It’s the start of a new year! And while it’s full of promise about the months ahead, it can also feel miserable, heavy, and incredibly long. But I want this year to count for you 💪🏻 — and I want you to feel able to bring those plans to life, no matter how big they are, how overwhelmed you feel right now, or whatever the weather is doing.
Last month we talked all about planning — choosing your priorities, mapping your year, getting clear on what matters, and setting yourself up with a direction that actually feels good.
And now you’re here with your shiny plan…
…wondering “Okay, but how do I actually start?”
This is the moment where so many business owners and founders get stuck.
Not because they don’t care, and not because they’re not capable, but because translating a plan into action is a completely different skill. Executive function challenges rear their heads, especially if you’re ADHD or running a business with a brain that does not respond well to pressure, overwhelm, or rigid systems.
So if you’ve spent the time planning your year and now feel that familiar “oh f**… where do I start?”* feeling — you’re exactly who I wrote this for.
Let’s make the beginning feel lighter, kinder, and far more doable.
Find Your Starting Point
A lot of people assume they’re “bad at follow-through” or that they lack motivation, when actually, the issue is far simpler:
The first step is too big, too vague, or too overwhelming to begin.
At the end of last year, I ran a planning session where several attendees shared a goal they’d been carrying around for two years or more.
Not because they didn’t care about it.
Not because they weren’t capable.
But because they didn’t know how to turn the big, shiny idea into something they could actually begin.
And honestly? That’s scarily normal.
Your brain doesn’t start things it can’t see clearly — especially when it’s tired, stretched, or trying to navigate an entire January’s worth of pressure in week one.
When I’m working with clients, I don’t relentlessly badger them about when they’re going to start. Accountability is absolutely part of the work, but so is understanding why they’re not starting.
Once we uncover the root cause, we can take the first — of many — small steps towards success.
Turn Your Intention into Action
I’ve worked with clients who have gorgeous yearly plans.
Colour-coded, beautifully detailed, and completely aligned with their business vision.
But as lovely as those plans are, they don’t make the dream happen on their own.
There’s often a sticking point between the “big plan” and the “first action”.
That gap leads to procrastinating, second-guessing, and often deciding the plan isn’t for them — at least not right now.
When we break it down together, everything softens:
the first step becomes obvious, the overwhelm reduces, and the whole plan feels lighter and more doable.
Everything shifts when there’s a clear, actionable path ahead.
This happens constantly.
The plan isn’t the problem — it’s learning how to turn intention into small, consistent action.
Build Momentum, Not Pressure
One day you’re raring to go and getting loads done.
The next, you’re doing anything you can to avoid the exact same tasks you were working on with gusto yesterday.
Motivation is unreliable.
It comes and goes, and it usually disappears the second life gets loud, busy, or exhausting.
Momentum, though?
Momentum is built from tiny, doable actions that don’t ask you to be a different version of yourself to complete them.
A quick Google even puts it simply:
Motivation is the initial spark or desire to act, while momentum is the force that keeps you going once you’ve started.
So the trick is to make the step so small that your brain doesn’t see it as a threat.
Not “launch the whole project.”
Not “write the entire sales page.”
Not “sort out the whole quarter.”
Just:
- send one message
- draft a rough outline
- choose your one priority for the week
- spend ten minutes setting up the structure you need
Small actions create traction.
Traction builds confidence.
Confidence builds momentum.
You don’t need motivation first — you just need a doorway that’s easy enough to walk through.
What I See With Clients
Across Power Hours, planning sessions, and long-term OBM support, I see the same patterns pop up again and again:
→ The goal that reappears every year
Someone will say,
“This has been on my list for two years. I don’t know why I can’t just start.”
Once we break it into tiny steps and make the first move visible, everything changes.
→ The client who thrives once things are doable
I have a long-term client who makes incredible progress when tasks are clear, contained, and manageable.
When things are simple, structured, and realistic, their momentum skyrockets.
It was never about ability — it was about activation.
→ The beautiful plan that still doesn’t get started
This one is so common I could put it on a T-shirt.
The plan is solid. The vision is clear.
But the activation energy just isn’t there.
Every time we translate that plan into everyday steps that fit their energy and their brain, everything opens up.
And that moment when they say,
“Oh… I can actually do this,”
is one of my favourites — because it’s the real turning point.
A Framework to Get You Moving Today
If you’re sitting with your lovely 2026 plan thinking, “Where on earth do I start?”, use this simple approach:
1. Choose the smallest meaningful action
Not the biggest. Not the “should”.
The tiniest step that genuinely moves the needle.
2. Make it ridiculously doable
If it takes more than 15–20 minutes, break it down again.
3. Give it a home
A date, a time, a slot in your week.
“Tuesday at 11” works far better than “sometime this week”.
4. Reduce friction
Open the doc.
Create the folder.
Start the checklist.
Make it easier for Future You by removing one layer of resistance.
5. Celebrate the start
Because once you begin — even with the tiniest step — your brain now has proof:
“I can do this.”
And that’s where real momentum begins.
January doesn’t need speed — it needs clarity.
Starting smart, not fast, is what helps your goals feel possible, not overwhelming.
And if you’d like support turning your 2026 plans into something you can genuinely follow through on — with structure, accountability, and steps that fit your real energy — I’d love to chat things through with you.
Book a discovery call with me here.
Let’s explore how we can make this year feel lighter, clearer, and far more doable for you. 💚