Calendar year doesn't have to mean all the goals.

8/1/2026

It is winter. With the recent snows in the UK it really feels like winter has arrived seriously. So that means all the January new year hoo hah really hasn't struck a chord with me, and I've seen a lot of people saying the same.

It may be new year according to the western calendar, but I feel midway through hibernation still, embedded in the self care surviving dark mornings, dark evenings, eating the stodge my body craves like a medieval peasant. That means making 'plans' for 2026 have been minimal, but no shade there, I won't cast that shade on myself.

I got my taxes sorted out BEFORE Christmas and I've applied for multiple markets with two different organisers (I had to, because of their popularity and deadlines) but resolutions? Goal setting? Planning ahead on ranges?... Vague notions at best, and I don't feel bad about that, as I have learned to not to force myself.

There are certainly things for a small biz to bear in mind, like how key dates can leap out and one should have promotions and relevant social media in hand well ahead, but I would rather gently plan bits and pieces in stages than lift any anxiety before 2026 has even got into its flow.

Sitting to map out my business year, will lead me to want to plan more, add more detail, start to worry about fitting all that in plus a social life, hobbies, my long-suffering husband... So I have some ideas, some jottings, and the knowledge that previously PJ has done best when pleasantly surprising me. I won't leave everything to chance, but absolutely will take 2026 in chunks, with space for serendipity.

Oh no, have I just given myself a cheesy word for the year?

Ceri link

9/1/2026 07:49:09 am

I am totally feeling this, this year. Why do we force ourselves to do stuff in the darkest part of the year? I'm all for hibernating in winter and starting afresh in spring. It's fine if you already have those habits built in - to keep being active, eating perfectly etc., but I think we are constantly being guilted by social media and the press to be so busy that it's just not sustainable. New Year's resolutions in March??

LIsa

9/1/2026 10:18:17 am

Yes! Let's spring forward when we feel that sun coming, be more like the daffs and the animals and wait for the right time for us. Some people benefit from the wider sway, everyone is making accountable announcements, so great if it works for you to join that timing... but I'm with you on this.

Francesca Astraea link

9/1/2026 07:32:34 pm

Oh I like serendipity for the word of the year. I'm making some small changes to my schedule and how I plan work this month, but they're inspired more by the fact I've had some time off to reflect after deadlines than the time of year. January is just not the month to re-write one's entire life, although if there's ever a month to treat myself to some extra nice chocolate of a freezing evening, it's now.

Lisa

11/1/2026 11:15:52 am

I may genuinely pick up serendipity, it feels to me not about leaving everything to chance, but keeping space mentally and physically open to opportunities. Planning your month absolutely makes sense, making it work with the perspective of time off, and not feeling like you need to micromanage a whole year.

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