Sunday Blog 65 – 1st January 2023
I love to spend this in-between time between Christmas and New Year reviewing what I said I would do last year, and dreaming up the next year. My new year planner is waiting for me to fill it with my visions and plans. My 2022 Vision Board is done (see below) from an awesome workshop with my yoga teacher Natalie Snooke. For the stationery and goal lovers among you, I am sharing some of my New Year planning shenanigans.
I used to be very keen on Desire Map Planners until they stopped being produced in 2021. These planners encouraged you to focus on your feelings. The idea was you would think of up to five feelings that were most important to you – your Core Desired Feelings. You could then reflect weekly on these and aim to creatively bring them into your day every day, not just when you achieve big goals. And by this regular reflection and seeking to feel how you wanted to feel, you would move more effectively and efficiently towards the goals.
At the beginning of 2022 I had to fish around for a different type of planner. One that allowed me to reflect not just on feelings, but on habits. James Clear filled the Desire Map Planner vacuum by encouraging me to focus more on developing the habits that will help you achieve your goal. The Jeanette Winterson quote at the top of this blog came to my attention via James Clear’s 1-2-3 newsletter. (Mind you, I have long ago read and loved Jeanette Winterson’s 2012 memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? and strongly suggest you read it immediately, if not sooner!)
But I digress. James Clear urges us not to just focus on finishing the book for example (my number one 2023 goal) – but rather focus on establishing the habit of daily writing. As the late, great author Hilary Mantel said, “if, seven days a week, you can cut out two hours for yourself, when you are undistracted and on-song, you will soon have a book.”
In 2022 I had a MiGoal planner which allowed me to track habits which on the whole I liked but it had GOAL DIGGER in giant gold lettering on the front which felt a little much for where I’m at. My 2023 MiGoal planner is the A5 Weekly Spread diary which allows me to track habits but is much more slimline and less rah rah. I couldn’t be happier!
I have pared down having up to five Core Desired Feelings to having one word for the year. (There are umpteen references to this on the interwebs if you feel like exploring). This year I aim to take many new creative risks, now that I have finally worked out how I think I can make enough to live on without pushing writing to the margins again. So my 2023 word is Magic.
I hope you have had a wonderful break and enjoyed this in-between time however it played out for you. Here’s to doing 2023 our way!
