any of the sessions I attended or the retreat in general. Follow @cultivatecentralil on Insta to stay in the loop and check out their seasonal crates full of an assortment of goods and products, all made by local women and women-owned businesses.
xo,
Sara