What is your relationship with New Years resolutions?

Mine is ambivalent.

I tend not to label them as such–fear of failure?–and still, every new year beckons toward beginnings and change. I’m still doing Morning Pages more than half the days; I feel okay with my practice here. I’m pretty disciplined in my fitness and slack board routines; I’ve maintained this blog over a decade, and now regularly refill a dozen or so smile jars across the US and one in France… So what do I want to do differently in 2026?

Now that I sit down to think and write about it, I get clarity:
I don’t want or need to do anything different this year. Rather, I want to do more of what matters, get really efficient and effective at it, and make the most of the time, energy and resources I spend.

Time
After listening to Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams, I seriously consider deactivating my Facebook and Instagram accounts. Time and attention spent here connects me easily and often with people around the world who mean a lot to me. I also waste a ton of time scrolling. Son introduced me to the Opal app (not sponsored), which blocks these sites on my phone during work hours and a little on weekends. I plan to use it as a mindfulness tool, to help me be more intentional and aware of my phone use in general.

The best use of my time is with people and on causes I care about. I connect with my favorite folks regularly and the rewards are priceless. Nicola Tyche‘s Crowns Trilogy was recommended to me by Phara. I gifted Book One, North Queen, to Donna and AJ, who have both now finished the series. We will convene soon to “explore the rich terrain laid by the North Queen and her companions.” I am beyond giddy, waiting until after what I anticipate will be a lively, enlightening, and insightful communion before I write about the series here. To be moved by deep, poignant expressions of humanity and share that experience with my people in meaning and connection–I can’t think of anything better, and I intend to do much more of this in 2026.

Energy
Schwartz and Loehr wrote in The Power of Full Engagement that while time is finite, energy is renewable. Thus, with certain practices, we can leverage physiologic patterns during our waking hours and get more done. I shared Schwartz and McCarthy’s HBR article, Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time, with patients for some years. That was before our cultural rhetoric pivoted from overvaluing productivity to now attempting balance with rest and self-care.

I still see value in understanding ultradian rhythms, sensing body cues of attention and energy, and attending to their correlates. But now I question the idea of energy as renewable. I think we all just need to sleep more and better–this is true for me, no question. I have tracked my bedtime since February, 2021. “Lights out 11:30” is the goal and I hit it much more consistently now than then. In these few short years I feel the costs of sleep debt much more tangibly than before, especially since I scaled back masking them with caffeine in 2024.

Now, with heightened awareness of my finite energy reserve, I feel empowered to choose where, with whom, and on what I spend it. I avoid and minimize low meaning, low connection encounters. I rest and gear up for activities and gatherings that matter to me, my relationships, and my life mission. “The world continues to spin out of control, which makes deliberate, concerted, and collaborative effort by you and me and our people that much more important, omfg!” I texted a friend just today.

Resources
I count time and energy among my life resources. Relationships, knowledge, expertise, wisdom, curiosity, empathy, compassion, and idea synthesis and integration also count. How can/do I deploy any/all of these optimally? What greater impact could I make in any domain that matters if/when I do? When I consider the possibilities and potential, the connections, relationships, and causes I could advance that much further if I just dialed something (me!) up a little–wow, that moves me.

So I resolve to continue seeking, exploring, experimenting, reflecting, asking, sharing, collaborating, and living each day like it’s a gift. I resolve to give back to the best of my ability and have a ton of fun doing it. It’s about relationships. Every year I live and observe my fellow humans reinforces this. I will acknowledge and amplify when I see people connecting in love. I will nourish myself with this energy and send it back out stronger, with all the light I can muster.

If I can look back a year from now and see that I did this, or was at least more consistent in the effort, then 2026 will be a year well lived.