“If it ain’t in the calendar, it ain’t happening”

This started as a family logistics thing in our house, a way to keep track of who was where, when, and doing what. With multiple people trying to manage work, kids, appointments, plans… you get the picture. If you didn’t communicate it and get it in the calendar? Well, it probably wasn’t happening.

But over time, I’ve realised it’s not just a practical rule. It’s a much bigger truth about how life works.

Because if you don’t intentionally plan the things that matter, the things that bring you joy, make you feel alive, grow you, connect you, centre you, then it’s frighteningly easy for those things to just… not happen.

So as we look ahead to 2026, I want to offer you a simple but powerful approach for creating a year that actually means something to you. Not just a blur of busy weeks and endless to-dos, but a meaningful year you’ll remember for all the right reasons.

If you want to work less and live more, it starts with a calendar, but more than that, it starts with intention, and these 3 ingredients…

Do one brave thing (aka your Misogi)

This idea comes from a Japanese tradition of choosing one big, bold challenge for the year, something that feels a little bit unreasonable, something you don’t fully know how to do yet. It’s called a Misogi.

The point isn’t to win or succeed or tick it off neatly. The point is to what you learn and become in the trying.

Your Misogi might be training for a physical challenge, like a long hike or a cold-water swim. It might be launching the business idea you’ve been sitting on. It might be raising a hefty wedge for your chosen charity or speaking on a stage in front of 100’s of people. Whatever it is, pick something that makes you go, “Oof… can I actually do that?”

Then put it in the diary. Block out the time. Book the thing. Make the commitment out loud.

Because otherwise? You’ll get to December 2026 and realise that big brave thing never got its moment, and it won’t be one of the stories to tell the grandkids.

Schedule six mini adventures (every other month)

If 2025 felt like a rinse-and-repeat loop of work, laundry, admin, and trying to remember what day it is, you are not alone. Routines can be useful, but if you never break them, life starts to feel like ‘what’s the point’?

So here’s the antidote: plan six mini adventures.

They don’t have to be big or expensive. A train to a new city. A solo night in a cabin. Tickets to a gig. A swim in the sea. A walk somewhere you’ve never been.

Just one every other month. Pop them in the calendar now, before the year fills up with “we’ll see how things go” and “maybe later.”

Because joy deserves planning too.

Choose four simple habits

Let’s be real: most New Year resolutions are just a fancy way to feel like we’re not enough. Cue the unrealistic goals, the all-or-nothing mindset, the guilt by mid-January.

What actually works? Tiny, boring, consistent shifts.

Like:

• Drinking a big glass of water before coffee.
• Going to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual.
• Walking every day, even if it’s just round the block.
• Eating a bit more colour (and a bit less beige).

These aren’t radical reinventions, but hey’re simple actions, stackable habits that quietly support the life you actually want to live.

Choose four. Write them down. Set a reminder. Pair them with something you already do.

They seem too small to matter, but do them (as consistently as possible) for a whole year, and you’ll be amazed at who you become.

What I love about this approach is that it leaves space for both ambition and softness. You get to be bold and brave, but you also get to rest and enjoy the ride. You get to challenge yourself, but you also get to take gentle, consistent care of yourself – and if you’re not going to do that, who the hell will?

It’s not about packing your year full of more goals. It’s about designing your year with intention. Because if you want to live a life that feels meaningful, not just productive, you have to choose it, you have to plan it, and if it aint in the calendar, it aint happening.

So pour a cuppa (or a glass of something stronger – fuck it, it’s nearly Christmas), grab your 2026 planner, and start plugging these things in.

One brave thing.
Six mini adventures.
Four simple habits.

That’s it.

Here’s to a year that doesn’t just happen to you, here’s to a year you make happen.