{"id":11573,"date":"2018-06-28T14:06:06","date_gmt":"2018-06-28T12:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marjoleininhetklein.com\/?p=11573"},"modified":"2019-12-14T09:15:42","modified_gmt":"2019-12-14T08:15:42","slug":"time-to-harvest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marjoleininhetklein.com\/en\/2018\/06\/28\/time-to-harvest\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to harvest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday was the last day of my vacation. I had planned two and a half weeks off for myself. And I\u2019ve already learned a valuable lesson: when you\u2019re self-employed it\u2019s an illusion to think that you can have a vacation at home. Especially when your work is so closely connected to your home: there\u2019s no way to disconnect completely. And as yesterday was my birthday, I always take that moment for some reflection. I\u2019m struggling at the moment. And although I find it hard to share these kinds of things, I\u2019m doing it anyway. Because you should know that even the \u2018Queen of the Dutch Tiny House movement\u2019 struggles with herself. Watch out, this is going to be a long one ;)<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

So, didn\u2019t I get any time off? Sure I did. But there hasn\u2019t been a day gone by that I didn\u2019t do some work as well. There were just too many things I couldn\u2019t ignore. And you should know it left me quite uncomfortable. Maybe I should go away on vacation next time? That\u2019s probably better; but you have to have the money for it and this year it just wasn\u2019t on the cards. I get by as my own boss but the money isn\u2019t great and I spent a lot on investments lately. Like TinyFindy and the online course for example. I\u2019m still paying off my house, and my websites cost money to keep them running, so my monthly charges are still pretty high. I\u2019ve written about it before: it\u2019s not easy to make a living out of activities concerning the Tiny House movement. I suspect that people see me as pretty successful, but they don\u2019t see all the hard work I do, the long days I make and the fact I have only one free day a week. Or that all I can have the energy for after work, is laying on the couch. Not meant as a complaint, just as a reality check.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve noticed I need to be cautious. I\u2019m getting even less sleep than usual, I forget to keep track of my agenda making me forget appointments with friends even though I\u2019m normally super organised, I can\u2019t remember names\u2026it\u2019s a sign of my brain that it\u2019s a bit overworked. My birthday is a good moment for me to make things clear for myself. Where am I right now? What makes me happy and what doesn\u2019t? What do I want to accomplish? I\u2019ve worked very hard over the past three years and I\u2019m longing to be able to slow down for a bit. Having more time to reflect on things instead of chasing everything that concerns me. Saying no more often and prioritizing.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

During my vacation I spent a weekend at Sacha and Debby\u2019s from Tiny House Limburg<\/a> and their two kids, in their Tiny House. That was so great; I was really away for a bit and Sacha and Debby spoiled me so much. They are so sweet! They also build Tiny Houses for others, like the one for their neighbor Henriette and \u2018Tiny\u2019 Mir. It was so beautiful and quiet in Zuid-Limburg, I could really unwind. We\u2019ve had some good talks around the campfire and Henriette of\u00a0\u00a0Levensbloem<\/a> gave me a free reading. I\u2019ll remember that for a long time. It was pretty emotional for me and also very beautiful. Next year I get to reap what I\u2019ve sown, she said. No, I just need to learn how to receive. Before I arrived, Sacha had said to Henriette: \u2018the queen is coming to visit!\u2019 And he kept calling me the queen of the Tiny House movement the entire weekend. Which I laughed off a bit of course and don\u2019t find appropriate. But he\u2019s right about one thing: I can be proud of what I\u2019ve accomplished and be proud of who I am. I may not be the queen, but certainly I\u2019m a passionate frontwoman of the Tiny House movement.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

Own it, Marjolein! I find that complicated, but I\u2019ll try. And I\u2019m making a fresh start in quitting with the inner bullshit. That nasty inner voice that keeps putting me down. Not good enough? F*ck that! This is who I am and it\u2019s perfect. I\u2019ve become 43, time to quit that crap. I should take more time to appreciate my accomplishments, according to Sacha and Henriette. Modest me is a little uncomfortable with that. \u2018But that\u2019s\u2026you just do these things, right?\u2019 Well apparently, it\u2019s not that obvious, and yet when I make a list, it\u2019s kind of impressive. So let\u2019s just do that:<\/p>\n