A Gentle Way to Set Goals & Plan Your Private Practice Year
Feel less overwhelmed and more focused with my simple framework…
As I’m writing this, we’re a week into the new year. There are things I love about January. Its familiar fresh start feeling, the promise of a new notebook, and the chance to dream big and make plans.
But it’s also a time when many of us feel depleted.
Let’s be honest, December can be intense. Often, the chaos of the Christmas ‘break’ pushes us to breaking point. Now you’re looking at that new notebook and the idea of adding ‘build a full caseload / raise fees / finally take Fridays off’ to your already-full plate feels impossible.
You’re exhausted. The last thing you need is an overwhelming planning ritual.
But, If You Fail to Plan Aren’t You Planning to Fail?
So said Benjamin Franklin. It might not be what you want to hear right now, but it’s a valid point. Not having a plan means you’re not taking steps to succeed, making mistakes more likely and goals harder to reach.
In private practice, this can look like prioritising therapy work and squeezing the business side of things into evenings and weekends. When you’re juggling clients, admin, CPD, finances, and family, this is pretty much guaranteed to make you feel like you’re constantly behind.
Sometimes, instead of planning carefully, we make vague goals (‘grow my practice’) or goals that are too big to translate into action. Jotting these things down makes us feel like we’re doing something, and surely something is better than nothing? But before we know it, three months have passed and we’re back to firefighting and reacting.
This is another common pattern. If you’re always working IN your private practice, but never ON it, you’re probably only thinking about business stuff when things go wrong. When you encounter challenges and pitfalls like referrals drying up, money worries, and burnout.
Goal Setting and Planning Doesn’t Have to be Overwhelming
If any of this sounds familiar, and you’re feeling a mixture of excitement and overwhelm as we head into 2026, I’m hear to remind you that you don’t need a 47-page business plan to transform your private practice and build the life you want.
Instead, you need to focus on a handful of things that will actually move the needle without adding 20 hours of extra work to your week. You need the least overwhelming approach to new year’s planning possible!
Introducing the Calm Practice Compass
Remember, planning is part of good clinical practice. When your practice is steady, your clinical work is better.
With this in mind, let me walk you through my approach. We’re going to start by identifying four categories:
🧭 Clinical Confidence (e.g, new modality, supervision, niche clarity)
🧭 Money and Marketing (rates, consistent inquiry flow, passive income)
🧭 Time and Energy (boundaries, admin automation, self-care that actually happens)
🧭 One Wild Card (the scary/exciting thing you keep putting off — EMDR training, group practice, writing the book, etc.)
Now you’re going to need that new notebook we’ve been talking about!
For each category, write ONE outcome you’d love to achieve by December 31, 2026. These are your core priorities or master goals.
Next, pick the SINGLE smallest step you could take in January that would make that outcome feel inevitable.
For example:
🧭 Outcome: Raise fees £25 without losing clients
🧭 January Step: Update website and directory profiles with new rates by January 15
Build On This Throughout the Year
Having chosen the core priorities for your practice in 2026, you can repeat this process throughout the year. I tend to favour a quarterly approach to planning. Then, I like to break things down on a monthly and daily basis.
📌Quarterly Planning in Private Practice
🧭 Each month: choose the simple key actions that will move you towards your core priorities.
🧭 Each day: complete at least one task that moves you towards achieving these key actions – if that that’s the only thing you do, it’s still a win.
Share Your Core Priorities and Small Steps
Hit reply or comment below to let us know what you’re working towards this year. I can’t wait to cheer you on! Everything feels more achievable when you have other therapists rooting for you.
Planning Permission Slips (Every Therapist Needs These – Even Me!)
You’re allowed to plan a year that protects your nervous system
Done > perfect
It’s okay if 2025 was ‘just okay’. This year will be different.
Planning doesn’t need to be complicated.
Planning is Easier (and More Fun) with Other Therapists
You don’t have to do this alone, just you and your notebook. If you want me to hold your hand through every quarter with templates, live planning sessions, and a zero-overwhelm approach to running your private practice, Therapists Corner is for you.
Paid members get regular check-ins and accountability to keep them working on the business side of their practice, not just the clinical side. You’ll have the chance to review what’s working and what’s not, choose key actions together, and ask practical business questions about things like fees, referrals, systems, and boundaries. We host regular live Q&As so you’re never stuck trying to figure things out alone.
I don’t want to do your new year planning for you, but maybe upgrading to a paid membership is the single smallest step you could take towards achieving your goals this January…