Unpopular opinion alert: January is my favourite month of the year. There, I said it. It gets a pretty bad rep; month of self-punishment, debt and cold. I am reading a lot of blog and Instagram posts bemoaning the talk of resolutions and new you and new starts. I get it. But I actually love it.

I don’t love the ‘New Year, New You’ talk. I don’t love the self-loathing or insidious diet talk and I don’t love the toxic productivity talk But. When done from a place of love and kindness, using this time to celebrate your wins and set some intentions and kind goals for the year can be really powerful.

I love the promise of a new year. I love it in the same way I love the promise of a new season, and sometimes a new month, week or even a fresh new morning. January is a calendrical and symbolic fresh start and I’m here for it.

After a wonderfully slow Christmas, I have been looking back and planning forward using the process in my January Life Book. Dave and I spent New Year’s Eve going through it together by the fire and it has become my favourite way to see in the new year. It led, as it always does, to some pretty amazing conversations about lessons learned in the last year, what we’re grateful for, and how we want to feel this year. Despite being together for 18 years, and knowing each other pretty bloody well, we are always surprised by the reflections of the other. The prompts and questions are so good at cracking your heart open. At reminding you to speak kindly to yourself. At nudging you to consider the whole of your life, not just that gnarly bit that’s at the front of your mind today. We haven’t finished it yet as we do it in phases but I am so excited to get back to it. 

I think winter holds a quiet creative magic that flourishes in the darkness. I am not firing on all cylinders or beauting myself with productivity. Rather, I am listening to my body and drawing inwards. Hibernating. Taking the time to think, dream, reflect and plan. In truth, I usually don’t feel really energised and raring to go until Spring, but I love this month for the inside-ness of it, both figuratively and literally.  The inner planning and dreaming. The darkness, the quiet and the cosy indoorsness of it. Want to join me in some cosy dreaming and planning? 

10 wonderful things to make, do and celebrate in January!

1. Review and plan with kindness

If you’re in the mood for reflection and planning, make sure you do so from a place of kindness. If you’d like a bit of handholding and support in creating goals that feel true to who you are and lights you up, you have a few more days to join me in the 2020 version of the e-course here. 

2. Dispel the old year

What about 2019 would you like to leave firmly behind? Write it down then rip it up to burn it as a symbolic dispelling of the year. 

3. Make a vision board for 2020

Spend some time collecting images and words that represent how you want to feel in 2020 and create a vision board for the year. I have loved making mine this year. There is also something really therapeutic about using scissors and glue! 

4. Love your body

January: the month of self loathing.  Marketers spend millions on making you feel shit about various aspects of your body and life in a bid to get your money. Do things instead that honour your body. Buy new knickers. Moisturise every inch of yourself. Stretch. Have sex. Have a long hot bath with loads of essential oils. Eat delicious food. If running and eating vegetables feel good then do that too. I reckon it’s more freeing to focus not on what our bodies should look like, but on what would feel good for our bodies.

5. Winter decorating

Things can feel a bit stark after the Christmas decorations have come down. But perhaps not everything needs to go away. I like having ‘winter decorations’. The tree goes down, but my wreaths and swags of greenery will stay throughout winter. I’ll keep the fairy lights and candles going and pile blankets everywhere. I love filling the house with winter flowering bulbs too: White hyacinths, Paper-whites, Narcissi, Hellebores. They’re currently available from garden centres and supermarkets if you don’t have any growing. 

6. Start a journal practice

I credit journalling for a LOT of good stuff in my life. Starting a practice would make for a great 2020 goal. You can read my tips in this article for In The Moment Magazine . My e-course is a good starter as well, it’s comprised of journal prompts; a New Year form of journalling. 

7. Go to see the murmurations. 

December and January are the peak times to view Murmurations of starlings, the great swooping clouds of birds in the skies. It is my favourite winter view. They gather in both cities and the countryside. 

8. Book something to look forward too. 

If you’re feeling the need for a break after the festive season, book something nourishing and restful to look forward too. There are a few tickets left to my January Day Retreat in my home (info here). and I offer pay what you can spaces for those that don’t have the funds available to them. We also just arranged a press stay in the beautiful Trevessa Farmhouse in Cornwall over Feb half term and it feels so lovely to have something booked in! If you are watching your pennies, look into a  house swap. 

9. Declutter

I have been prowling around the house looking for things to donate or discard. There actually isn’t that much as we approach decluttering as a mindset rather than a single act. but still, its led to some satisfying sorting!  If you’re feeling overwhelmed, start with one drawer!

10. Look at your carbon footprint. 

The devastating bush fires in Australia have meant that talk of extreme climate change has been front-page news. It’s terrifying. We need to be lobbying governments to take action, and badgering our representatives. But we can also look at our own carbon footprint too. I found both this article and this article helpful in how the average family can reduce their carbon footprint. I think carbon footprint is a more helpful determiner than looking at single issues like veganism or plastic (those things are important, don’t get me wrong!)  but the bigger picture is sometimes more revealing.  

So that is the first Sunday Supplement of 2020! I love reading your comments and replies so let me know how you found it and if there’s anything you’d like future Sunday supplement newsletters to cover.

I’m feeling hopeful and excited about the year to come. How about you?

May January be a gentle hopeful month for you.

Hannah