I’ve had multiple failures using planners.

I started using a planner in college after taking a Franklin Covey TimeQuest training. I dutifully bought a new Franklin Covey planner for years before realizing that I had as many blank pages at the end of the year as I had plans. Then I relied on my Microsoft Outlook calendar for a while. Going digital was the cool thing to do, right? Eventually, I realized I am a paper-planner person. In 2023, my annual planner search brought me to a very pretty 8.5 x11 spiral-bound planner from Blue Sky.   https://www.bluesky.com/products/ashley-cottage-2026-weekly-monthly-8-5×11-day-designer-for-blue-sky

It had a full 2-page spread for each month and a 2-page spread for each week. And the real test: at the end of the year, there were more filled pages than not. So I bought another one. And then another one. My 2025 planner has been in nearly every room in the house. “I’m going to do some planning,” is a frequent declaration.

I’m on my fourth Blue Sky Planner. On New Year’s Eve, I sat with my planners spread around me and set up my 2026 planner, copying over ongoing commitments, birthdays, and anniversaries. And I declared planner success at last! But just like everything worth doing in life, the work continues every darn day anew.

This is my sixth year of writing letters to myself at the end of the year. This letter is something that you write and pack away with your holiday decorations or tape to the December page of your 2025 calendar and then forget about it—and you will forget about it!

The letter is a good way to revisit the year. Capture a list of the things you would give yourself a high five for and anything you are looking forward to next year. And some magical day next December, you will pull out your letter and be amazed.

I hope you will join me in this annual tradition.

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

I attended a week-long training series in trauma hosted by The National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine (NICABM). The series featured many great presenters and the latest thinking about trauma. I liked this series because although it was geared toward practitioners it was welcoming to all.

A few things stood out for me:

• Trauma is not a life sentence; you can heal from trauma.
• No matter what it is, no matter how terrible it seems, some people can sit with you and help you navigate it.
• There’s no such thing as overreacting. It just might be that you or someone else is not just reacting to the present moment.

I learned about this series from Tara Brach’s newsletter. Her books, Radical Acceptance and Radical Compassion are a gentle starting place. But there are so many great teachers. Find the one(s) that speak to you.

I finished National Novel Writing Month on November 28 with 50,000+ words. That makes me a winner in NaNoWriMo parlance. I appreciate that designation because these days, I feel very un-winner like in most other respects.

I mentioned last month that I can reliably write 600 words in one go. So that was my goal for December. As of today, I have written at least 600 words every day of December! 18,600+ words if you are counting. That’s a lot of blog posts and maybe a short story or two. Some of it will never see the light of day and that’s okay, too.

Photo by Illiya Vjestica on Unsplash

Winter: it’s the main reason that I moved to Phoenix many years ago. After a harsh Maryland winter and a particularly harrowing drive home from work, I was desperately seeking a place with a low probability of snow.

This winter hasn’t been too cold in our corner of the Pacific Northwest, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing. The unintended consequences of climate change keep bopping us on the head like a brutal game of Whack-a-Mole.

I have strategies for dealing with the shorter days and the endless rain but I could also use more.

I am always grateful for solstice and the return of the light, minute by precious minute. I came across this article from Wit & Delight that offers some strategies for my fellow sun-seekers.

Hang in there: spring is coming.

Photo by Vadim Fomenok on Unsplash

The news about Matthew Perry is really sad. I am frequently unnerved when someone close to me in age passes away. My heart goes out to the people who loved him and wanted him to live and be okay. Addiction is so difficult. The well-known physician and author Gabor Maté completely changed my views on addiction, saying that addiction is a rational response to trauma. Since then, I have felt only compassion for people wrestling with addiction.

From his website:

“Dr. Maté, renowned addiction expert, calls for a compassionate approach toward addiction, whether in ourselves or in others. Gabor believes that the source of addictions is not to be found in genes, but in childhood trauma and in stress and social dislocation endemic to systems of inequality and injustice. In The Realm Of Hungry Ghosts, one of his best-selling books, draws on cutting-edge science and real-life stories to show that all addictions originate in trauma and emotional loss.”

If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, Al-Anon and Alcoholics Anonymous offer support in almost every area, often with multiple meetings a day. Go to al-anon.org or www.aa.org to find a meeting near you.

These authors also offer support through their books, websites, podcasts and webinars: Tara Brach, Sharon Salzberg, Deb Dana, Thomas Hübl, Jack Kornfield, and many more. Help and support – and most importantly, compassion – are out there.

Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash

On October 25, 2022, I published issue #37 of my newsletter. If you told me three years ago that I could write a monthly newsletter for three+ years, I’m not sure I would have believed it. But here we are at the start of year four with issue #37. Thanks to all my subscribers for coming along for the ride!

So if you’ve been thinking of starting something, do it! Don’t wait until you feel ready. Jump in and see where it takes you. I am rooting for you and I am on your side.

Photo by Timo Müller on Unsplash

You know how we all make goals in January and we forget them before February 1 rolls around? Yeah, guilty. So for personal accountability, here’s an update on my 2022 goals. Some things are going well: French lessons, housework/house projects, learning and reading are all going well. Exercise and writing: meh.

So March was a reboot month for me. So far, I have kept up the exercise every day. I alternate between a HIIT(high-intensity interval training) treadmill workout, free weights, a stretching routine, and a 7-minute workout (+warmup) from the New York Times. And the occasional filling potholes on the street workout. Shoveling and schlepping rock DEFINITELY count as a workout.

My recordkeeping on the writing front started on March 7. I started the day with a writing sprint with Shaunta Grimes of the Ninja Writers. They host a 10-minute writing sprint every morning at 10 am EST on YouTube. Mission accomplished! It set the tone for the day–I easily did 90 minutes of writing that day.

I love something that Shaunta said in this article, Ten Minutes a Day: The Nucleus of a Goal:

“Finding the floor keeps the ceiling in view.” I am not there with daily practice yet, but I am much closer. Ten minutes a day puts you on solid footing.

Go! Be amazing!