How good would it be to start 2027 with January, the most miserable month of the year, already planned out?
So you’d know what you’re going to be focusing on, and you can go into the Christmas holidays feeling like you’re in control?
And, most importantly, to be able to relax and have a nice time with the people and the creatures who mean the most to you, knowing you won’t have the Sunday night scaries when you return to work on January 4th.
In this blog post, I’m explaining how you can make that happen, plus how you can map out the whole of next year together at my online planning day on November 9th 2026.
Please note if you are in The Planner Club, the online planning day is included as part of your package.
Why January feels like the longest month of the year
It’s fair to say it’s a tough month. The decorations come down, it’s dark by four o’clock and everyone’s feeling the pinch after Christmas.
Then the first Monday comes round, you’re back to work, and it might be deathly quiet or you could be rushed off your feet.
You might have a load of admin tasks that have built up over the holidays. Depending where you are in the world and how your business is set up, you might have a tax return to do.
It’s likely that posting on social media might be on the to-do list too, and finding the motivation and inspiration might feel painful.
Now picture this instead.
You close the laptop for Christmas knowing January is sorted. Your posts are planned, maybe even written and scheduled. You know what you’re promoting and when.
You can switch off over the holidays, and when you come back, your content is sorted, and you can ease back into the New Year.
How to plan January in an hour
You don’t need a whole day for this. Grab a cup of tea, a notebook or your planner, and give yourself an hour.
- Look back at last January (10 minutes). What did you post, what did people respond to, and what sold? If it was quiet, that’s useful to know too.
- Decide what you’re going to promote (10 minutes). What’s the most relevant product or service for this chilly and miserable time of year? Maybe it’s a coat or a cosy cat bed? Or it could be a social walk to get people connecting and out in nature. What is going to make people think, ‘That sounds good,’ or ‘I need that.’
- Choose two or three awareness days (10 minutes). Pick the ones that fit your business and ignore the rest. You’ll find some January dates in my pet business awareness days post.
- Give each week a theme (20 minutes). The first week might be resolutions and goals for the year ahead, the second winter health advice, the third might be around wellbeing as Blue Monday is on the third Monday in January. Jot down a few post ideas under each one.
- Write your first week (10 minutes). Get the first few posts down while the ideas are fresh. If you can schedule them, even better.
That’s it. You won’t have every single post written, but you’ll have a plan you can follow, so you’ve made a start and this will help you feel more calm, organised and in control.
I have a free social media calendar which you can fill in – you can download it here.
Plan, then do the work
Planning is only half of it. The other half is doing the work
It’s why, in The Planner Club, every planning call is followed straight away by a coworking session.
We spend an hour planning the month ahead together, then you stay on and get the work done, with breaks for a cup of tea or a snack.
You plan, then you do the work, write the posts, make the graphics, write the emails, whatever doing the work represents for you.
Plan your whole year with me on 9th November
If you’d like to go further than January, come and join me for my online planning day on Monday 9th November, from 10am to 4pm.
We’ll look back at 2026 and celebrate what’s worked.
Then we’ll look ahead at what you want to be celebrating this time next year, including the things you want to start and the things you’re ready to stop.
I’ll show you how I plan a campaign, so you can do the same for your big thing in 2027.
There’s plenty of time in breakout rooms to talk your plans through with other pet business owners.
We finish with an hour planning January together.
So by the end of the day, you’ll have your year mapped out, you’ll be clear about what’s happening for the first three months of 2027 and January’s ideas will be done.
Come and join us
The planning day is included when you join The Planner Club.
As well as the planning day, members get a planning call followed by coworking every month, plus a monthly Q&A call where you can bring anything you’re stuck on.
It’s £30 a month for a year, or £300 for the year with a copy of my 2027 Pet Business Content Planner included (Planner only included if paying in full)
If you’d rather just come along to the planning day, you can buy a ticket for £100 and I’ll pop a copy of the planner (worth £30) in the post for you too.
Related posts
What is The Planner Club and should I join?
Should you buy my Pet Business Content Planner?
How to create a social media calendar for your pet business
Pet business awareness days for 2027
11 things to plan for in your pet business
How to create a plan that matches your goals, strengths, skills and energy levels
