Fairly Functional

Planning for a new year

Winter is a fallow season. Not in a dead way—in the way that soil is fallow. The roots grow underground while everything above is quiet and still. Things are composting, breaking down, becoming something new. This is what November through February is really for: deep introspection, slow movement, the kind of thinking that only happens when you stop moving quite so fast. Too many people treat this season as something that must be endured, rushing through without a deep understanding of its purpose. Trying to fast-forward until spring. We treat the Fallow season like dead time. But what if it’s actually the most fertile time of the year?

Between the winter solstice and January 1st, there’s a crack in the world. Everything feels suspended. The old year is ending but the new one hasn’t quite begun. You’re caught between time, and in that gap, something different becomes possible. This is when your roots can go deepest. When you can actually think about what you’re composting from the past year, what you’re letting break down and transform, what seeds you want to plant when spring eventually comes. This is the time for new year planning.

Every year I explore the crack in the world through reviewing the past year and dreaming about what I will plant for the next. I thought it would be fun to give you a peek into my process and invite you to come along. As is appropriate for the Fallow time, this starts with an underworld journey exploring the paths and pitfalls of the previous seasons. As the world ascends back toward the light, I set up the systems I hope will carry me through the next seasons and finally say goodbye to the old year, setting my intentions for what will come. Each day I’ll post about my process, give some journaling prompts and a theme. Feel free to follow along and use as much (or as little) of the process as is helpful for you. I would love to hear about what you do and how you make this journey!

December 21: Gather and Assess

For me, winter work requires different conditions than summer work. Winter calls for warmth and coziness – setting up a nest where I can sink into the slow thinking this season demands. I’m gathering what I’ll need for the days ahead, both the practical tools and the sensory elements that signal this time is set apart. The work can’t happen if I’m constantly interrupted or searching for what I need. This day is about creating the container before I fill it.

December 22: Frameworks and Freewrites

When I try to examine the past year, the swiftest path to overwhelm is trying to take in everything at once. It is simply not possible for me to examine every corner of my life at once, and I’ve often made the mistake of exhausting myself trying. That’s why I set aside this day to choose my framework as a guide and then let the year spill out onto the page–messy and unfiltered, without trying to make sense of it, just getting it out of my head and into a form I can work with. . I use the very common method of splitting my life up into life areas—mine are a little non-traditional—and at this stage this is the only ‘structure’ I am imposing on myself. This day is about free writing and seeing what bubbles up.

December 23: What Wilted and Why

Not everything I wanted to grow this year actually grew. Some things wilted because I stopped paying attention to them, and some wilted despite everything I tried. Some of the things that felt like failures in the moment turned out to be things that needed to end anyway. And some things that feel unfinished aren’t actually failures at all – they’re just taking longer than I expected, coming to fruition in their own time rather than mine. This day is about looking honestly at what didn’t thrive in 2025 – not to punish myself for it, but to understand what actually happened and why. What were the conditions? What did I do or not do? What losses turned out to be necessary even if they hurt at the time?

December 24: What Actually Grew

After looking at what didn’t work, it’s time to look at what did. Not just the things I planned and executed perfectly – those are easy to spot. I’m more interested in what grew when I wasn’t looking, what thrived in ways I didn’t expect, what succeeded for reasons I didn’t anticipate. Sometimes the most important growth happens sideways or underground, in ways that don’t look like traditional wins. This day is about identifying what actually flourished in 2025, paying attention to the unexpected successes and the conditions that made them possible. What was I doing differently when things worked? What grew without me trying to force it?

December 25: Find the Patterns

By this point in the process, I’ve spent time looking at what worked and what didn’t over the past year. Now I’m looking for what keeps showing up. The patterns in my own behavior – things that repeatedly got in my way, habits I keep trying to build, themes that emerge no matter what area of life I’m examining. the things I keep bumping up against, the ways I consistently show up (or don’t). Patterns in my behavior, in what happens to me, in the people who appear in my life. The habits I want to build, the obstacles that repeatedly block me, the things that seem to occur again and again regardless of what I try to do about them. This day is about stepping back from the specific details of 2025 and seeing what themes emerge when I look at the whole picture. What keeps recurring? What am I noticing now that I couldn’t see when I was in the middle of it?

December 26: What Did I Need (That Didn’t Show Up)

After looking at what worked, what didn’t, and what patterns emerged, I’m turning to what was missing. The support or resources that weren’t there when I needed them. The things I meant to do but didn’t give time or attention to. The needs that went unmet, whether because I didn’t ask for help, because the help wasn’t available, or because I didn’t prioritize them myself. This day is about identifying the gaps in 2025 and understanding what was absent and why it mattered.

December 27: The Things That Matter

This is where the work shifts. I’ve spent the first half of this process looking at what was – now I’m starting to imagine what could be. For each life area, I’m letting myself dream about what I want for the next year, what growth or change would feel meaningful. I check in with my longer-term goals to orient myself, but the focus is on the year ahead – what would feel like real progress? What do I actually want? I’m also reconnecting with what matters to me in each area of life, what my values are, because those values shape what’s worth dreaming about in the first place.

December 28: What Drains Without Replenishing

Now that I know what I want to grow, I need to look at what’s taking energy without giving anything back. Some things are draining but worth it – they’re investments in the future I want. But most energy drains aren’t like that. They’re obligations that don’t align with my values anymore, commitments I made when I was a different person, habits I haven’t examined closely enough to realize I could just stop. This day is about identifying what exhausts me without replenishing me and figuring out how to protect myself from those drains or say no to them entirely.

December 29: The Nutrients You Need

If yesterday was about what drains me, this day is about what fuels me. I’ve identified what I want to grow in the year ahead – now I need to figure out what has to be in place for that growth to actually happen. What resources do I need? What support? What conditions have to exist? Some of these things I already have, some I’ll need to create or ask for, and some might not be available yet. This day is about getting honest about what my dreams require in order to become real, not just wishful thinking.

December 30: Be Ready to Grow

I’ve done the reflection, identified what I want, figured out what drains me and what fuels me. Now I need to translate those dreams into something I can actually do. If I said I wanted to get healthier, what does that mean in practice? Daily walks? Joining a gym? Building a training plan? The vague intentions have to become concrete steps, or they’ll stay dreams. Once I know what the steps are, I can figure out what kind of system will help me actually follow through. Maybe that’s a paper planner, maybe it’s a digital dashboard, maybe it’s just phone reminders that bug me until I do the thing. This day is about building the infrastructure that matches how I actually work, not how I wish I worked.

December 31: Saying Goodbye to 2025

The old year has served its purpose. It taught me what it needed to teach me, held what it needed to hold, and now it’s time to let it go. This day is about release – acknowledging what the year gave me and what it took, feeling gratitude for the lessons even when they were hard, and then consciously setting it down. Some things need to be burned, some need to be buried, some just need to be named and released. I also believe in the power of physical ritual – cleaning my space, washing away the old year, preparing myself and my home for what comes next. This is the day I say goodbye to 2025 with intention, so I can step into the new year clear.

January 1: Stepping Into Your Year

The new year begins quietly. After eleven days of reflection and preparation, this is the day I step across the threshold into 2026. I’m setting my intentions for the year – not goals with deadlines and metrics, but the deeper intentions about how I want to show up and what I want to invite into my life. I’m writing down what I’m calling forward, reflecting on what the new year might hold, welcoming the work ahead and the growth it will bring. The work of the past days has prepared me for this – I know what I’m releasing and what I’m ready to receive. This day is about consciously stepping into 2026 with clarity about what I’m inviting to grow.

Winter is fallow season, and I used to think that meant nothing was happening. But after years of doing this work, I’ve learned that fallow doesn’t mean dead – it means composting, breaking down, becoming something new. These twelve days between solstice and new year are when that transformation happens. First the hard work of looking at what was – the wilting and the growth, the patterns and the gaps. Then the preparatory work of dreaming, clearing drains, building systems. Finally the ritual of release and welcome. I’ll be posting daily as I go through this process myself, sharing prompts and frameworks and some of my own messy work. If you want to follow along, hit the follow button so you don’t miss a day. If you’re doing this work too, I’d love to hear about it – what comes up for you, how you make this journey your own.