Three months in

A look back on the first quarter of the year

2026 is racing by. I’m so grateful for the springtime vibes — flowers everywhere and that bright, bright green of new leaves. I’m definitely a spring/summer person, and I feel like I start to come back to life at this time of year.

I always love to do a review of the year at the end of each quarter, and somehow we are already in April, so, here we go!

The good

I’ve been cracking on with my 2026 list, with 3 things fully ticked off and another 4 things on track.

• Swim in the sea

• Reread Frankenstein

• Go dancing

• Complete two sketchbooks

• Go to the spa in Wimbledon ✅

• Explore 6 new neighbourhoods

• Get fresh flowers every month ✅ So far

• Get (at least) 2 massages

• Explore the V&A ✅

• Go to the theatre

• Kayak

• Repaint the hallway

• Journal all the way to the end of my notebook

• Go on at least one date

• Perfect the art of making waffles

• Try a new hairstyle ✅

• Reread The Dark is Rising

• Have people over at least 12 times

• Get halfway to my 2028 holiday savings goal

• Hold a weekly money meeting with myself ✅ So far

• Get a tattoo

• Read 50 books

• Fill a jar of happy memories ✅ So far

• Take kids to Folkestone for a weekend

• Have a monthly home manicure ✅ So far

• Initiate 26 meet-ups (it’s okay if they don’t all happen)

This last one has been SO HELPFUL for me, who hates putting myself out there in case I get rejected. I’ve invited people to the pub, out for coffee, over to my house, to the cinema, to come to the spa with me…

And on the whole, those things have all happened. Not always with big groups of people (eg: I invited an entire class to the pub and ended up going with 2 other people), but that’s actually better, because then you can engage in real conversation. So, still building this skill — sending the invite does not feel good in my body! — but one I’m glad I put on the list.

I’ve also had a few really nice successes at work, including multiple Kindle bestsellers and one of our authors getting to #10 in the Sunday Times bestseller list. Hurrah!

The bad

School stress

My son didn’t get into our local school. Apparently there was a bumper year of siblings, which means the catchment was just 525m this year (we’re 545 meters away). It’s absolutely gutting because a) it’s so close, b) all of his friends will be there without him and c) the school we’ve been given is lovely, but not as good academically, and about an hour away.

We’re on the waiting list, so now we just have to wait and hope he gets a place while preparing for him to do the long commute. A lot of stress and uncertainty for both him and me.

Work stress

Work does not fall under ‘bad’ — I love what I do, I love my colleagues, I genuinely enjoy going to the office — AND the last time I was this busy at work was when I was pregnant with my son and vomiting in the office toilets every day and had to take time off as thought my stress levels might be impacting my pregnancy.

There are so many (fun! interesting!) projects on our team’s plate right now, it’s quite intense. I am MUCH better able to cope with stress now, and I’m for sure not pregnant, but I’m also delighted to have the rest of this week off to step away for a minute and touch grass.

Wider life stress

There has also been the general stress of being alive in 2026. The constant presence of war, especially with two of my best friends living in the middle east, increasing racism, the manosphere, increasing cost of living, friends around me losing their parents or having their parents forget who they are, worries about kids growing up in the age of social media… It’s A LOT just to exist right now as a person.

I’m dealing with this by:

• Getting my news in controllable ways (ie: deleting Instagram from my phone and getting my news from physical papers and newsletters I choose to read, not by scrolling and accidentally coming across a video I can never unsee)

• Focusing on things I can control (ie: I can make plans with friends and message people I care about, I can’t solve the crisis in the middle east)

• Focusing on gratitude (daily gratitude reflection is something I have been doing since 2018. It is very helpful for reminding you that there are many good things still in life!)

I can’t say those things have resolved this stress. But I feel like things would be worse without doing them, so I’m carrying on.

Goals I’m working toward in the next quarter

In the next three months, I’d like to:

• Swim in the sea

• Go dancing

• Explore 2 new neighbourhoods

• Get a massage

• Repaint the hallway

• Get a tattoo

That last one is the least likely to happen, because I cannot decide what to get. Maybe the goal instead should be to at least go into the tattoo parlour and have a chat with them.

I’m also still working towards putting more money in my pension, and starting again with my 2028 holiday funds, as the money I have put in so far was wiped out to replace the kids’ bikes.

Things I’m leaving behind

School stress and work stress!

There is nothing I can do now to influence the council’s decision on whether or not he gets a place at the school. There is no point in stressing about it, because that stress does not help in any way.

On the work front, some stress can be helpful (sometimes I actually prefer to be under a little bit of stress, it makes me enjoy what I’m doing more for some perverse reason). But even by the end of my last day before holidays, I could see that things will be calmer when I go back next week. The stress is very project based, with a bunch of deadlines all crammed together into the end of March / beginning of April. Soon enough I’ll be on the other side.

And from my 26 to 26 list, I’ve already decided these probably won’t happen, and I’m okay with it:

• Go on at least one date (this is not the season! I could make the time but frankly, I don’t care to. Maybe when the kids are teenagers.)

• Take kids to Folkestone for a weekend (I’m going to Deal with my cousins instead, sorry kiddos!)

So, that’s a little bit of a whirlwind look at my last quarter. How have the last three months been for you?

PS! The Joy of Beginning is always free but…

Thank you for reading! The Joy of Beginning will always be free to access, but I’ve decided to turn on payments just on the off-chance someone thinks ‘hey, I’d love to buy Katie a coffee every month and keep her art supplies topped up’.

There will be no additional content for paid subscribers, but you can upgrade to paid to support me and this hobby I enjoy so much. If you would like to support without a monthly / annual payment, you can also buy me a coffee :)