The review hour
Don't forget it's Heart Leap Writing Hour at 9am.
“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.”
— John Dewey
Sometimes you get things wrong.
You make decisions you regret, say things you wish you hadn’t, or realise, slightly too late, that something didn’t go the way you hoped. It’s part of being human, and part of building anything that matters.
What I am learning is that the real power is not in getting everything right, but in taking the time to look back and understand what actually happened.
The Review Hour is a quiet pause to do exactly that. You can do it after a big project, when a magazine has gone to press, after a birthday, at the end of a month, or simply on a Monday morning when you want to reset the tone of your week.
It is not about beating yourself up. It is about getting curious.
What went really well? What made your heart leap? What didn’t quite land? What might you do differently next time if you were to do it again?
I once read that if a plane changes course by just one degree, it barely makes any difference at the start, but over time that tiny shift compounds and you end up in a completely different place altogether. That idea has really stayed with me. Life works a bit like that. Small, almost invisible adjustments, made consistently, can take you somewhere entirely new.
The Review Hour is your one-degree shift. A way of gently course-correcting rather than charging ahead on autopilot.
So today, instead of rushing forward, let’s take a Review Hour.
Prompt
If you looked back on the past week or project with honesty and kindness, what would you keep, what would you change, and what is one small adjustment you could make next time?
Want to create a writing practice in 2026? Come join us at Heart Leap.
If you’ve been meaning to write — your journal, your Substack, your book, your Big Beautiful Thing — but somehow always end up reorganising the fridge instead… welcome home.
At Heart Leap, I host four writing hours a week Monday to Thursday from 9–10am GMT. We chat for five minutes at the start, five at the end, and the rest of the time we simply write together. No pressure or performance, just a calm, friendly corner of the internet where pages get filled and ideas stop hiding.
If you need accountability, a regular rhythm, or a space where other writers are also muttering “why is this so hard?”, you’ll be in excellent company.
We also have a Writing Rehab class on the first Wednesday of the month and we run the 12 week Artist’s Way once a year.
If you want 2026 to be the year your writing life finally feels supported, fun and alive, subscribe for £7 a month and come write with us.
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