#272 - Welcome to 2026!

Hey, Matt here...

Welcome to 2026!

Every January, I set intentions for the 52 weeks ahead. Not goals. Not resolutions. Intentions.

If you’re curious, you can see past editions from 2025, 2024, and 2023.

This year, I’m working to three themes:

• Create.
• Curate.
• Commit.

Here's how I hope they will play out.

Create more

I started this site and newsletter to become a better writer. When I looked back at 2025, I liked what I saw but I also noticed something else.

The newsletter has drifted into a well-made list of links. Useful. Thoughtful. Easy to consume, and a little too safe.

In 2026, I’m writing more of my own words. More thinking. More opinion. More risk.

I might lose a few people. I’m OK with that risk. I have things I want to say.

This year, I’m saying them.

Curate closely

This builds on my 2025 theme of service.

Completing my coaching course changed how I think about usefulness. My systems need to be more tightly focused.

This year, I’ll curate with intent and ask myself these questions:

• What actually helps?
• What earns attention?
• What’s worth our time?

This goes beyond the newsletter, so I'll also thin out or eliminate:

• Social platforms I use
• Newsletters I read
• Inputs that add noise, not value

Less in = More signal.

Commit fully

My annual review surfaced an uncomfortable truth. I’ve been circling some goals. Testing the edges. Keeping exits open.

In 2026, I’m narrowing the field and committing properly.

• No half-tries.
• No constant pivots.
• No hedging.

No resolutions

Still no resolutions, that hasn’t changed. I don’t like the idea that something must be 'kept' to be valid.

If it stops working, I want the freedom to let it go. Intentions give me direction. Experiments, habits and systems do the lifting.

That’s the plan anyway!

See you next week for the first Stuff of the Year.

Take care.

Below the Fold