How to Create Your Own “Wellness Year” Using Your Planner
- Julia Maslava
- 2 hours ago
- 6 min read
A Gentle Guide to Feeling Balanced, Energised & Supported All Year Long
Every January, we’re encouraged to “start fresh.” New goals, new routines, new promises.
But true wellness isn’t something you restart. It’s something you grow into. Quietly. Gently. Month by month.
And after years of obsessively trying to “fix everything at once,” I realised something important:
The most sustainable change happens when we honour our wellness as a year-long cycle — not a one-month sprint.
That’s when I created the “Wellness Year” system inside my digital planner — and it changed everything.
Today, I’m sharing this method with you so that you, too, can create a wellness year that feels calm, intentional, and grounded.
What Is a “Wellness Year”?
A Wellness Year is a gentle, cyclical approach to well-being where you:
Reflect on what your body, mind, and heart need
Set monthly wellness themes
Track supportive habits
Check in regularly
Adjust with compassion
Instead of pushing yourself to be “better,” you guide yourself — softly — toward feeling more balanced, energised, and connected.
Your planner becomes a safe space.
Before You Begin: Create Your Wellness Baseline
Before planning your Wellness Year, spend time understanding where you currently are.
Inside your planner, add a page for:
1. Your Current Energy Levels
Rate 1–10 for physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy.
2. A Wellness Reflection
Questions you can journal about:
What made me feel my best this past year?
What drained me more than I expected?
What areas of life need gentler support?
What do I crave—space, structure, joy, calm, connection?
3. Your Big Wellness Intentions
These are not goals. They’re gentle directions, such as:
“I want to feel more grounded.”
“I want to nourish my body with care.”
“I want to create more emotional spaciousness.”
“I want to slow down and be present.”
This baseline is your compass for the months ahead.
Step 1: Choose Your Monthly Wellness Themes
This is the heart of the Wellness Year.
Instead of doing everything at once, choose one focus per month.
This keeps you aligned, supported, and motivated without overwhelm.
Before choosing your themes, you may want to assess where you currently feel aligned — and where you need more support. My Wheel of Life guide is a powerful tool for understanding your personal balance and shaping your Wellness Year with intention.
Examples of Monthly Wellness Themes:
January: Gentle Detox & Reset
February: Heart-Centered Living
March: Morning Routine Revival
April: Stress Relief & Nervous System Support
May: Joyful Movement
June: Mindful Nutrition
July: Slow Living & Presence
August: Creativity & Play
September: Productivity with Kindness
October: Emotional Wellness & Journaling
November: Gratitude & Energy Nourishment
December: Reflection & Restoration
Pro tip: Inside your digital planner, create a “Monthly Theme” tab for easy navigation.
If you’re choosing monthly wellness themes for your Wellness Year, you’ll love exploring my guide on cultivating habits that actually stick. It reveals gentle, science-backed ways to build habits without pressure — perfect for pairing with your monthly intentions: Monthly Focus: 10 Ways to Cultivate New Habits That Stick.
As you start your monthly wellness themes, it’s normal to feel resistance. My post on why new habits fail — and how to approach them with kindness — provides the reassurance and strategy you need to stay consistent without self-judgment.
If your Wellness Year includes deeper personal transformation, you’ll love this guide to setting personal growth goals for 2026. It offers unconventional, compassionate strategies for building a year filled with meaning, alignment, and consistent progress.
Step 2: Set Gentle Monthly Intentions
Once you have your themes, choose 3–5 simple intentions — not strict goals.
For example:
March — Morning Routine Revival:
Wake up 15 minutes earlier
Step outside for morning light
Drink water before coffee
5-minute journaling
Your intentions should feel doable, not demanding.
Something I always remind myself: “A wellness intention is a hand on your shoulder, not a deadline.”
Write them in your Monthly Intentions section of your planner.
As you map out your Wellness Year, consider adding a fitness focus to one of your months. If you want a simple, encouraging approach, this guide shows how to track fitness goals inside your digital planner in a way that feels supportive, not stressful: How toTrack Your Fitness Goals Using a Digital Planner.
If one of your wellness intentions includes nourishing your body or creating healthier routines, my weight-loss tracking guide offers a compassionate, supportive way to monitor progress. It focuses on awareness and consistency rather than pressure or perfection.
Step 3: Create Your Monthly Wellness Dashboard
Your digital planner becomes a wellness hub.
Your dashboard can include:
✔ Habit Tracker (choose habits that match your theme). For “Stress Relief Month,” track:
Deep breathing
Stretching
Digital breaks
Sleep hours
Gratitude practice
Stay mindful and motivated — without pressure. This FREE calming habit tracker helps you nurture routines that support your balance and well-being every day. Build consistency gently:
✔ Mood & Energy Log. This shows you how your habits impact your well-being.
✔ Hydration, Sleep, Stress Log to check how you nourish your body and rest.
✔ Weekly Check-In Questions. For example:
What worked this week?
What didn’t?
How did I feel emotionally?
What do I want to change next week?
✔ Mini Self-Care Menu. Include 10 tiny things you can do anytime you feel stressed.
✔ Thing you love and that bring you joy. Schedule them too to balance your task flow.
Your Wellness Year isn’t only about physical habits — emotional well-being is just as important. This post on using a digital wellness tracker can guide you in building a gentle mental health check-in routine that supports your mood, stress levels, and inner balance: Using a Digital Wellness Tracker to Monitor Your Mental Health.
Step 4: Use Your Planner for Weekly Wellness Rituals
Weekly rituals keep your Wellness Year alive — gentle accountability.
Here are wellness rituals to add to your planner:
Weekly Reset
Every Sunday (or any day you prefer):
Review your week
Log your wins
Adjust your habits
Choose a calming ritual for the week ahead
I call this my “Wellness Check-In Coffee Moment” because I always do it with a warm drink and no rush.
Weekly Self-Care Focus
Choose one self-care priority for the week, such as:
Sleep
Movement
Boundaries
Emotional nourishment
Creativity
If you enjoy structured seasonal wellness, you may also love my November Wellness Challenge — a month-long journey filled with tiny, energy-boosting practices. It’s a beautiful example of how small daily shifts can transform your wellbeing over time: November Wellness Challenge: 29 Daily Habits to Boost Energy
Step 5: Seasonal Wellness Reflections
A Wellness Year honours seasons — not just months.
At the start of every new season, use your planner to reflect on:
What felt heavy last season?
What felt nourishing?
What do I want more of?
What do I want less of?
What kind of energy do I want to bring into this season?
Seasons naturally support wellness:
Spring: Clarity, organisation, fresh energy
Summer: Joy, play, lightness
Autumn: Grounding, gratitude, slowing down
Winter: Rest, reflection, softness
Let your planner become a map that moves with the seasons — just like you do.
Later, when you arrive at your December theme, my step-by-step guide to year-end reflection will help you close the year with clarity and intention. It’s the perfect companion for the “Reflect, Release, Reset” ritual inside your Wellness Year: How to Organize Your Year-End Reflection and Planning.
Step 6: Use Journaling to Support Your Wellness Year
Journaling is your wellness anchor — it brings clarity, emotional processing, and grounding.
A few gentle journaling prompts for your Wellness Year:
“How does my body feel today?”
“What emotion needs my attention?”
“Where do I feel ease? Where do I feel tension?”
“What is one thing I can release this week?”
Step 7: Create a Simple Year-End Wellness Ritual
At the end of the year, use your planner to gently bring closure:
My Favourite Year-End Wellness Ritual:
Light a candle
Review each month’s theme
Celebrate your small wins
Write down what you’re leaving behind
Set one soft, loving intention for the year ahead
I call this ritual “reflect, release, reset.”
It’s my most grounding practice of the year.
This is the power of structuring wellness with intention — and kindness. Your Wellness Year begins with a single page in your planner. A single intention. A single gentle shift.
If you’re ready to create a year that feels calmer, kinder, and more aligned:
Download your Free Wellness Toolkit.
Join my newsletter for monthly wellness rituals & planning inspiration.
Explore the Wellness Digital Planner
You deserve a year that nourishes you — softly, fully, and with intention.
