21 Things We Learnt in 2021

The Gems That Guided Us In The Year That Was

Each year carries many new beginnings and learnings for us, and this time we wanted to pen and share ours from the last year with you. Here are 21 things we learnt in 2021, and are taking forward with us in 2022!

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1. Shadow work

A practice of healing and self-growth that has helped us unwrap the parts of ourselves that we unconsciously repress or hide from ourselves.

2. Communicating who we are through our art and design

Working on our typography, visual layout and experimenting with different niches to express to you what we are doing and where we are heading

3. Following a personalized routine

The rhythm of doing things with consistency in ways that suit us individually has been grounding and exciting

4. The effect that energy has on us

Understanding how our body and mind responds to another’s energy and the impact it has on us, as well as others, has brought forth powerful change in how we conduct ourselves with everyone.

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5. Balancing spending time with ourselves and socializing with our loved ones

It’s taken us quite a few months to nail this one and arrive at a place of peace and joy with it.

6. Including more healthy foods into our diet

Addition, subtraction; subtraction, addition has been the key for us.

7. Produce a podcast

We learnt how to prepare, record, edit and publish a successful podcast series from scratch and had so much fun in the process

8. Move from a place of personal authenticity

We’ve continually dedicated time to understanding ourselves more and be guided to follow what feels authentic to us

9. That we love listening to audio books, sometimes over reading

They make us feel like the speaker is personally involved in what they’re talking about and offer more ease with their work

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10. Stay calm and problem solve under stress

Keeping our head down and solving different challenges calmly in high crises situations has been a revelation

11. Open up with new people

A little uncomfortable to begin with, engaging with new people freely has shown itself to be a delight.

12. The power of repetition

Mindfully doing things over and over has taught us how capable we are of mastering skills

13. Slow work

Throughout the year we fine-tuned practices that would allow us to work slowly and have fun doing it.

14. Trying things outside our comfort zone can be both safe and fun

We made a whole list with this one and followed it to the end to notice that there’s so much we enjoy about the things we are often hesitant to try before.

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15. The value of filing and organizing our work documents

Simplifying, editing, cleaning, organizing, recategorizing, optimizing on a bi-weekly basis make things dramatically easy to navigate through

16. To practice interdependence

Asking for help as well as doing things collaboratively with others is as much a joy as doing everything independently.

17. To improvise or moving with spontaneity

Moving with our natural urges and creativity when they come up, even if they don’t coincide with our elaborately planned schedules.

18. To trust our driving skills more

Passing through the narrow roads of Bangalore everyday amidst the thickest traffic has given us more confidence in taking the wheel.

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19. Use a planner (more) effectively

Whatever the templates or prompts, we’ve seen that we first need to make our planner our own and give it our personality in order to make it work and have it offer us the results that it’s designed to.

20. Understanding that no matter how perfectly we try to do things, we will still make mistakes and errors

They aren’t always avoidable and we don’t have to penalize anyone to learn how to do things correctly

21. That rest inspires action

The most beautiful thing we learnt – timely rest sparks our creativity, willingness and desire to do things in a way that nothing else does.

Are there any things from our list that coincide with your own from 2021? If you still haven’t made one, we encourage you to go ahead and make it now for we wonder what sweet things you’ll remember and continue to do!

CREDITS

25 Zero Budget Things You’d Love To Do

The Joy of Shared Experiences

There are many meaningful experiences we can partake in through the exchange of currency, but today we’d like to share with you some simple and beautiful zero budget activities that can bring us all a lot of joy and allow us to do more with our loved ones.

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1. Have a picnic

Picnics are always such fun – whether in our balconies under the sun or in the park amidst the lush greens. You’d love having all your favorite snacks and home cooked treats in a basket and sharing them with your friends!

2. Reorganize or clean your cabinets

What can look like a chore may quickly feel enjoyable to you when you look at and touch all your precious belongings and rearrange them by color, category, style or purpose.

3. Look for free city tours

This is one you’d especially like doing with your friends. Not knowing what you’d discover, going for free tours with them is like a scavenger hunt.

4. Window shop

Window shopping lights up our creativity and imagination, where you’re able to look at things and just appreciate them for their beauty. What adds to the fun is seeing how people are trying to innovate with different designs and ideas every now and then.

5. Try new recipes

We don’t know what your style is but you can have a great time following the instructions of a new recipe and preparing a dish you’ve never tried before. It’s like a science experiment that ends with you having a delicious meal!

6. Soak in the warmth of the sun

Don’t you love how healing the morning sun feels when it touches your skin?

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7. Create a book club with your friends

It’s a whole new experience to read great books with friends and think about the many interpretations everyone has of the same one!

8. Have a music night

A happy, messy gala night with everyone around. We wonder what your favorite karaoke song to sing will be!

9. Play in the rain.

From jumping in the puddles to letting yourself get wet in the rain, this would take us all back to our childhood selves.

10. Go to the public library

We’ve put this on the list even for our friends who aren’t book lovers! Public and local libraries have so much to offer – beautiful and quaint architecture, stories of the past, and books with unheard names and pencil marks.

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11. Explore something that has always intrigued you

If a sport, subject, place or instrument (or anything else) that you’ve always felt interested in is something you can explore right now, why not try it and see what it makes you feel?

12. Call your loved ones

Staying connected with the people you love can always make your heart soar.

13. Host a potluck dinner with your friends and family

Potlucks are so exciting because you get to share meals you’ve cooked for each other, relish different flavors, and spend time together.

14. Go for a Walk

It can be so refreshing to feel all the sounds, sights and smells around you.

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15. Watch a new movie

A popcorn party in your pyjamas can make you enjoy even the strangest of films!

16. Make paper planes or origami

Some of us might need to watch a video tutorial for this, but it’s so much fun once we get to doing it. Added joy: It looks sweet when we hang it by our bed with strings!

17. Go to the beach

Nothing can soothe you more than taking a swim or walk at the beach, watching the waves and building sandcastles.

18. Have a sleepover

You’d love the idea of a long night of conversations, snacks, and video games with a loved one!

19. Stargazing

The glimmering stars have never failed to take one’s breath away. We’d always recommend going to a nearby viewpoint or laying on the grass to see their magnificence.

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20. Make a camp or fort in the living room

For us indoor cats, camping at home can be so fascinating. A few bedsheets, books, fairy lights, and a couch or floor mattress can make such a playful fort. Don’t forget to switch off the lights to give it that outdoor feel!

21. Family game night

A great way to bond and catch each other cheating, would you like to see how far everyone will go to win?

22. Make a new meal from already stocked items at home

You’d find this as innovative as it is challenging. To make something from ingredients that you didn’t think of putting together before? We foresee a blend of interesting flavors or a tragedy of taste, but neither without their fun.

23. Draw something and admire its uniqueness

It doesn’t matter if you’re an artist or can only get yourself to do some stick drawing. Play with shapes and see what funny things you make!

24. Go through your baby pictures

How long has it been since you saw your adorable baby pictures?

25. Mindful coloring

Relaxing and inspiring creativity at the same time, mindful coloring books can be a sweet way of adding some color to our day. PS – If, like us, you feel a little overwhelmed with books that have very intricate patterns, we encourage you to look for ones that have simpler designs.

We hope these 25 zero budget activities can add a little more pleasure and relaxation to your time, and that you add more to your list as you go on trying these!

Month: March 2022