A lot of awesome things happened for me this year. Converted from contract to full-time at my job, got married, and went on my honeymoon. I have a lot to be grateful for! Every year I'd sit down and reflect on what's happened on try to think of some goals for the following year. Usually I write too many things down and get overwhelmed in the first week and never bother. I think for 2026 I want to keep the list short and manageable. Here's what I'm thinking for this year..
Less time online
I think I need better hobbies than just being on my computer. Sometimes I'm not really doing anything, just browsing and opening the same website multiple times a day looking for updates (cough bluesky/tangled). I think I've maxed out on doing this sort of thing. So much so that my eyes hurt quite a bit because of he amount of time I spend staring at a screen. So one goal is to limit my time online.
Thankfully, my wife bought me a guitar this past Christmas so I have something to hyper focus on at least. Plus, owning a guitar has been something I've wanted since I was in high school so I'm very excited to start learning.
Taking my health more seriously
I turned 31 this year and man has it been a wake up call for how out of shape I am! At one point in my life I was super active and in shape. I don't see a reason why I can't get back to that point. Most of it has to do with me being very lazy..which I have to get better at. I've at least started trying to eat healthier (holidays...not so much but I feel like it's ok to let that slide lol). My condo has a gym which is super convenient. I think for now since the weather isn't quite right for biking outside I'll try to be consistent there. As soon as I can get back outside I would like to get back on my bike and go for long rides in the morning. Maybe that's something I'll write about too.
Connecting with old friends and new
My circle of actual friends is quite small. Mainly a group of friends I've stuck with from middle school that I still talk to today. There have been a lot of people I've slowly started re-connecting with throughout the year that I was close with at some point in my life. As I've gotten older I've been starting to care more about current and past relationships I've had with people. I cared before but I'm making more of an effort to reach out to people and check in on them.
If I'm being honest with myself though, I don't think I've really made any new friends that wasn't meeting them through someone else. Like a lot of my "new" friends have mostly been people I've met through my wife. I want to try and be better at this. Hopefully going to make some new friends at ATmosphere conf 2026!
Reading more books
I think I've finished a grand total of 2 books this year. Which is not terrible but I'd like to read more. I'd like to have a balance of both tech related books and books about history. My bookhive reading list should look a lot busier in the next year.
The end...?
I think I'm fine with where this list sits for now. Feels pretty achievable to me. I'll probably post updates on things I'm working on or have accomplished to help keep me motivated but I'm looking forward to what 2026 has in store for me.