It turns out that planning for creativity is not a contradiction in terms - quite the opposite in fact!

Over the last four years I have moved from corporate worker-bee to full time painting and helping other people to find their own artistic confidence. I feel so lucky to be on this path filled with challenge, beautiful plants and lovely people.

Un-coincidentally, every year for the last four years, my friend Emma and I have met in her garage for what we call ‘The Glorias’. This is a simple and effective way to guide your year.

Here’s one proven method for setting up your year for your version of success:

1. Book a fun and supportive friend. You can do it on your own but it’s more fun with a friend

2. Set out three large sheets of paper headed with three questions:

   1. What am I proud of this year?

   2. What did I learn?

   3. What do I want to be proud of in 2026?

3. Raise the energy levels with a loud 80s banger such as Laura Brannigan’s ‘Gloria’ and bop about like an idiot (essential)

4. Grab a stack of sticky notes and write as many answers as you can.

5. Stick those answers on the appropriate sheet

6. When you’re both finished, run through your answers with your friend. They will usually have a clarifying question or useful contribution to make.

7. Finally, we ask “Which word would I like to inspire and guide my decision making in 2026?"

A simple summary of intentions from this session to really helps make the right decisions and avoid overwhelm and decision fatigue. You can laminate it if you’re addicted to office products.

I am sadly structure-intolerant and usually feel I must reinvent the wheel, which absorbs a huge amount of energy. But my creative energy is limited. So ‘structure’ is my very aspirational word for 2026.

I hope this helps you if you’re looking for direction and to make positive change. Try it and see if it works. For more detail on how to run your own session you can listen to Emma’s brilliant breakdown on her podcast here - you’re in for a treat. If you already do a planning session like this I’d love to hear how you do it too.