End of year reflection: 2025
This will be the fourth year of writing an end of year reflection, I guess that makes it a ritual?
Of all the writing which I try and mostly fail to publish, I think end of year notes are the most satisfying. They make the most sense in terms of having something to re-read, and at the same time making it a nice thing to do at the end of each year.
It’s nice to read them back, here are mine from 2022, 2023 and 2024 in case you’re interested.
So, what of this year?
Some highlights for sure… a sabbatical, getting engaged and a new niece!
Work
Work I think was unfortunately another struggle this year. For a few reasons which I find it hard to explain in any coherent way.
I don’t it lightly, but there have been some real issues with strategy, leadership and I think sadly a general decline in working culture.
I find it a bit sad, because I’ve always said (and I still believe this to be true) that we have all the ingredients to be doing great work. But for whatever reason, we’ve got into a position where something’s just not quite right.
It’s in part a strategy problem (in that I don’t think we have one), it’s a structural problem - we’re a shared organisation which in my view just doesn’t work and there are some people clashes which is affecting everyones’ work.
Anyway, there have been pockets of good things happening. We hired two new nurses this year, which is a really nice bolster to the helpline/clinical team and I think a real signifier of how we’ve grown and changed from our very small early days as a charity.
We ended the year in a nice way actually, doing a couple of workshops with Katherine Wastell.
I reached out after reading this great piece on operating model design. It turns out she’s looking to start a new business helping people apply service design to their organisations and is looking to refine her business model. She was (and I think still is) looking for some organisations to test out her methods… talk about timing!
I’m hoping this work is the real kick-start to our problems around strategy and services in 2026.
I decided to move to working a 4-day week towards the end of the year. It’s still early, but I think it’s a very good thing. More time for personal stuff - whether that’s ‘proper’ personal, or just more thinking and headspace for work type thinking which isn’t actually work?
More on this another time.
Taking a sabbatical!
I mentioned in my end of year post last year I’d been granted a sabbatical to take. And take it I did!
Me and my partner were very lucky to be able to take 3.5 months off.
We went to:
- New Zealand (2 weeks)
- Japan (2 months)
- South Korea (6 days)
- Thailand (13 days)
It’s hard to summarise such a big trip so I’ll go for toplines…
- Returning to a country you loved the first time doesn’t always work out. We’d both been to New Zealand before and loved it. Yet returning didn’t quite have the same impact. We’d also built the trip primarily around Japan and were so excited for that rather than a burst of nature that we just weren’t in the right frame of mind. I did manage to see family in Auckland which made it worthwhile.
- Interestingly, the counter point to above. Japan is still amazing. I’ve been once before, and spent 2 months here this time but still have the same fascination and desire to return. The thing about Japan which I don’t think many realise is that it has the depth as a destination which I think is unrivalled. Everything from mega-cities, to ancient culture, nature, food… the list goes on. As predicted my partner loved it so we will no doubt be back.
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South Korea was a miss for us. It just didn’t click. We were (unfairly) comparing to Japan, but also sometimes places just don’t hit the right tone. Just shows how much travel opinions can differ - as most people I speak to about South Korea seem to love it.
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Unplanned time in Thailand was great. We both love it, and were able to change some flights to get there. We spent the whole time in Bangkok, and could’ve spent more!
I think in terms of overall reflections…
Beyond a certain time travelling (maybe 3 weeks +) I think your enjoyment of a place changes slightly. You lose the awe and excitement but I think gain perspective and depth of a place?
Spending extended time away from work can be helpful for perspective and give space for thinking about life and plans. For example I’d done some thinking around:
- Preparing for the next phase of life with parents - how best to support them and what that means
- How to pursue sauna and maybe cold water therapy at home (we did a lot of this in Japan)
- How to deliberately build time and space for intellectual stimulation in my life outside of work. My reading of The Atlantic magazine does this for me in a big way, what else?
- A recognition of the need to get on top of my health - not to be dominated by health worries, but at the same time being on top of it?
Other news
In the life event category we have some big ones…
I proposed to my partner in September so am officially engaged. We’d talked a lot about marriage so not a huge surprise. It was one of those decisions where neither of us quite knew who should do it - but I was far surer on the proposal being a thing. So, I did it!
I’ve enjoyed the feeling of being engaged, there is a security to it and what it means that is very fulfilling.
We’ll be getting married soonish (early next year) - a small thing which will be lovely I’m sure.
We also welcomed two new nieces into the family. Little Hazel, a third for my brother and his wife. And Isobel, a second for my partners sister. As always, would love to see them all more!
Last bits
Just because I did it last year, I’ll do it again…
I similarly kept up with squash, and some more coaching. I’m getting marginally better I think so let’s see what this score is next year…
In terms of movies, I didn’t track as closely what I watched… but it looks like 28 and counting at the cinema… a lot less than the 41 from last year. Hmmmm.
Picks of the year:
- One Battle After Another
- I, Swear
- Steve
- The Ballad of Wallis Island (winner)
- Warfare
- A Real Pain
- The Brutalist
And that, I think, is it?
See you/me next year.