Looking Ahead: My Gentle Plans for 2026
Hello everyone, and welcome to 2026!
I don’t know about you, but when I look back on 2025, it felt like a year of two halves. The end of the year, in particular, was full of so many positives. I worked really hard to build up my little brand, I got stuck into some incredibly cool projects, and, of course, I finally launched this blog! These are all fantastic foundations that I really want to build on as we move into this brand new year.
Now, I have a confession: I don’t really do “New Year’s Resolutions.” I find that I always set the bar too high, fail early on, and then just feel dejected for the rest of January. It’s too much pressure!
Instead, I prefer to make gentle plans. These are intentions for what I would like to achieve in 2026—things to aim for, rather than rigid rules to beat myself up over if I have a wobble.
I’ve broken my plans down into the same categories I use for my monthly round-ups. Here is a little look at what I’m hoping 2026 will hold.
Online
Launching the blog was a big step in 2025, and this year is all about settling into a rhythm with it and organizing my various online spaces.
- Consistency is key: My main goal is to show up here more regularly. I am aiming for at least one new blog post every single week. This will be a mix of everything—tutorials, project show-offs, photography, and general real-life ramblings.
- Growing the community: I want to find new ways to increase engagement in my Facebook group. It’s such a lovely space already, and I’d love to see that community grow even further this year.
- Brave new worlds (Video!): I am going to try and step into the world of video. I’m thinking YouTube Shorts, Reels, or TikTok for quick tutorials and project updates. It’s terrifying, but exciting!
- Social media shuffle: I need to get better at posting on my main Facebook and Instagram accounts. I’m also planning a bit of a rebrand; my “normal” Instagram is going to become the home for all things geeky, and I’ll be remembering to share more on my dedicated photography account too.
Crafting
Crafting is the heart of what I do, and I want to push myself a little more this year out of my established comfort zones.
- Book folding evolutions: I plan to create many more books, but I also want to set myself new challenges within the craft. I want to try more variety, tackle different techniques, and really push the boundaries of what I can do with folded paper.
- Building the shop: I want to focus on building up my online shop more and perhaps look into doing more in-person craft fairs again.
- Cards online: Following the success of my recent card making, I’m going to start looking seriously into selling handmade cards online.
- The joy of being a beginner: I want to make time to try completely new crafts. I want to play around with different techniques just for the fun of it, and importantly, I promise to write about them on the blog even when they go horribly wrong!
Photography
As you might have noticed from my imageless December post, my photography mojo went a bit missing at the end of the year.
- Just shoot more: The main plan is simply to do more of it. Far more. I need to pick up my big camera and just get snapping again.
- Finding a challenge: To help with motivation, I think finding a specific photography challenge to follow might be a good idea to get the creative juices flowing.
- Learning skills: I want to practice, get out of my comfort zone with subjects, and finally spend some time properly learning photo editing techniques to enhance my images.
Real Life
I have some gentle plans for looking after myself and enjoying downtime too.
- Gaming horizons: Thanks to my new PC, I want to play more new games. I’m setting myself a loose goal of trying one different game a month, and I’ll write a little mini-review about it in my monthly round-ups.
- Health and wellness: I will be continuing with my weight loss journey, working on improving my diet and making better meal plans. I also want to make an effort to just get out of the house more, even if it’s just for quick walks for fresh air.
- Celebrating wins: I want to get better at acknowledging and celebrating mental health wins. It’s important to recognize when I’ve done something that takes me out of my comfort zone, no matter how small it might seem to others.
- General wellbeing: Overall, the plan is just to look after both my physical and mental health better, and just try to “do better” with the general juggle of everyday life.
So, those are my plans. No pressure, just intentions. Do you make resolutions, or do you prefer a gentler approach like me? Let me know in the comments!
