When to Quit and Let Something Else Flow

12 outfit ideas that came from a pivot

Lately I’ve been asking myself how I’d spend my days if I knew that my (wildest) dreams would come true. The question is a variation of something my friend Wedge told me last year that I liked so much, I wrote it down and pinned it above my desk.

Well, I’d give myself more time to breath, relax, play. Even though I’ve structured my life so that I have ample free time to work on projects, I still feel like I’m scrambling. So I’ve literally been trying to breath more deeply because I’ve noticed that my breathes are shallow and short, like I only have time for the bare minimum.

I’ve also started doing the projects that I care about sooner, breaking them into smaller chunks of time that I work on five to six times a week, instead of two to three longer sessions. I don’t totally trust this way of working yet because I want to be the kind of person who sits down and bangs out a task from start to finish, but ironically I know that I’m actually much more productive when I work in shorter bursts. I think that’s why I was able to quit working on an essay I’ve been trying to write and pivot to something else this week.

Usually I try to bulldoze my way through something, but as my self-imposed deadline came closer, instead of forcing myself to keep writing, I picked up a book that I’ve been reading on perfectionism by Katherine Morgan Schafler and laid down for twenty minutes. I don’t lay down during the day. Reading a passage asking “what are you easily getting right?¹” and another stating, “Anything you do to protect, store, restore, and build your energy is productive,²” I realized that what I really needed to do right now was play dress up.

I set my timer for another twenty minutes and began recreating a look I wore for an event a few weeks ago. Forty minutes later I emerged with twelve ideas, four outfits that I really like. So often I focus my energy on what I want to get better at; this exercise was a reminder that it’s important to lean into what comes easily too.

I did not plan for the grid to come out looking so symmetrical, but gosh it's pleasing.

I photographed all twelve ideas below, explaining how each iteration of an outfit built on the other to get that final four, and detailing where the pieces are from. My hope is that it inspires you to give yourself time to play some too, whether it’s with your clothes, or whatever project you’re working on. Xx, Robyn