The first month of 2026 was absolutely packed, with a bit of restful reflection at the start and then a full-tilt boogie back into teaching and creating, plus more snowy wintery weather than I have yet to see in Cologne!
January Jam
At the beginning of the month I celebrated the New Year and then rested briefly at after a hectic holiday season with my beloved, friends and family. Planned joyful commitments for a new whirl around the sun in the New Year, then it was time to return to teaching and creating with a vengeance.
As evidenced by the publishing of this article in Quarter 2, it took me the better part of the first quarter to get complete on last year and have now moved on to looking back at the early months of 2026. It takes as long as it takes, and I find value in reflecting on events and efforts of the last period to set the tone for continued gentle action and sustainable growth.
Teaching and publishing, enjoying the artistic work and presence of others, recovering from a demanding and exciting period, and beginning the process of reflecting on the past year, dreaming and planning the next were the themes of early 2026:
- Silvester with neighboring friends: Happy New Year!
- Media and Cultural events including dance, theatre, and music
- Rest, recovery, deep reflection, planning
- Decluttering, cleaning, home maintenance & organization
- Made delicious warming Carrot Ginger Soup from the Modern Ayurvedic Cookbook (though I measure with my heart)
Bullet Journaling & Planning
The above YouTube Video is a flip-through of the month in my Seasonal Book including goals, glows, media favorites, and events I recorded along the way.
I shared my initial setup on Instagram here: “Creative January spreads in my seasonal Bullet Journal ready for fresh adventures.” A bit of wintry, snowflake decor was good for my soul and for once foretold the weather.
Continued to set up my 2026 Annual Collections, created a Word of the Year collage as well as updated Monthly, Weekly, and Daily logs, created February spreads and schemed about Quarter 1 themes and events.
Teaching & Coaching
Regular Mindful Movement classes in Balletlicious Ballet Barre+ and Yummy Gentle Yoga continued throughout and studio classes in Ballet resumed after a winter break.
There are a couple of 1:1 coaching slots currently available and I will announce exciting workshops and new projects as the year unfolds.
Writing & Publishing Articles
I published 4 articles in January, on track for my goal of sharing weekly in this format:
- A November to Remember – 2025 Month 11 Reflection: The month of November in my life was about gratitude, harvest, and bittersweet endings, dancing & prolific creativity! Last of the colorful leaves fell from the trees, Beaver Moon, Transgender Day of Remembrance, American Thanksgiving. In this article I wrap up the month of November of 2025 in my projects, life and events.
- Notebook & Supply Lineup – Analog Journaling System for Reflection, Memory, Planning & Creativity Notebook “Ecosystem”/Techo Kaigi article: The concept of relying on analog tools, paper first, for planning, writing, organizing thoughts and projects is absolutely down my alley. For years creators have used the term “Techo Kaigi” or planner meeting in Japanese, to describe this reflection on current notebooks in use, as well as the journals and creative supplies that go along with them to form a cohesive method.
- December was a Bender of Creation, Celebration & Rest – 2025 Month 12 & Quarter 4 Reflection: The last quarter of 2025 and holiday season were particularly full for me even compared to past hectic years, and I worked (danced, taught, published…) hard, then partied hard with my beloved, friends and family. I then collapsed into a short period of lovely rest to reset.
- Pluck Luck in 2026 – Word / Intention of the Year: Declaring my 2026 Word of the Year is PLUCK! Writing out my word in my Bullet Journal, grounding it in beautiful imagery, verse and rhythm, placing it where I will interact with it daily and be reminded or where I’m coming from in 2026 will provide support for my commitment, provide a solid place for being and making a powerful stand.
Filming & Sharing Videos
I published 4 videos to the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel in January on the topics of dance, creativity, and joyful living:
- Creative Notebook System 2025 into 2026 – Techo Kaigi – Journals of a Teaching Artist at New Year is a behind-the-scenes tour of all the journals and notebooks in which I was working in 2025 and my 2026 updates.
- Compass Tours Chaines – Ballet Turns Visualization – Tasty Technique Tip Remember drawing circles using a sharply-pointed compass? One end would stick into the paper while the other with a pencil point swirled around it. Such a device can also be used to measure length for length, swiveling to walk its legs across the page, or spinning one side and then the other. This spinning half-turn by half-turn resembles a chain of chaine turns (tours chaines deboules) that shimmers across the stage and studio in ballet technique.
- December Flip & Favorites – Review, Reflect, Refresh – Creative Bullet Journal of a Teaching Artist: December 2025 was hardworking, celebratory and finally restful in my creative life. This is a flip-through of the month in my Seasonal Bullet Journal notebook.
- Winter Currently Inked Fountain Pens 2026 – Colorful Writing Utensils – what I’m writing with & on, a very chatty and chaotic, writing-utensil nerdy over three-quarters of an hour of writing with and talking about my currently inked pens. Also the papers I’m writing & sketching on in the winter of 2026.
Connecting: Email & Social Media
Email Newsletter
The best way to keep up-to-date on everything I’m coaching, teaching, creating and sharing about as well as work from others that I believe to be of value for fellow creatives is to subscribe to my email newsletter.
I sent one Email Newsletter in January, Gentle January, easing into 2026, slow intention-setting & nourishing movement.
Socials
In January I also posted 7 times to Instagram, over once per week. It is my honor to be connected to you there, here, online and in-person!
Creative Challenges
In January my creative “challenges” included reflection and completion on 2025, dreaming and planning 2026 including Bullet Journal set-up. I was already coordinating expected participation in Eating Disorders Awareness Week as a collaborator in February and contributing to International Women’s Day events in March, continued creating curricula for my in-person and online classes, as well as video filming and editing and writing.
Twenty 26s in 2026
Inspired by Jess/JashiiCorrin on YouTube), this creative challenge is a playful way to track various leading metrics, projects and activities I wish to keep an eye on.
Having found such a structure useful since 2023, I continued to choose and measure progress on projects in a similar way each year since, and in January I was still choosing my focus areas, even as I took my first action steps toward my annual priorities (I would publish my Twenty 26s in 2026: Analog Project Planning & Action Tracking, Creative Bullet Journal Style article in early February).
Media Musings
My January in reading, listening, and viewing pleasures:
Books & Reading
Books
I completed reading one nonfiction book and one novel in January:
- How to Winter by Kari Leibowitz: I borrowed this nonfiction audiobook through the Libby App/my library, found it to be a good resource for resilience in any season, but especially those that challenge our ideas about how we should feel or where to find beauty in life.
- Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan was an emotional romance ride with likeably complex and imperfect characters who grow over the course of the story
Poetry
- My 2026 daily anthology is Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life compiled by Ben Crystal and David Crystal
Listening Highlights
Favorite things heard over the course of the month go here, such as concerts, songs, pieces of music, playlists, podcasts and more.
Music
Playlists
- Balletlicious Barre+ Dance playlist on YouTube contains all my jams for early year and anytime
- 2026 Plucky Tunes playlist on YouTube is a new one to collect all the best new tracks and melodies that come up over the course of the year
- Music of 2025 playlist on YouTube was a fun part of reflecting on the year past
Songs
- “Dance the Pain Away” by Haute & Freddy is a new one
- Melissa Czarnik, one of my favorite conscious rappers, released “Garden of Eve“
- Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Minneapolis“
- “12 to 12” by sombr is still an enjoyable earworm
Viewing Highlights
Live
- “Op Bläcke Fööss noh Kölle” is a musical in the local Koelsch dialect that we attended live at the Scala Theater, with a charming troupe, silly comedy, and regional flavor.
- “Satiri” Italian contemporary dance concert was a duet with live cello music by Bach and an inspiring way to start the year at the culture institute
Films
Movies watched that month:
- Went to the cinema with friends for the “Lesbian Space Princess” Australian animated sci-fi musical and found both the film and audience delightful
- “Desert Hearts” we bought on DVD in order to consume this bit of lesbian cinematic history and it hasn’t aged particularly well but is a true 1985 period piece
Series
Series streamed in January:
- “The Great” Comedy-drama series is satire gold about other times for these times
- “Evil Influencer: the Judi Hildebrand Story” Netflix Documentary is a disturbing recent true crime
- “The Sex Lives of College Girls” series from Mindy Kaling is comedic, but has more depth than at first appears
- Ela got me into the “1883” miniseries series that takes place on the Oregon Trail, whoa just as intense as I had imagined it might be
YouTube Videos & Channels
- One-Pot, 6-Pan, 2 Wok food-prep satire from the Onion for comic relief
- Leena Nooms’ The Death of Personal Goals spoke to me and she is one of my favorite creators
- Concious consumption is a great way to start a new year and Things I’m Not Buying in 2026 content is proving motivating
- Experiments instead of goals
- Mia’s Digital Diary also covers Experiments as a creative person
- Appreciate ecofriend lia’s approach to New Year’s intention-setting
- People are freaking out that Cloud Dancer, a shade of white, is Pantone Color of the Year
Questions for Reflection
- Do you choose a Word of the Year?
- Which media support your goals and mental health, which not?
- What are you making?
- How’s your 2026 rolling so far?
Resources for Further Exploration
- Float in 2025 – Word / Intention of the Year Article
- Twenty 25s in 2025: Analog Project Planning & Action Tracking, Creative Bullet Journal Style Article
- Quantum Leaping into 2024 Word of the Year Article
- Twenty-Four 24s in 2024 Article
- To-Enjoy List for Quarter 4 2024 Article
- Say the Magic Words Article
- Analog Journals for Creativity Article
My final recap of 2025, 2026 Word of the Year, Twenty 26s, explorations in dance, coaching, further adventures in creative living and more coming soon.
Thank you for reading, for being, and for dancing with me, in spirit or in fact!
Take care of yourself and keep moving mindfully, let me know how if I can be of service, would love to see you in my email newsletter or on social media as well.
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst they/she
Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach
dancing through difficulty
taking leaps of faith