![<description><p>Looking ahead to a new year can feel exciting and overwhelming at the same time, especially when&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;not quite sure&nbsp;what you want the next chapter to feel like.&nbsp;</p> <p>In part 2 of my end-of-year reflection&nbsp;episode&nbsp;with&nbsp;my good friend and ABC broadcaster&nbsp;Lisa Leong&nbsp;-&nbsp;we&nbsp;explore&nbsp;the questions, habits, and small structural tweaks that can help shape a more intentional 2026&nbsp;-&nbsp;the things that genuinely influence how your days unfold.&nbsp;</p> <p>If&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;planning out&nbsp;your 2026 and want a more thoughtful way to do it, this episode will give you plenty to play with.&nbsp;</p> <p>Lisa and I&nbsp;discuss:&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">The simple reframing that helps you imagine your next year as if it has already happened&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">How Lisa approaches designing an &ldquo;ideal week&rdquo; and why&nbsp;I&rsquo;m&nbsp;thinking about a &ldquo;perfect average day&rdquo;&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">The role of the reticular activating system and why vision boards work for some people&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1">How values shape the projects and choices you&nbsp;prioritise&nbsp;for the coming year&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="1">The habits&nbsp;we&rsquo;re&nbsp;keeping, the ones&nbsp;we&rsquo;re&nbsp;changing, and how identity influences&nbsp;behaviour&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="6" data-aria-level="1">Why&nbsp;I&rsquo;m&nbsp;stepping back from Instagram (again) and rethinking my relationship with email&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="7" data-aria-level="1">How a &ldquo;dumb phone&rdquo; or burner phone can help create healthier digital boundaries&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="8" data-aria-level="1">Our&nbsp;favourite&nbsp;prompts from the Year Compass, including the surprising question that reveals your &ldquo;secret wish&rdquo; for the year ahead&nbsp;</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p aria-level="1"><strong>KEY QUOTES</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>&ldquo;Instead of asking what would have been, I love writing it like it&rsquo;s already happened &mdash; it changes how you think about the future.&rdquo;&nbsp;<br>&ldquo;I want to design a perfect average day, because it&rsquo;s something I can actually live up to and repeat.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p> <p>Connect with&nbsp;<strong>Lisa Leong</strong>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/lisasleong/?hl=en">Instagram</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisasleong/?originalSubdomain=au">LinkedIn</a>. Listen to her show&nbsp;<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/this-working-life"><strong>This Working Life</strong></a>, and check out her book with Monique Ross,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thisworkinglifebook.com/"><strong>This Working Life</strong></a><strong>&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>If you want to try one of the reflection tools I mentioned in this episode, you can download the free Year Compass booklet here:&nbsp;<a href="https://yearcompass.com/">https://yearcompass.com/</a>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.amantha.com/podcasts/how-to-make-sense-of-2025-and-design-your-best-2026%2C-with-lisa-leong-(part-1)">Listen to part 1 of my chat with Lisa here</a>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>My latest&nbsp;book&nbsp;The Health&nbsp;Habit&nbsp;is out now. You can order a copy here:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/">https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/</a>&nbsp;</p> <p>Connect with me on the socials:&nbsp;</p> <p>Linkedin&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber">https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber</a>)&nbsp;</p> <p>Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/amanthai">https://www.instagram.com/amanthai</a>)&nbsp;</p> <p>If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and&nbsp;simple to apply&nbsp;tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at&nbsp;<a href="https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe">https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe</a>&nbsp;</p> <p>Visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amantha.com/podcast">https://www.amantha.com/podcast</a>&nbsp;for full show notes from all episodes.&nbsp;</p> <p>Get in touch at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:amantha@inventium.com.au">amantha@inventium.com.au</a>&nbsp;</p> <p>Credits:&nbsp;<br>Host: Amantha Imber&nbsp;<br>Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler&nbsp;</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p></description>](https://us-central1-podcastguru-217d6.cloudfunctions.net/gcf_get_image?image_url=https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts221/v4/de/f5/32/def532d6-0429-fd0d-0fde-7266e2eb5e8c/mza_6842951062422200969.jpg/600x600bb.jpg&width=300&height=300&api_key=xqFmUFX5BHLBTA)
How I Work
Amantha Imber
How to make sense of 2025 and design your best 2026, with Lisa Leong (Part 2)
How to make sense of 2025 and design your best 2026, with Lisa Leong (Part 2)
Description
Looking ahead to a new year can feel exciting and overwhelming at the same time, especially when you’re not quite sure what you want the next chapter to feel like.
In part 2 of my end-of-year reflection episode with my good friend and ABC broadcaster Lisa Leong - we explore the questions, habits, and small structural tweaks that can help shape a more intentional 2026 - the things that genuinely influence how your days unfold.
If you’re planning out your 2026 and want a more thoughtful way to do it, this episode will give you plenty to play with.
Lisa and I discuss:
- The simple reframing that helps you imagine your next year as if it has already happened
- How Lisa approaches designing an “ideal week” and why I’m thinking about a “perfect average day”
- The role of the reticular activating system and why vision boards work for some people
- How values shape the projects and choices you prioritise for the coming year
- The habits we’re keeping, the ones we’re changing, and how identity influences behaviour
- Why I’m stepping back from Instagram (again) and rethinking my relationship with email
- How a “dumb phone” or burner phone can help create healthier digital boundaries
- Our favourite prompts from the Year Compass, including the surprising question that reveals your “secret wish” for the year ahead
KEY QUOTES
“Instead of asking what would have been, I love writing it like it’s already happened — it changes how you think about the future.”
“I want to design a perfect average day, because it’s something I can actually live up to and repeat.”
Connect with Lisa Leong on Instagram and LinkedIn. Listen to her show This Working Life, and check out her book with Monique Ross, This Working Life
If you want to try one of the reflection tools I mentioned in this episode, you can download the free Year Compass booklet here: https://yearcompass.com/
Listen to part 1 of my chat with Lisa here
My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/
Connect with me on the socials:
Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)
If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe
Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.
Get in touch at [email protected]
Credits:
Host: Amantha Imber
Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.