How I overcame feeling lonely whilst working from home

Excerpt of a recent heiter newsletter by heiter founder & editor-in-chief Katharina

I got off the latest Heiter Society networking call last week and I must say, I was so happy! When I decided to start the exclusive community membership for our readers earlier this year, I wanted to create something that made me feel less alone. I wanted to build something where I knew I could connect with others and give like-minded people the opportunity to connect too. Basically hoped to create something that strengthened the feeling of connection and thus, brought more Heiterkeit to me and others. Friday was yet more proof that the society delivers just what I had aimed for, and far more than I had initially expected.

During the call on Friday it once again became apparent that the members of The Heiter Society have surprisingly similar values, but also struggles, as I do. They are authentic, kind and creative. They’re open about what they’re going through. We had conversations about running our own businesses, the advantages of having the flexibility to move our working hours around when necessary but also downsides like an irregular income. We talked about how following one’s heart and making decisions that feel right can work wonders and how we find creative outlets, even time is often limited. Parenthood was also a topic: we talked about our individual journeys, internal and external expectations and how looking after ourselves has an impact on our roles as parents.

It felt good to speak freely about those things and share: I left the call inspired, grateful and most importantly, heiter.

The other parts I really enjoy about the society are the sessions held for the members, and the feeling of joy that seems to bloom in everyone whilst attending them. In my everyday life, I tend to forget about making time for moments of creativity as well as pacing myself, so with the regular sessions in place, I have an excuse to immerse myself in creativity or mindfulness and it feels great! The business sessions were created to reduce the ongoing noise when it comes to business advice, take away the pressure and most importantly, help the business owners within the community to focus on the parts of their business that (can) feel good. I personally found them immensely helpful and feedback showed that all those who attended did too. I am excited for the upcoming sessions planned for the coming year. Are you too?

Be heiter, Katharina x

Katharina Geissler-Evans is the founder & Editor-in-Chief of heiter. When she doesn’t work on heiter content, she finds joy in styling herself and her home, writing and consulting with independent lifestyle and fashion brands who would like to improve their online presence. Together with her husband and their two kids, Katharina currently lives in Austria.

Image: Chris Montgomery via Unsplash

The Heiter Society - become a member now

By introducing The Heiter Society we, here are heiter, have tried to expand our reader’s experience by offering alternative ways of finding joy. By organising workshops, co-working and networking sessions, we offer them an online haven where they can try out new creative and mindful activities and connect with like-minded people.

Sounds interesting? Then we’re inviting you to join now and instantly benefit from monthly workshops, a lovely community and depending on your level, advertising opportunities for your independent business. Discover all details here.

Dreams come true: reflections on how I achieved one of my biggest goals

If you've followed along on social media, you probably already know that I am closer to one of my biggest dreams than ever before. Since founding heiter in 2016, I had dreamt of publishing heiter in print and now, after the crowdfunding campaign ended successfully, I can happily announce that it will finally happen this year!

I still need to work on the timeline and chat to a few more stakeholders involved but it's very likely that the heiter print publication will hit the shelves in summer/early autumn. I can't tell you how excited I get when writing these words! It took such a long time to get to where I am right now. Also, it is proof that one should never stop believing: dreams can come true and yes, the journey to get there might not be easy but it's so worth it.

Two of the things that definitely helped me along the way were the following:

• resilience and embracing change rather fearing it

• my community

Why am I telling you that? Because maybe you're also working on fulfilling a dream. Maybe you don't know where to start. Maybe you find it hard to continue believing in it all or you're actually thinking about giving up.

What I've learned is that things are never linear. Sometimes it's about leaning in and working with the unexpected so that you can move along on your journey. Remember when my first campaign failed a few weeks ago? I saw it as an opportunity rather than a failure and built on my learnings. Also, with time I realised how important it is to listen to yourself, trust your gut feeling and blend out the noise around you.

I was faced with quite a few pessimistic comments when it came to the print publication, especially after not achieving my first crowdfunding goal. I didn't want to let them bring me down though. I knew that I could trust my intuition. I knew that somehow it would work out, even if I didn't necessarily know how.

My second big learning from my recent experience was that it's ok to ask for and accept help. There was no way of finishing my campaign successfully without the support of the people who believe in my work and/or care about me as a person. A few years back I would have not dared to reach out to others but time has taught me that a journey is easier if not walked alone.

Have you had similar experiences with achieving a goal in the past? Or are you dreaming of making one come true? Do comment below and let me know about it. I'd love to hear about your learnings and/or hopes. Alternatively, you can also dm me on Instagram.

Be heiter,

Katharina x

Words: Katharina Geissler-Evans, heiter

Image: tobetold

You enjoy this type of content? Then the heiter newsletters are made for you! I share my “editor’s notes” with the heiter readers once a month, sometimes twice if there’s something special going on for heiter. The notes tend to come with reflections and updates as well as tips and prompts for you. As a subscriber/newsletter reader you also get the exclusive mini e-zine that comes out every quarter for free. Sound good? Then sign up below (by filling in the boxes just above the footer).