Big Plan Energy, or Something Slower?
January 8, 2026
It’s the first full week of the new year. A week we’re conditioned to be back in full gear. Like so many, I had lots of “hit the ground running” energy moving in to this week. Most of which had to change as the reality of chest congestion set in.
I rescheduled a wellness workshop yesterday because I had no voice. I postponed an on campus meeting at Bentley, intended to be an in-person sprint to get closer to publishing our findings.
Both calendar changes were big time bummers.
At the same time, I’m realizing this was a little sign from the universe that this week was never supposed to be super intense. I had wanted to ease in. To give my self thinking and creating time. But then in the frenzy of December wrap up, I sort of forgot about that little promise to myself.
So whether you’re feeling a little foggy post-holiday, hitting your stride and fired up for 2026, or somewhere in between… welcome to January. We’re here.
My hope it that even with lots going on (inevitably) I hope you’re starting the year with joy and momentum, at whatever pace feels right for you.
Keep reading for more, including:
unBurnt on Substack: Finally live, and linked below if you want to check it out.
Update on The unBurnt Hub: Feedback from the first round of beta testers is in, and the Hub is under construction.
#getunburnt: If you don’t get over to the Substack article, or decidedly do not want more in your inbox, I’ve include a quick excerpt below.
#getunburnt
Planning for the year ahead
Before the hustle of your calendar really starts to take over, here are some suggested prompts to consider to set you up for capacity and recovery all year long.
Block single days off now. A few days just for you. Not for vacation time, not for filling it up with catch up to-do’s. Do it now before the calendar fills. Then, treat them as non-negotiable.
Identify natural intensity cycles across the year look ahead for times that you know will be busier and heavier (launches, Q4, family obligations stacked on top of busy periods). Acknowledge them, and plan lighter weeks around them.
Decide in advance what won’t get added because constraint is a form of care. What’s on your no-go list for 2026? This can be work, home or a blend of both.
Create a joy list for the year What restores you? Start to notice the types of experiences, interactions, and people that lift you up and the people that keep you motivated to keep going. Schedule it. Spend more time with them.
Consider one transition habit or system that will support you between seasons, or daily between work and life. Is it a quiet commute home to do inner reflection? Is it a non negotiable daily screen break that doesn’t get scheduled over? It’s it the first day off at the beginning of every quarter? You get to decide.
unBurnt on Substack
Building a substack was on my backlog to-do list for a while. But I deprioritized because the year got busy. (It always does.) And because I wanted to build a bank of articles to debut a more polished launch. (Guess what, I didn’t)
So I decided over the holiday break to move ahead and not let my Type A tendencies stop me from showing up on Substack before it was ‘perfect’.
Why substack? I have this newsletter as a way to keep you informed on all things unBurnt. That won’t change. This substack will be a space to go deeper and explore intersecting themes between the work, leadership, wellbeing, modern motherhood, and movements that are rapidly evolving our workplaces. I plan to do deeper on my reflections for what it means for short and long term changes I’m advocating for in society.
If you want to check it out, I’d be thrilled to see you there!
unBurnt Hub UPDATE
Refresher of what’s inside: A Stress management meets Community platform. Get access to lightweight practices on demand, a personalized dashboard that become more tailored to you over time, and community resource hub to support your journey.
Launch Features will include:
AI-Powered Stress Management dashboard with modules that help you reflect, plan, and build wellbeing habits that you can actually stick with.
Progress & Insights to reflect on entries, understand your patterns over time, and get recommended additional insights.
Community including real-time chat, an entire resource library, and access to live webinars. Plus as a member, you’ll be invited to quarterly roundtables about evolving workplaces & cultures.
What’s happening since the last update: Based on feedback from early beta testers, which wrapped up in December, the platform is under construction. I’ll be refining with these initial users, and the early access date is moving out to end of January.
The Waitlist: If you’d like to join the waitlist for early-access before the doors officially open, please reply or join below to reach the form. There is no obligation to sign up once this goes live.