I don’t need New Year’s resolutions. I made my resolutions for life over many years. But it does help to reaffirm the things in life that are important to me – so I have my own back to say no when a deal-breaker is being threatened.

I move

I have to move. I have to use my body: this is how I feel alive and grateful for my health. That motivates and mitigates everything else.

I nourish

Cooking is more important than housework. Making a healthy meal for us every night matters so much more than having a tidy house.

I protect

I love saving money. Yes, I also love spending money. But I’m incredibly financially responsible and on top of our safety. I have a rainy day fund for the rainy day when we’ve spent our primary rainy day fund. I have stocks, I have premium bonds, I have crypto, I have gilts. I have a few quid in GOLD, for God’s sake. None of it is much, but it’s everything to me.

I create

Creativity is my best weapon against being swallowed by the machine. Capitalism’s gonna capitalise. I feel best about myself when I’m consistently making, so I’ll be keeping up my Friday Instagram check-in on what I’ve done to be creative each week. And I’ll be writing ’til they nail my coffin shut.

I rest

I never regret choosing peace over fun. I have plenty of fun by myself, so when fun involves leaving the island or drinking or lots of people and noise, that fun comes at a cost that feels outsized. I’ll only be more strict with my choices this year, because there were times last year when I should have said no and didn’t because it felt overwhelming and rude. Being thought rude is better than being in distress.

I think

I’m good at concepting – the creative that moves things forward. It’s a waste of my brain when I have long periods of not doing that, even if it’s just to see what happens rather than to a brief. At the end of 2025, I spent a good amount of time doing concepts for fun and also concepting for a very open project in 2026. It was great for me. I’ve been scamping for design briefs on my Remarkable tablet a lot, too, which both I and our designer find useful to get him started.

I love

My greatest fortune in life is that I have my husband. It is an immense privilege to have a partner that you basically grew up with as the months turned into years and years into decades. There were times I wouldn’t have survived without him, and still he’s here for more of those times, if they come.

These are my pillars. If one falls, the others can take the weight.

Dissolve, resolve, repeat.