January has been pretty slow and sleepy for me, and that is just how I like it. I have been slowly working away on a few projects in the background when I have has the time and inclination to do them. One of them is writing a guide for you, dear readers, about the end of year review process may husband and I have done for the last 9 years; a process that I have been asked about so much over the last few years, and one I have now written about!

So, what is The January Book?

Put simply, it is the notebook my husband and I use to review the year that has passed and plan for the year to come. It is both an individual and collaborative process.

But it has led to some incredible things. See my last post for a taster.

We first did this book in 2009, and over the following 9 years we credit this process for being the basis for many of our mega life decisions-from having babies, to changing careers, hiring coaches, and making better health decisions.

2017. Um, wow.

2017 started with a weekend away in which Dave and I dreamed about the year ahead. I was heavily pregnant and I was decompressing from an amazingly busy work year in which my (swollen) feet had hardly touched the ground. I was so ready for some space and time to think. We went away to Elmley for the weekend to rest and talk and work through what we call our January Book, a notebook in which we review last year and plan for next. We talked about 2016- the wins, the painful spots, the lessons learned. And then we talked about how we wanted our life to feel in the coming year. That process was the groundwork for some incredible stuff.

2017 was the year we welcomed Auden into our family and three became four.

It was the year I discovered the surprise furnace of power inside me. The year I had a calm, back-to-back home birth despite believing I “couldn’t cope with pain”. 2017 was the year I understood finally, just how powerful our self-beliefs are, the power of repeated mantra’s and positive thinking. (So, so powerful, guys. Read more about how I prepared for birth here and here and read my home birth story here.)

It was the year I allowed my word for the year, “Nourish”, to whisper it’s wisdom everything I did. I asked for help. I stayed in bed with my baby for the first 6 weeks of his life. We were fed by my friends. I flexed my “no”. I let tears flow. I chose rest, ate nourishing food and found time for creativity when I needed it.