Nutrition by Dawn - Blog

This is the time of year when I start thinking about next year.

Yes, I know it's only September and I'm not trying to rush through the rest of 2026! But I've learned that when I take the time to think about the big picture now, I can glide into a new year with a plan instead of arriving in January wondering, "Okay... what am I doing this year?"

Last week, I shared the five values that make up a big part of my personal brand and the life I want to create: family, fun, travel and food, sustainable personal wellness, and sustainable business wellness.

Over the next few weeks, I want to dig a little deeper into each one and show you how those values actually make their way onto my calendar.

Because identifying your values is one thing.

Planning your life around them is another.

And today, we're talking about two of my favorites: travel and fun.

If It Matters, Put It on the Calendar

You've probably heard me say that I "travel by stomach."

Food and travel are a huge part of what brings me joy, and culinary travel has become something I intentionally build into my year.

Right now, I'm putting the finishing touches on a two-week trip to Italy. I'll start in Milan, travel to Lake Como and Bergamo, and finish in Verona. In the middle, I'll be joining my friend Debbie from The Effortless Kitchen for one of her culinary retreats.

This will be my fifth trip with her, and there's a reason I keep going back.

I love being able to show up knowing that someone I trust has created an experience I'm going to enjoy. For that portion of the trip, I don't have to plan every detail. I can simply follow the itinerary, experience the food and culture, and enjoy myself.

I'll plan a little on either end with a friend who's joining me, which gives me a wonderful combination of structure and flexibility.

That's the kind of travel that works for me.

I'm Already Planning 2027

While I'm finishing the details for this year's Italy trip, I'm also looking ahead.

There may be another culinary retreat next October that already has my attention. I love traveling to Europe in October because it's shoulder season. The temperatures are generally more comfortable for exploring than during the heat of summer, and I can spend my days walking around without melting!

And October also works beautifully with the rhythm of my business.

By then, Q3 is complete, Q4 is just beginning, and I've already done much of my big-picture planning for the following year. Stepping away at that point gives me space to think creatively.

I almost always return from a trip with notes and ideas about things I want to try, ways I want to improve my business, and experiences I want to create for my clients.

For me, travel isn't separate from creativity.

It fuels it.

Build Your Breaks Before You Fill the Spaces Between Them

Am I going to wait until next October to travel?

If you know me, you already know the answer.

Absolutely not.

Our annual two weeks in Vermont are already booked for August. That's a foundational part of my summer, and my son and I will be there.

Then there's October.

So now I'm looking at that rather large space at the beginning of the year and thinking, "Hmm... what could go there?"

I'm considering a pickleball and mahjong trip, which sounds like an almost suspiciously perfect combination for me. An active vacation for my body and my brain? Sign me up.

March or April could be perfect because that's what I affectionately call "mud season" here in New England. Winter isn't quite finished, spring hasn't really arrived, and I am usually more than ready to go somewhere warmer.

There may be shorter trips along the way, too. I'm considering a Le Dames conference in Chicago in March. Chicago certainly doesn't satisfy my desire to escape New England for warmer weather, but the organization and the women involved are wonderful, so it may still earn a place on the calendar.

That's part of the fun.

I don't need every detail decided today.

I'm creating the framework first.

Some Dates Are Non-Negotiable

There's another very important date going onto my calendar before I start filling it with business commitments.

My son graduates with his bachelor's degree next May.

That date is non-negotiable.

I'll be in Amherst. We'll celebrate. I'm not scheduling something important immediately before or after it that could interfere with being fully present for such an important family milestone.

Remember, family is another one of my top five values.

This is what I mean when I talk about planning around your values.

It's easy to say family matters.

It's easy to say travel matters.

It's easy to say fun matters.

But does your calendar reflect that?

Your Personal Calendar Is Part of Your Business Plan

When I say I'm starting my business planning for next year, I'm not beginning with launches, revenue goals, programs, or marketing campaigns.

I'm starting with my life.

I put the things that matter most on the calendar first.

Family milestones.

Vacations.

Travel.

Fun.

Time to recharge.

Then I can build my business plans around them.

That's how I create a business that supports the life I want instead of a life that has to squeeze itself around my business.

Your values may be completely different from mine. Maybe travel isn't important to you at all. Maybe your big rocks are family, community, creativity, fitness, faith, learning, or something else entirely.

The specific values aren't what matter for this exercise.

What matters is whether you're actually creating space for them.

So as you start looking toward next year, don't begin by asking only:

"What do I want to accomplish?"

Also ask:

"What do I want to experience?"

Put those things on the calendar first.

Then build around them.

Because a successful year isn't just about everything you got done. It's also about whether you made room for the things that made the year worth living.

As always, what I hope for you is that you live a life you love without giving up the things that bring you joy.