You could say it had been a difficult year.

It was only when I woke up in my mother-in-law’s spare bedroom on that cold winter's morning that the gravity of the situation began to hit home. I was 33, I had no home, no job and no reason to get out of bed that morning (or at least that’s how I felt).

My partner and I could no longer keep up the payments on our own home, so we’d been forced to put all our belongings into storage and were living out of a suitcase at her mum’s house, with only a few clothes, a growing pile of debt and a string of failed business ventures to our name. My mental health was in a downward spiral and my thoughts were becoming increasingly dark. I‘d hit rock bottom and felt as though I had a mountain to climb.

But, just when I was at my lowest, I was struck by a surprisingly positive realisation. I opened the ‘Notes’ app on my phone and typed:

When you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way you can go is up.

That was my first step on the road to recovery. Every day, I captured any moments of inspiration and mini motivations that I came across - quotes, song lyrics, facts, thoughts and stories from others who had been in similar situations. Even if some were a bit cheesy or corny it didn’t matter. If something spoke to me, I captured it on my phone. As my digital collection grew, I made myself read every piece of inspiration every day, as a reminder of why I should keep going, trying, failing, learning, laughing and living.

Ultimately, this little list in my pocket gave me the strength to get back on track, physically, mentally and financially. It gave me the push I needed to keep striving towards achieving my goals.

One year later I was in a much more positive place. I finally landed a great new job, giving my partner and I a fresh start in a new city. We saved up a deposit for a new flat, and a few months later, we were engaged to be married.

Even having turned things around, I still found myself reading the list on my phone every day, through force of habit. Then one morning I started to wonder whether it could be useful to other people who might need some support, some structure, or just some positivity. You guessed it, that list became the This Time Next Year planner.

It’s been a long journey, but it’s a great feeling to be writing this message to you and to be able to share some of the positivity that helped improve my life. I’m not a psychologist, a professor, a life coach or anything like that. I’m just someone who hit rock bottom and decided to get back up, teach myself some new techniques and have a go at climbing the mountain. I hope in some small way, this book will inspire you to do the same.

Here's to the future. Here’s to This Time Next Year.