I had grand plans for December. I had a long list of things I wanted to do and experience, books to read. I had this wonderful routine mapped out for my workdays and weeks during my Christmas holiday. Hot yoga mornings, somatic breakwork during lunchtime, and walks in the botanical garden during breaks. My spare time to be filled with Christmas preparations and cosiness. Recipes to try, people to meet up with. My plans were grand, but none of them came to fruition.

During November, life happened,  and continued to happen into December. A magical year ended in both a challenging and devastating way.  

Unfortunately, to top it all off, December handed me one of the worst infections I’ve had in a long time, which floored me. Writing this, I’m still feeling the aftermath, and I’m on a path to recovery that will take a few more weeks before I’m back to normal. 

Books Read: 7 

I had plenty of time to read books from bed, as this is basically all I could do for a while. I had saved Poirot’s Christmas, Midwinter Murders by Agatha Christie, and the final book left in the Daisy Darymple series, Mistletoe Murder, for this period, which was a small grace during a challenging period. 

Creative exploration: 

I had grand plans for this month. Usually, I either draw or choose one of my photographs for the Christmas cards of the year. This year, I didn’t have much space for this, so I made one using AI and chose an old photograph to print. 

The Advent Calendar I created was something I mostly worked on in November, but I had some really tricky concepts that took a lot of time to iterate on. But I made it through, and I’m quite happy with the project, even though it’s far from perfect. It was play, fun and a huge learning experience.

I had the idea of making Christmas present ornaments, but I never finished them because I was ill. They are lying around half-made, and something I’ll finish during January.

The Christmas tree is always a fun project, and this year it was not entirely done until after Christmas Eve. I had to do it in stages, due to illness. But in the end, I got there.

Wellness

Due to illness, I was not able to work out or do any of the things I had planned. In the middle of the month, I was able to start my recovery protocol, including IR sauna and get help from my massage therapist. One highlight was the “Return to light” meditation and gentle breathwork workshop I attended. It was a perfect pace for the state I was in at the time.

A highlight was that I could return to my Inferno Pilates class at the end of the month. It was my worst session ever, but I was there, in the hot room and that made me so incredibly happy. 

I received an absolutely mind-boggling Christmas gift from one of my friends. An Ultrahuman smart ring. For someone who loves data, wellness, and performance, to continuously increase and improve my health and energy. This is the most awesome gift ever. I’m excited to receive the ring and impatiently waiting for it to arrive. 

Supplements:

Spermidin: I started this supplement quite late in the month, after I got off my hectic antibiotics that kill everything. Too early yet for any conclusions

Glycine: I usually forget to take this before bed, I take it intermittently, and too seldom to feel any effect. 

My main goal for December was to improve my gut health after being on broad-spectrum antibiotics for quite some time. 

Podcast 

Tim Ferriss interviewed Arthur C. Brooks about his new book and related topics. If you want to create a life and live a life true to yourself, this episode is for you. His latest book, “The Meaning of Your Life”, is on my reading list for 2026. 

This concludes a year of reflecting on my months. 

However, looking at what I have written, I see them more as observations. Not so much as reflections. I’m pondering writing a reflection on 2025, outside my private journal and adding things up, at my own pace. One thing I discovered this year is that I appreciate having the cognitive luxury to have time to think things through. A skill that I see lacking, especially within the field of marketing and communication.