To Content Creators, Entrepreneurs, Wedding Vendors, and Pink-Collar Workers in a Slow Season

You probably feel like you could have done better.
The quiet inquiries feel agonising.
The anxiety of whether you will make enough this month, or next month, especially if this is your full-time work, can feel overwhelming.

I know it can feel like you did not do enough.
Like everyone else is running and you are crawling.
Like something must have gone wrong.

Maybe you started doubting yourself.
Maybe you keep asking what you could have done differently.
Maybe you feel guilty for resting, or guilty for not working harder, or guilty for feeling tired at all.

Slow season is real.
And being in the wedding industry, I struggle with it too.

What makes it harder is that barely anyone talks about how awful it can feel.

I genuinely thought I did everything right.
I thought by now I would have daily inquiries, emails flooding in, the way I see it happen for other people. And when it does not happen, your brain fills in the gaps.

Did I do something wrong?
Am I bad at my job?
Did I miss something obvious?

You cannot really help those thoughts.

So instead of pretending it does not affect me, I started finding small ways to keep myself grounded during quieter seasons, without forcing productivity or burning myself out.

Here are a few things I do to stay peaceful when work feels quiet. All work related. Personal-wise, you already know what to do. Connect with family and friends, go for a walk, rest, whatever you need.

1. I clean up my gallery

This started as simple housekeeping for future content, but it became something more meaningful.

Going through my gallery feels like walking down memory lane. I see work I forgot I did. Faces, moments, milestones. I see how far I have come, my growth, my journey, and the version of me who did not know what I know now.

Seeing that growth reminds me that progress is not me versus others.
It is me versus me.

And somehow, that makes the quiet feel less personal.

2. I limit social media

People mostly post their wins. Including me.

Even though I try to be vulnerable from time to time, I am more conscious about what I share. I try not to post things that make others feel like I am beyond them or endlessly busy. Instead, I focus on the stories behind the look. The interactions, the connection, what made a client special. Not favourites, just moments.

I want a pleasant social media existence, not a mean-girl one.

When I consume too much, instead of feeling inspired, I feel overloaded. Intrusive thoughts appear. I start comparing myself to others without knowing their struggles behind the success.

What is interesting is that some people think I am very busy because I post every day. In reality, I repost my clients a lot. Not once or twice, but sometimes multiple times.

I used to be ashamed of reposting, but I realised I get inspired anywhere and anytime. I am abundant with ideas, and sometimes that is just what I find on my phone, so I work with it. And that becomes another post that makes people think I am super busy.

Then I ask myself who I am trying to impress.
I am simply trying to get clients and showcase my work.

3. I avoid doom scrolling

Social media is a selfish playground.

As much as I love networking, I am human. Being human means envy can creep in, even in a supportive industry. There is always a sense of competition and comparison.

I try to limit watching Instagram stories. For me, they often lead to doom scrolling. Yes, this might mean I lose opportunities because people share jobs there, but that is okay. I cannot have it all.

This is a trade-off I am willing to make for my mental health.

4. I brain dump, list, and write

I used to hate journaling.

But I started noticing that even though I forget almost everything I write, the act of writing helps. It feels different from typing, and I am not exaggerating.

My mind seems to release something, as if the emotions finally have somewhere to go.

Writing gives me clarity. It slows my thoughts down enough for me to act on them. And surprisingly, I often end up doing what I wrote.

It is not motivation.
It is permission.

5. I call it a gentle season, not a slow one

In my mind, slow feels negative. Slow inquiries. Slow growth. And I am very impatient with myself.

So I started rebranding it.

Slow became gentle.

Gentle reminds me to be patient and to trust.

Gentle seasons are when I do the things I never get to do when life is loud. I wake up without strict plans. I write. I allow myself to be inspired without pressure.

I edit videos mindfully. Sometimes one video takes three hours, and I let that be okay. I watch courses I bookmarked months ago but never had the mental capacity to absorb because my body was stuck in go mode.

This is when I absorb new knowledge, evaluate, and take my time.

I think that is all I do when I start feeling down again. Even writing this helps me see how far I have come in being gentle and patient with myself, and with the business I built and the effort I put into it.

I hope this helps anyone who is just starting out, or anyone who is struggling right now. I trust my past work. I remind myself that it is not me. It is the season. The holidays. The natural rhythm of the industry.

Things will move again.