Permaculture-designing the new year

January has a strange reputation with the pressure of new intentions, resolutions and heroic plans that usually don't survive February. It is a fun subject at the christmas-dinner table though. What will you leave behind in the new year? What will you pick up or give more attention?
A permaculture approachwould be to observe (energy, time, land, relationships, body) and ask what wants to grow this year.

Designing the new year like a permaculture system means working with patterns, not against them. Start with observation; notice when you feel alive, when do things flow and where does friction keeps returning. Then design small, intelligent interventions. One habit that supports many others. One boundary that saves energy. One project placed in the right zone of your life so it gets regular care (instead of heroic radical change).

Permaculture design is optimistic, but not naïve. It accepts limits. Seasons, aging bodies, changing climates, busy lives, recession. How to create abundance within these limits?
Maybe 2026 is less about adding more, and more about arranging what is already there more wisely. Care for yourself; care for others; care for the Earth.

So instead of a list of resolutions, you might sketch a design. With space for feedback, tweaks and rest. A year that can evolve, just like any healthy system. Start small, observe regularly, redesign when needed. The new year does not need to be conquered; it needs to be tended.