20 ideas to free up some space in your year with cyclical planning

I use (or have used) all of these! Plus a project mapping template & period tracker for your Google cal

Hello! Claire here from The Periodical. This is Part Three of a series on cyclical working, living, and planning. If you’re just joining us, stop right here and read Part One and Part Two first. All the spreadsheets and calendar systems in the world won't help if you haven't figured out what’s most important to you this year. And now in this final piece, it’s all practicality, baby. As always, you can listen if you prefer! (23-min 🎧)

(Making these collages is one of my favourite things about Substack!!!)

Well done, you made it to the final instalment in this series. Here they are: 20 ideas that actually make cyclical working not only possible, but fun, and yes, I use or have used all of these. We'll start with the big picture stuff, then get into quarters, then months, and the tools I use to make it happen. I hope this list (and this series) leaves you feeling inspired and confident to try something new this year.

Okay, here we go…

☾ Annual Big Picture Planning

1. Track your seasonal energy pattern

December and January have always been the quietest months in my business, so instead of freaking out about this every year, I trust the pattern and take more time off then. Same with August — summer is my least productive season (I just want to nap and play!) so I usually take some time off then too. Thankfully, I'm very productive in both spring and autumn!

Are there quiet months in your business, at the same time, every year? In which seasons do you feel more productive or introspective? Seasons you’re drawn to deep work, or need (or want) to take a holiday? Map it out month-by-month, on paper ideally, to get a visual sense of your natural annual flow.

2. Ride the collective slow downs

As well as tracking your own energy patterns, it’s smart to pay attention to natural societal breaks, like holidays — they're like free permission slips for rest! (I realise that for parents of small children this may not feel like that!!)

In The Sabbath World, Judith Shulevitz argues that true rest is not just an individual practice but a communal one, reminding us that without a collective agreement to rest, the pressures of work and productivity will inevitably intrude. I talked about this with you back in December, when I explained why the week between Christmas and New Years is really the one week of the year I truly do not think about work at all, because I know no one wants anything from me, as most everyone else is off work too.

The Sabbath… is not only an idea. It is also something you keep. With other people.

— Judith Shulevitz

Social customs like this help us to slow down. I see group holidays with friends and family functioning in the same way, allowing us all to rest, reconnect, and fully embrace leisure without the strange guilt of individual downtime.

Having lived in both hemispheres, I’ve noticed how these rest periods vary. In the Northern Hemisphere, you get two major pause points: summer and Christmas/New Year’s, while in the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas lines up with the summer holidays, so it’s a bit different. I'm curious to see what my seasonal energy pattern is like this year, being back in Australia. August won't be peak summer, that's for sure, but I imagine I’ll still want a winter rest. You might find different natural breaks throughout the year — like the April Easter holiday period or other school holidays.

Ultimately, the key is to work with these societal rhythms rather than against them. Notice when your clients or collaborators naturally expect things to slow down. When do people in your industry usually take breaks? Rather than fighting these patterns, use them to your advantage — they're perfect opportunities to plan your own simmer seasons or fallow phases, which we’re going to get to in a moment.

3. Plan like a university

As a teacher/trainer, I plan my year like how I imagine a university does, with semesters or terms. When running short courses live throughout the year, I have a month of enrolment before a clear “in-session” teaching period (usually six weeks), followed by a couple of weeks off before beginning the cycle again — essentially one launch, course, and rest per quarter. Focusing on the commitment at hand and spacing out launches keeps me sane! When I’m teaching my facilitator training, the schedule has more of a “semester” feel since it’s a longer program. The “between-term” phases for reflection, refining, rest, and planning the next launch or teaching session are essential.

4. Embrace ‘simmer seasons’ & ‘fallow phases’

I find it helpful to have an idea of what different kinds of slowness in my working life look like, so I can adjust the pace when I need to, without dropping the ball entirely. Not every quiet period at work needs to be a complete stop — while sometimes you need to go full fallow, often a simmer season (or month) is just as restorative.

A "simmer season” is where things are still cooking, but on a low heat. Maybe you’re doing some light client work, handling admin only, or reducing front-facing commitments to tinker on backend systems. There's still energy and momentum, but a lighter workload than usual.

On the other hand, “fallow phases” are periods of non-productivity. Yes, this is completely stepping away from active work! Maybe you’re taking a proper holiday or just fallow-ing one creative project for awhile, giving that project (and your brain) some breathing space and time to rest.

Imagine your business or creative work like a stove top, with four burners going that represent four key areas of your business, or separate creative projects. It’s unlikely these will all be on full boil at the same time! Sometimes, it’ll be necessary to turn two or three burners (projects) down to a simmer while you focus bringing one of them to the boil (and avoid burning it completely!)

So December and January might be a simmer season where you keep things ticking over, while two weeks in August could be more of a fallow period where you truly step back.

5. Build in buffer zones

I’m often reminding my most creative clients to plan for a good few days off after a big project finishes. Or longer if poss! You could tack an extra day onto a long weekend, or just take a break from something, like social media or calls, for a week. Think in seasons: after a big birthing cycle of creativity, naturally there comes a winter.

Personally, I'm coming to the end of a 12-month creative commitment next month, and I have a 5-day retreat planned just after (full fallow), then a whole month of ‘simmering’ before I need to even start thinking about my next launch.

6. Learn to disappoint people (sometimes)

If you look at your year and most weekends are packed with social events, ask yourself how nourishing this really feels. While I wouldn't recommend regularly bailing on loved ones (far from it — we do need to be there for our people), skipping a social event now and then really is okay. I lean into this wisdom even more during years where finances are tight and I need to protect my resources — these kinds of events can really add up! And there are plenty of other ways to show our loved ones we care.

This isn't just about social events, either. It's about any commitment that doesn't align with your energy or priorities. Maybe that's turning down a speaking opportunity that would look great on paper but falls right when you need rest. Or saying no to a collaboration that sounds exciting but you’ve already got four pots near boiling, and that sounds like a kitchen disaster waiting to happen.

This is why we went over your priorities in Part 2. Sometimes protecting your creative work means disappointing someone else's expectations of you.

7. Map your projects

For the multi-passionate among us with a number of pots on the stove (yes, the stovetop analogy continues it seems) here's how I keep track of all those burners. I use what I lovingly call my "Relaxed Year of Work" spreadsheet (optimistic naming is everything!). It's basically a heat map that shows me when I might be about to boil over. (I'm sorry, I can't stop!!!)

The spreadsheet breaks down every project and ongoing commitment by month. I list everything out - from regular tasks like writing Substack posts and bookkeeping, to one-off projects like course launches or podcast recordings. Then I mark an X in each month where that activity is happening.

What's brilliant about seeing it all laid out like this is that I can quickly spot when I’m trying to do too much at once. For example, I can see that my busiest months will be May and June, where I've got regular Substack content, a relationship coaching course, Cycle Coach School launch, and our podcast season two. That's a lot of active burners! But then July is much lighter, which feels right for a simmer season. July to November is a teaching period, with a quiet December and plans for a full fallow January 2026.

I also group activities by category (like "TEACHING" or "ADMIN") and colour code them (of course), which helps me see if I'm balancing different types of work throughout the year.

My “maybe” projects from Part 2 are included in there so I can get a sense of what it would actually look like if I wanted to add one of these projects in later in the year. I like having space to be spontaneous if an idea gets yappy and refuses to be ignored, ha! But I’ve learned to be honest with myself about what’s possible. This system is not perfect, because each activity is not necessarily the same hourly or energetic commitment, but it gives me an overview.

One question I have for myself in 2025 is how I’ll navigate rest periods for paid Substack members. I like how Emma Gannon keeps subscriptions on while she takes a break, honouring the creative cycle of rest and output. Andrew Sullivan does the same. I’ve never had a subscription-model like this in my business before, so I’m still experimenting with what feels good.

Anyway, I’ll link to a template of this spreadsheet below so you can create your own version of this! List out all your commitments and projects down the left side and start marking where things fall. The visual pattern will quickly show you where you might need to adjust the heat (okay, last cooking reference, I promise! 👩🏼‍🍳)