When the sweet plan doesn't go to plan...
Heart Leap Writing Hour at 9am
“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” — John Lennon
Yesterday, I had a plan, a proper one, the kind that feels like I was finally getting my life right - a post work escape to the beach, a walk along the cliffs, a secret beach, and communing with the old bathing house at Howick, and for once I was going to be the woman who actually does the lovely thing she says she wants to do, not just thinks about it.
And then, of course, the car started making that dreadful wonky noise and within minutes I was inching my way to a garage on a flat tyre, heart sinking, evening derailed, sweetness cancelled. There is a moment in those situations where you feel slightly ridiculous for trying at all, as if life has gently mocked your effort. But maybe the point is not the perfect plan, maybe the point is that you tried, that you still went for a walk, even if it was along a road instead of a cliff, that you are someone who is learning, slowly, to choose a sweeter life even when it does not quite go to plan.
Prompt: When something goes wrong, how quickly do you abandon the possibility of a good day, and what would it look like to keep a little sweetness anyway?
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.
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