Creating space, clarity, and direction before your next chapter begins
As small firm architects begin preparing for 2026, many are doing so while still carrying the weight of 2025.
Not just unfinished projects or unmet goals, but emotional residue. Decisions made quickly. Boundaries stretched thin. Wins that never had time to register because the next responsibility was already waiting.
This is the reality of running a small firm. The business does not pause when life gets complicated. It absorbs it.
I recently sat down with Shannon Hughes, founder of Enlivened Studios, for a conversation that felt less like a podcast interview and more like a moment of stillness. It was thoughtful, grounded, and exactly what this season calls for as we prepare for what comes next.
This was not a conversation about doing more in 2026. It was about choosing more, intentionally.
Preparing for 2026 Starts With Letting 2025 Land
Most firm owners did not enter 2025 with a clear picture of how it would unfold.
Projects shifted. Clients tested limits. Hiring decisions carried more weight than expected. The economy added uncertainty. Personal lives continued alongside professional demands.
When you own the firm, there is no clean separation. Your stress shows up in your drawings. Your energy affects your team. Your uncertainty often lives quietly in the background while you keep showing up for everyone else.
Shannon spoke about how common it is for creative entrepreneurs to move directly from one year into the next without pausing long enough to acknowledge what they carried or what they accomplished. We close a chapter and immediately open another, never letting anything settle.
That habit slowly erodes clarity.
Preparing for 2026 requires a different approach. It starts with reflection, not acceleration.
Reflection Is the First Step in Preparing for 2026
One of the most grounding tools Shannon shared is something she calls the Five-Finger Reflection. It is simple, human, and remarkably effective.
Hold up your hand and use each finger as a prompt for reflection.
- Your thumb represents what worked, as in “thumbs up!” Not what you want to improve, but what genuinely supported you this year and why. Too often, firm owners rush past what is working in search of something better, when the real opportunity may be protecting what already serves them well.
- Your pointer finger asks where you are heading. Not where you hope to go, but where your current choices are actually taking you. Toward growth. Stability. Burnout. Freedom. Awareness comes before intention.
- Your middle finger is precisely what you might think. It gives you permission to name what you are done with. A type of client. A habit. A way of working that costs more than it earns. Letting go is not failure. It is clarity.
- Your ring finger reflects loyalty. What do you want to remain committed to as you prepare for 2026. A value. A boundary. A way of leading. A relationship that matters.
- Your pinky points to what quietly fell away. Something you once prioritized, but did not tend to this year. This is not about guilt. It is about deciding whether it still belongs in your life or your firm.
The power of this exercise is not in perfect answers. It is in honest ones, written slowly, on paper, without judgment.
Small Firm Architects Are Wired to See What Is Missing
Architects are trained to critique. To identify gaps. To improve what exists. That skill makes us strong designers and often harsh self evaluators.
As the year ends, many firm owners focus on what did not happen. The idea that never launched. The hire that did not work out. The goal that slipped.
Reflection is not about keeping score. It is about making meaning.
When we skip reflection, we carry unresolved narratives into the next year. We mistake experience for failure and momentum for progress.
If 2025 did not look the way you hoped, that does not mean you failed. It means something important happened that deserves attention before you move forward.
Fear Often Hides Behind Delay
Many of the ideas that remain on our lists year after year are not stalled because they lack importance. They are stalled because they would change our lives if they worked.
New pricing models. Bigger projects. Different clients. Letting go of familiar roles. Stepping more fully into leadership.
These shifts come with consequences. Good ones and challenging ones. Avoiding them does not remove the fear. It simply postpones the decision.
Naming fear does not weaken you. It clarifies the work ahead.
Preparing for 2026 means being honest about what you want and what you are afraid to claim.
Preparing for 2026 Is Personal Before It Is Strategic
If you are considering hiring, expanding services, or reshaping your firm in 2026, the most important work is not tactical. It is personal.
What are you no longer willing to carry into the next year? What kind of work gives you energy now? What does success actually look like for you at this stage of your life and firm?
Answering those questions before the year begins creates a steadier foundation for every strategic decision that follows.
March Can Be the New January
An idea Shannon shared that continues to resonate is this. March can be the new January.
You do not need to rush clarity. You do not need to force momentum while still tired. Reflection does not require a calendar deadline. It requires space.
Let 2025 land fully. Then decide what you want to build next.
A Thoughtful Reset as You Look Toward 2026
Preparing for 2026 is not about doing more. It is about choosing more carefully.
My hope is that you give yourself time to reflect. That you acknowledge what you carried this year. That you protect what worked. Release what did not. And choose what deserves your loyalty as you move forward.
If this perspective resonates, I encourage you to listen to the full podcast conversation with Shannon Hughes at https://entrearchitect.com/640
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