I don’t wait until January to start planning for the year ahead. For me, planning for the upcoming year begins in December…mostly during that stretch between Christmas and New Year’s, when everyone stays in their jammies and no one really knows what day it is! Things are quieter and work is lighter. My inbox isn’t overflowing and instead of feeling pressure to set goals, I feel excited! Do you know how to plan your year? I wanted to share a few of the things I do to prepare for the upcoming year from my perspective as a photographer and creative business owner. However, any of these things can be used for your own business or personal life too. Let’s dig in!

Before Anything Else: How I Want the Year to Feel

Before I plan schedules, goals, or projects, I always start with one question:

How do I want this year to feel?

For me, this year is about creativity and momentum.

My business experienced a lot of growth last year, and I want to build on that, while still protecting my calendar for the things I value most: my family and friends, my health, and travel.

Last year also reminded me of something important: sometimes your original plan doesn’t unfold the way you expect, and that’s okay!

The goal of planning for this year isn’t perfection. It’s flexibility. I want a plan that gives me structure and room to pivot when life or business surprises me.

My Step-by-Step Planning Process

Once I’m clear on how I want the year to feel, I move into planning in a very specific order.

Step 1: I Start With Real Life

Before I think about work, goals, or projects, I plan around the things that are going to happen no matter what…either because they’re priorities or because they’re fixed dates on the calendar.

For me, that includes:

1. The school calendar
This immediately shows me the days I absolutely cannot work. Seeing those boundaries clearly makes every other decision easier.

2. Vacation and travel windows
Even if trips aren’t booked yet, I block potential travel time early so it doesn’t get filled by work. I also talk through dates with my husband so he can also make sure to take off on those placeholder dates.

3. My realistic work capacity
My office hours are Monday–Friday, 9–3. My shoot days are typically Tuesdays and Thursdays. That framework helps me plan realistically and protects time for editing, planning, creative work, and time I need to just run my business.

Only after these pieces are in place do I layer in work-related plans.

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Step 2: I Stay High-Level on Purpose

When I plan the year ahead, I keep things flexible and big-picture.

I map out:

• broad priorities
• seasonality
• capacity and boundaries

What I don’t do is get overly tactical too early.

One planning mistake I no longer make is the “set it and forget it” approach. Planning shouldn’t be something you do once and never revisit. This means on the first of every month, I set aside 30 minutes to an hour to see how I am tracking on goals and plans, and decide if anything needs to be shifted or reprioritized.

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Step 3: I Capture Big Ideas Without Going Down the Rabbit Hole

Towards the end of the year when I’m not shooting as much, I tend to get bored and start coming up with LOTS of creative ideas and things I want to do in the upcoming year. Instead of getting into the weeds right away, I start a running brainstorm for each idea. Sometimes that’s a digital document. Other times, it’s a notes page in my yearly planner.

Regardless of how I do it, this helps me:

• capture ideas while they’re fresh
• avoid overwhelm
• remember everything!
• come back later with a clear head

Once I’ve established the framework for the year, then I revisit those ideas, prioritize them, and build them out intentionally.

How to Apply This Planning Approach to Your Own Year

If you want to adapt this planning process for yourself, you don’t have to make it complicated! All you have do is start by asking yourself a few questions:

• How do I want this year to feel?
• What are my non-negotiables?
• When do I absolutely not want to work?
• Where do I need flexibility instead of structure?

Once you’ve thought through those questions, start planning in the same order I do:

1. Block out real life first
2. Be honest about your capacity
3. Keep ideas and goals high-level before getting detailed

This approach will keep planning from feeling overwhelming and will help put guidelines in place when its time to get more detailed.

The Planning Tools I Use

I still love a physical planner, and for 2026 I’m using a Passion Planner. I like having both a monthly overview and a full weekly layout, plus extra space for notes and planning pages.

Here’s what I use for all of my planning purposes:

• a planner that visually make sense to me
• colorful pens (because I like to be creative!)
• a shared Apple calendar with my husband that also gets my work items added to it.

(I’ve linked planning tools I’ve actually used and loved below if you want to be intentional with your own planning.)

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Why Planning Ahead Improves the Client Experience (and Life in General)

Planning ahead allows me to show up calmer and more prepared, and that directly impacts the experience I offer my clients.

It leads to:

• less last-minute scrambling
• more thoughtful decisions
• better storytelling
• protected energy and availability

When planning is intentional, everything runs smoother — for me, my family, and my clients.