Making a Start

I can’t start anything off this year without acknowledging those affected by weather events as we start 2026. My thoughts are with those families and communities. 

As I start my year of writing off, I am sifting through a number of half-started, unfinished blogs laying about in ‘docs’ and looking over notes on my phone. Stories about fish spines, self care, or as promised at the end of the year, decision making processes will need to just wait. The message I am thinking is a bit fresher than that.

Those of you who seamlessly step into a new year without a pause, I commend (and envy) you. 

At this time of the year, every year, I ALWAYS feel out of sorts. Routine drops out over the holiday season and in my life there is a lot of family around, both from my household and outside of it. The amazing team I work with are taking breaks, suppliers are working on skeleton shifts. And yes, I am trying to get a break in as well.

I usually do what I can to switch off my phone and spend at least a week under canvas. This creates a psychological shift for me which provides a real break from the usual routine. 

But not everyone does this – I often feel like I am starting the year from behind. 

One of the useless habits that I can slip into is a bit of social media scrolling. Of course that compounds the issue. My Linkedin feed is full of successful happy real estate bosses sharing all their new hires and how they have been back at work, sitting in the office since 12.05 am on the 1st of January just picking up the phone, and sitting back and watching floods of new people throwing themselves into their businesses. For salespeople reading this, scrolling through the ‘just listed’ posts, you are feeling the same thing. 

I know I am not alone, and so I want to talk briefly about getting on top of this, because folks, if you have not kicked off your year, the time is upon you. And it is not hard. 

Re-train your body clock. Start progressively setting your alarm earlier until it is out of holiday mode and into work mode. Swing your legs out of bed and get into the day when that alarm goes off. 

Start moving. Not from the fridge to the sofa. Actually moving. Time to hit the gym, the pool, the pavement, whatever is your thing. 

Pick up the phone. Isolate the last three months of the year and start calling everyone that you spoke to in that quarter. There is business hiding in there. 

Make the start. There is no point in looking at all the perceived lost opportunities. You can turn it around in an instant and set your year in motion.