#YearEndNotes 2025 — Reflections

This is the final set of weeknotes before I break for the winter holidays. It felt right for this one to be more reflective, a chance to look back on the year through both a professional and personal lens.

As responsibilities and mental load increase, the perception of time seems to accelerate. This year, in particular, felt like a blur. So this is my attempt at gently wrapping it up.

Highlights of my 2025

Professional reflections

Professionally, this has been a year of growth, both vertically and horizontally.

I’ve deepened my craft as a design consultant, developing expertise in the complex insurance space, and I’ve got better at articulating what good, human, value-driven design looks like. I’m clearer on how design creates impact beyond outputs: through alignment, clarity, trust, and better decision-making. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on what it really means to be valuable as a consultant: not just skilled, but empathetic, switched on, and grounded in the realities of people, organisations, and systems.

Joining Softwire has been a major highlight of the year. It was a significant shift, and a genuinely positive one. I get to do the kind of work I love, but in an environment that feels empowering. After years of seeing organisations talk about values without truly living them, I’ll admit I was sceptical at first. The past 8 months reminded me that companies like this do exist. I feel incredibly lucky to work alongside such generous, kind, and talented people.

Moving from a design consultancy into a more tech-centric consultancy stretched me in new ways. It strengthened my belief that design and technology shouldn’t sit apart. They work best when they work as one. I’ve made it a personal mission this year to help bring those worlds closer together: levelling up design maturity across the organisation, speaking to new starters about what design means at Softwire, demystifying what design really is, and helping people see it not as a “phase” in delivery but as a way of thinking and working. Co-presenting with a technical counterpart on how we collaborated effectively on a key account was a particular highlight, and a good example of how much overlap there is between strong consultancy skills and great design practice.

I’ve loved changing perspectives on design. On both projects I’ve worked on since joining, we started with client scepticism and ended with clients fully leaning into design: prioritising workshops, inviting me into decision-making conversations, and trusting the process. Resistance has become a signal: an opportunity to build trust, demonstrate value, and create clarity together. That shift in thinking continues to excite me.

One thing I’m especially proud of is how much more confident I feel in myself and my abilities. I feel less need for validation and less pressure to prove myself. I trust my instincts more. I notice the signs of progress: being pulled into strategic discussions, being asked to facilitate alignment, and being relied on when things feel messy or unclear. That earned trust feels deeply affirming.

Since joining in April, I’ve also been fortunate to receive a lot of recognition: an Individual Outcome Award for making a valuable impact on a complex project; another for being a “Radiant Spark of Fun” and injecting joy and energy into Softwire; and recognition from the design team for being a valued member of the year. It feels wonderful to be so appreciated.

I’ve also grown in how I show up. This year, I’ve felt able to bring my whole self to work in ways I hadn’t before. That’s largely down to the strong alignment with Softwire’s culture and values: kindness, trust, care, and a healthy dose of fun. From Morale and CSR initiatives to escape rooms and the annual Pantomime, it’s all a bit wild and wonderful. This range of experiences has let me see different sides of my colleagues beyond project work, and in turn, feel permission to bring different parts of myself too. I’ve felt free to experiment, learn, and share openly.

That said, abundance brings its own challenges. I still struggle with saying no. FOMO is very real. When there are so many interesting things to explore and be part of, energy can scatter quickly. Next year, I want to be more intentional and funnel my energy better, choose what I opt into more consciously, and protect space for depth over breadth.

Overall, this has been a year where I’ve felt grateful, appreciated, grounded, and proud. I’ve grown not just in skill, but in confidence, clarity, and conviction. That feels like a solid place to step into the new year.

Personal reflections

This year has also felt rushed and stretched. I said yes to a lot of opportunities, events, and commitments. While many of them were wonderful, the cumulative toll has been real. I’m no longer convinced it’s all worth the continuous sense of overwhelm. Being constantly “on” left very little room to breathe. One of my biggest learnings has been the need to better distinguish what truly needs to be done now versus what can wait, and to be far more intentional about what I choose to engage with. Energy is finite, even when enthusiasm isn’t.

Layton turned four this year. Soon he’ll be in school, and I’m not sure I’m quite ready for that! Watching him grow more articulate, curious, and confident, while also testing boundaries with impressive determination, has been delightful. Parenting continues to stretch me in ways no other role does.

The harder chapter over the past few months has been his developing fear of being alone. I like to think it’s part of that wild imagination-development phase. Night after night, he would wake up, feel scared in his room, and climb into our bed, wedged firmly between us. The result was broken sleep and long stretches of exhaustion, and a reminder that parenting is as much about patience and perseverance as it is about routines and logistics. It’s been tough, but I’m holding onto the belief that this is a phase, even when it feels endless.

One unexpectedly big win this year was finally decluttering the conservatory in time for Layton’s birthday. What had quietly become a dumping ground for outgrown clothes, boxes, and unresolved “I’ll deal with this later” piles had been fuelling anxiety for both my partner and me. Clearing it created physical space. It lifted a constant, low-level stress we’d grown used to carrying. A good reminder of how much our environments affect our emotional state.

Another highlight was taking up counselling. I didn’t go in expecting dramatic breakthroughs, and that’s not what I got. Instead, I found space: to unearth connections to past experiences, surface emotions that had been unconsciously suppressed, and speak freely without needing to justify or over-contextualise. The process has been deeply cathartic, helping me understand myself with more compassion and less judgment. Something I know I’ll continue to benefit from.

More broadly, I’ve found myself leaning further into questions of humanity, technology, and philosophy. I’m increasingly drawn to storytelling, meaningful communication, community-building, and deepening relationships. As technology accelerates, I feel a growing anxiety about what we risk losing along the way: deep reflection, focus, creativity, and meaning-making that are beautifully human. More than ever, I want to live in a way that aligns with my values: to live generously, lead with empathy and compassion, and not lose my sense of humour in the process. Holding onto our humanity feels like active work these days, which seems rather silly, but it’s so essential and worthwhile!

Proud highlights:

• Keeping up my daily morning pages since May (here’s my first weeknotes on it). It’s been a grounding ritual that’s helped me unload and untangle the grey subconscious.
• Continuing my long-standing habit of capturing short reflections before bed each night for years now.
• Another full year of writing weekly blogs here on Medium as part of my #Weeknotes practice. Slowly getting comfortable with writing.
• Maintaining my Duolingo streak, now at 2,661 days (Slowing improving my German, Spanish, and… chess 😄). No streak freezes used..yet!
• Keeping a steady streak (157-day now) learning about communication and philosophy on the Imprint app.
• Making the difficult but overdue decision to pause violin lessons. Letting go brought far more relief than guilt. It reminded me that stopping something can be an act of self-care.
• Winning the ladies’ doubles handicap tournament at our local tennis club. What a great sign of improvement in the sport!
• Finally getting the sewing machine out and actually using it after many years. Progress!
• Clearing out over 10 extra-large bags of clothes between me and my son which has created much-needed space, lightness, and breathing room at home.

And that’s a wrap for now. I’m ending the year quite exhausted but grateful. I’m hopeful about shaping what comes next with more intention and pause.

Happy holidays and here’s to an incredible 2026!