I’m writing this on the morning of a blizzard. As I sit here, I can hear the wind whipping the trees with brute force, and with a quick glance out the window, I witness a ghost-like blur gliding over the gray, heavily glazed street. It’s an e-learning day for the kids. In super mom prep mode, I picked up a bunch of Christmas cookie ingredients because I had a hunch we’d be staying home.

Today was supposed to be my last shoot of the year, a busy day of gathering outdoor content for an agency client. But winter here in the upper, upper Midwest has this way of slowing us down.

Slowing down has always made me feel uneasy. I’ve always been a bit of an Energizer Bunny. Always moving. Always doing. Never pausing. Even today, while stuck home in a blizzard, I’m looking to crank out this blog post and will very likely be making dozens of Christmas cookies. Plans to maybe do a few loads of laundry and begin a bit of an overhaul to some of my business systems are likely in the cards too.

Y’all, I’m awful at taking breaks.

The thing is, I do need a break. I really need a break. All the telltale signs of burnout have been seeping into my life. The feelings of inadequacy. The creative blocks. The subtle eye twitch that only happens when I'm a wee bit stressed.

And here I am, sitting here trying to "productivity" my way through a literal blizzard. But the wind outside is finally telling me what my brain has been trying to say for months. Stop.

In America, we are told constantly that we need to "rise and grind" and that our worth is our work. But our ancient bodies know the rhythm of the world. Sure, work is important, but so is rest. Our ancestors worked their little tails off from spring through the fall, but winter? That was the time to hunker down, rest the brain, and do only the work that needs to be done.

I love my job. I genuinely do. But for so many years, my job has been my whole identity and, y’all, this is not healthy. Combined with the distractions of our modern world, I think I’ve been missing out on the simple parts of being a human. The slow stuff. The silly stuff. The moments that do not serve a purpose other than just existing.

We are all just constantly overstimulated and yapped at by the noise of the world. I think that is why everyone is suddenly back to reading real books or listening to records. It is a quiet rebellion against the hustle and that endless, exhausting cog. We are just desperate for a break.

So, I’ve decided to lean into the season like my ancestors would have. I’m going to try my hardest to give myself a legit break. This will mean more than taking a break from the studio. Real rest means disconnecting from both work and the everyday slop that’s been clogging up my brain. Social media, news, and the endless scroll. I want this time to enjoy things off screen, having experiences with my family, getting reacquainted with my hobbies, and maybe, just maybe, doing nothing at all.

My reason for sharing this is twofold. First, so you know that you can expect me to be away from the studio, my email (for the most part), and all things Britta the Photographer until the first full week of January. But also because I want to use this time to let my brain process how I can show up better as a photographer, business owner, and human being in 2026.

Being burnt out is not great for business. To show up better for my clients, I am taking this break. It is a toast to more creativity and a lot less of that eye-twitch-inducing stress.

I am working on new ways to be clearer about how I work and what I can best accomplish for my clients. I hope that by protecting my own creative brain, I will attract more of my people. The ones who want a partner who digs a little deeper to create imagery that actually has some soul and purpose behind it.

The best work always flows from a full well. I hope you find a way to let yourself exhale this season, too.

See you on the other side.