Thoughts – ‘I don’t want to write. I can’t think of what to say at the moment. Actually, I don’t want to think about doing any work – even work that I love!’

Noticing that I was resistant to anything over the Christmas period and into January, I thought to myself; well, if I feel this way and it’s part of my career, I surely shouldn’t be posting to others about the expectation of motivation and ‘New Year resets’!

So, I wasn’t even going to write this. But as the weekend began and the plan to ‘take down’ Christmas was ahead of me, I got the niggle of inspiration. And as I wrote those first few sentences, the words came tumbling out.

I’ve always been authentic with what I write and create, so whilst I respected others in the industry that did want to put out email newsletters, blogs, promotions and motivating posts about the new year, it just didn’t feel right for me.

I just kept deleting email after email that was anything about work…

Or about networking event planning for 2026. No thanks, I’m fine right here in my bubble – ‘That’s a next year task’. I also purposely didn’t go on LinkedIn, only Instagram. LinkedIn somehow feels like ‘the office’!

Maybe also, I was a little resistant because it gave me the feeling that I should be writing or creating something. If I saw something great or inspiring, then I’d think I should be doing that too and it would give me a task I didn’t really need.

But even when I thought about doing something, looked through my notes and inspiration to think about what it could look like, it was just a blank page that I didn’t know how to fill… and then I’d let myself get distracted again by the holidays, perhaps with a pang of guilt or panic that the spark wasn’t there but not enough to make me feel uneasy, it seemed that I was internally pleased to be choosing simplicity.

If you recall ‘Choice’ was on my vision board at the start of last year as a key guide for me.

I have been intentional with my choices mostly and when I haven’t, I’ve noticed how different it’s felt.

Throughout autumn, I could literally feel my mind and body screaming at me to slow down. I kept thinking, is this burnout? I don’t think so, but if I had kept up that pace, maybe it could have been. So, when I finally did give my mind and body permission to slow down mid-December, I think they just kept wanting more time. I could have pushed though this and got myself into stuff, I’m sure of it, but instead, I listened a bit and let go of thinking what I should do and instead considered what I needed to do.

A great coaching question to myself here: ‘What’s needed now?’

The last few weeks, I’ve been seeing lots of posts about Wintering, about not rushing straight into the new year with rigidity. I’ve always quite liked January. The feeling of a fresh, blank canvas to create new chapters and I do always like the idea of taking my time and doing some trial and error until the year really gets going. I love the goal / feeling of being ‘ready’ for Spring. That for me is mentally, physically and professionally.

So, I am doing a cleanse – my body is crying out for it! But otherwise, January will be a slower pace: yoga, gym, walks, reading, inspiration and time to really be present before the chaos and pace lands on us again.

And I’m excited to work on my 1% Diary (Stephen Bartlett) over the next 3 months. I’ve set 3 important goals that have been key for me for a long time and haven’t been tackled. But I’ll do these with a comfortable kindness, not a rigid ‘must not fail’ attitude. The diary is very clever in how it supports you to do this.

So, this wasn’t the blog I planned, but it is where I’m at now.

Let’s see where the year goes from here. I’ll be taking the time that I need this January and will keep choosing and following my instincts.

And as you step into your own January, perhaps pause and ask yourself: If I really listened in… what’s needed now?