The art of whimsy-maxxing

Notes On: Finding your way back to yourself

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement’ – Mary Oliver

‘Would it be too childish of me to say: I want? But I do want: theatre, light, colour, paintings, wine and wonder’ – Sylvia Plath

---

According to The Internet, 2026 is The Year Of Whimsy. I could write a whole essay on how and why this might be – alongside the dangers of over-aestheticizing something that is really, at its core, just about finding your way back to yourself – and how this shift represents a sort of mass burying-of-heads-into-proverbial-sand whilst the world (literally) burns around us. But the thing is, we exist in nuance. Two things can be true. We can (and I think, most of us do) both read the news, feel devastated by it, and want more whimsy in our lives.

This guide endeavours to help you find your way back to yourself: to find moments of whimsy, of joy, of glittering possibility amidst your commute, your supermarket shop, those seemingly endless weekdays and nights. I hope you love it.

---

Embrace Your Inner Child

George Bernard Shaw once said, “we don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” There are so many things that children do, with abandon, that I recognise within myself. Babies cry when they’re hungry, or tired, or want a cuddle. Toddlers dance through tufts of daffodils and jump to catch bubbles drifting through the air. They shout “I LOVE YOU MAMA” across a park; they scream in supermarket aisles. They vomit, too, with abandon. And yes, life would be a chaotic mess if 64-year-old men called Steve couldn’t get through the supermarket without throwing themselves to the floor in the frozen aisle and screaming because they really really want an ice cream, but you get the gist. Whenever I’m having a tough time, I like to imagine myself as a tiny child, and attend to her needs (which are usually: chocolate, rest, affirmation – in that order).

As children, we swung from monkey bars and cartwheeled across sand. We played, constantly. Perfection had not yet entered our little worlds: we drew, quite literally, outside the lines. As adults, we can stretch in yoga poses and scream lyrics as loud as we can during spin classes and cartwheel across sand and find ways to play.

We can paint canvases and hang them in our living rooms and make things from scratch (clay magnets for the fridge, sourdough, birthday decorations). We can ask questions and let go of our ego, our sense that we should know things. We can spend half an hour building an imaginary world, as we drift off to sleep (I’ve been ill, recently, and every night I’ve returned to the most blissful, peaceful, comfortable room I can possibly imagine: a luxurious hotel room with a jacuzzi that looks out onto a glittering city). We can walk barefoot and tell people we love them and sing in the car, even if we’re bad at singing (especially if we’re bad at singing). If whimsy-maxxing is about finding ways to come back to yourself, embracing your inner child is the best place to start.

Be more spontaneous

As adults, we’ve learned to live by an array of invisible rules. Some of these are necessary, for society to function (aka: do not drive through a red light), but some of them are things we’ve decided for ourselves, scripts we’ve learned at a young age and decided to stick to (aka: ‘I’m not creative’ or ‘I can’t dance’). Wonder often exists where the expected meets the unexpected; that slither of space between what you normally do and unbidden spontaneity.

So: remind yourself, nothing is that deep. Embarrassment is only embarrassment if you’re embarrassed. Otherwise it’s just a funny story that you can own by telling it (this is Nora Ephron’s wisdom, and I live by it). Take the long way home; say ‘yes’ whenever you can; let yourself be terrible at something and learn to laugh about it.

Let go of your invisible, self-limiting beliefs, and run towards opportunities to jump into freezing bodies of water and try different restaurants and travel outside of your comfort zone (both literally and metaphorically). Learn to do things just because you feel like it: to live, every once in a while, solely according to your whims.

Learn Your Own Signature

Personally, I’m obsessed with having ‘signature’ versions of everything in my life. A signature scent for every chapter, every era (right now, it’s Sol de Janiero Cheirosa 68 body spray for everyday wear, and Hèrmes’ Un Jardin Sur La Mer for special occasions). A go-to coffee order (soya latte with honey); a favourite colour (red), musician (Billy Joel), visual artist (Monet and also Katie Sampson for home prints), writer (Zadie Smith! E. M. Forster! Curtis Sittenfeld! I can’t choose one!), jewellery I never ever take off (dainty gold), home-scent (Pomegranate Noir), cocktail (Aperol Spritz), breakfast (oats), dessert (tiramisu), phrase (ciao), quote (‘listen, I love you, joy is coming’). The list goes on (and on, and on).

Whimsy-maxxing is all about learning as much as you can about yourself, and finding playful ways to incorporate those things into your life: if you love frogs, for example, get yourself a frog mug for your morning matcha. Personally, I love strawberries and RAYE and literary quotes. Let your bags be dripping with charms and your journal be filled with all the random, quirky things you love. Curate every single element of your world to reflect the many loves of your life, and watch your spark return to you.

Create Your Own Traditions

Every year, I celebrate my half-birthday, because this life is hard enough as it is, so why not find every opportunity to express joy possible? And there are so many more ways to do this: you could choose to have pancakes, every single Sunday morning, for example. Or toast the first of each month at your favourite rooftop bar. You could decide that, on Wednesdays, you actually do wear pink. Or re-read your favourite book every single August.

This life is – and I think we often forget this – completely our own. It is an immense privilege to be able to craft it, like this. To carve out your own way of doing things, just because you can. So: celebrate your half birthday, or quarter-anniversary, or the first Sunday of each new month, because this life is short, and it is also ours, and that is reason enough.

Create your own lists

Make lists for everything: monthly goals, tiny ideas to spice up your life, seasonal bucket lists, experiences you want to have, ways to whimsy-max. And then, when the list is written, find a way of presenting it beautifully: write it out, if you like writing by hand, or put it into Canva and create a design around it. Here’s my own version, to give you a taste:

Find unique ways to capture life

Keep every receipt and stick them into a junk journal. Get a polaroid camera and take one photo every single day. Journal for five minutes every evening, or ten minutes every morning. What you eat and drink and read and think might be boring to you, now, but trust me: in 20 years’ time, you’ll be fascinated by the self you were, back in 2026. It also has the wondrous side-effect of forcing you to reflect on your life, and take the time to notice all the myriad of things you love about it (or, conversely, want to change about it – which can be equally useful).

Make the Mundane Beautiful

I’ve written about this, already, so many times. But you have to find ways of making boring things interesting. Aka: listen to your favourite podcast whilst unloading the dishwasher, or lifting weights. If you have to clean your room, put on ‘All Too Well’ (Ten Minute Version) and do as much as you can in that time. Make a playlist for your commute: this is one I made to make you feel as though you’re living in a 90s chick flick (magazine-journalist-falling-in-love vibes). Joy-stack your way through mundane tasks and find happiness amidst the soap suds.

---

And there are so many more ways to whimsy-max. Become a villager. Make banana bread for your neighbours, sprinkled with tiny edible stars. Go on a walk and notice every single time you see the colour purple. Name your car (mine’s called Yipee Roo), your favourite plants (my oldest one is 6 years old. Her name is Dorothea). Assign one of your many un-used journals (I see you) to ‘inspiration’. Carry it with you everywhere you go and write down anything and everything that inspires you. Read poetry before sleep and wear things that make you feel alive and make duvet forts on Sundays and stop taking things quite so seriously.

Let the playful version of you, the child within, take over for a little while. Find in her a new philosophy for life: a menu for whimsy-maxxing which is entirely, and unequivocally, your own.

---

If you liked this, you'll love last month's zine, for paid subs. June’s edition was all about making the most of this summer — it includes 85 Whimsical (a summer-long challenge), glimmer calendars, recipes, quizzes and reading recs. It’s a proper monthly indie magazine, made (with love) completely by me, for £3.50 (!!) If you sign up now, it’ll land in your inbox immediately.

---

N. B.

This piece was inspired by Jenna O'Brien’s piece Advice for Making Life More Whimsical & Joyful. If you like my work, you’ll love hers.