What I’m keeping, What I’m changing in 2026

January always tries to sell me the same idea.

Fresh calendar. Fresh energy. A “new me” speech.

But today, the house is just… quiet.

I made coffee. I sat at the table. I turned my phone face down. I picked up a pen that still writes smoothly. Small blessings.

And I asked myself a question I trust more than motivation.

What do I actually want my days to feel like in 2026?

Not the big moments. The days.

This is not a reinvention

I am not trying to become a new person.

I am trying to be more consistent at being the person I already am. Someone who writes to make sense of life. Someone who carries grief without turning it into performance. Someone who still believes citizenship matters. Someone who wants work that is sustainable.

Not perfect. Sustainable.

I whispered it out loud, like I needed to hear it.

“Make a plan you can live.”

Coffee stays, but I am not doing it alone

I will continue being a coffee producer. That part is not changing. What is changing is how I will do it.

In 2026, I will collaborate with a partner. Shared load. Clearer decisions. Better pacing. I still want to stay close to the craft and the people behind it. The farmers. The land. The careful work that affects quality. But I do not want to keep carrying everything alone and calling it strength. It is not strength. It is often just exhaustion with good branding.

I want the work to last. Partnership is one way to make that possible.

I am returning to good governance, and I want to stay in it

I have missed writing about good governance and accountability in a serious way. Not the kind of anger that burns hot for two days and disappears. The slower kind. Paying attention. Asking better questions. Tracking what happens after the headlines.

Lately, it feels like the public conversation gets dragged around by noise. Edited clips. Screenshots without context. Confident claims with no source. People arguing about a version of the story that was designed to confuse them. And corruption loves that. Confusion buys time.

So yes, I want to be more active this year. Not just aware. Not just reactive. More consistent.

Fighting disinformation is part of that plan

Disinformation does not only mislead. It exhausts.

It makes people cynical. It makes decent people give up. It makes the truth feel like a moving target.

So in 2026, I want to fight disinformation in a way that is practical. Habit-based. Repeatable. That starts with how I behave online and share awareness on fact-checking.

I want to show my audience on how to slow down before sharing something that triggers fear or rage. I want them to check sources even when a post agrees with what they  already think. I want them to rely less on screenshots and more on primary documents and credible reporting.  Speed is the advantage disinformation has. I do not want to reward it.

I want to try video, even if I am new at it

I have also been thinking about format. Some people will never read a long post. They will scroll past it. But they might watch a short video while waiting in line or riding home.

So in 2026, I want to try YouTube Shorts or TikTok. Nothing fancy. Just clear, direct videos that fact-check claims, summarize what is known, and convert some of my blog posts into short, shareable video versions. I want to show sources on screen when I can. I want to point people to links. I want to model what “check first” looks like in real life.

If I can take one blog post and turn it into a one-minute explanation that helps someone pause before believing or sharing, that feels worth doing.

What I am keeping

1) Writing, even when it is not tidy
I want to keep writing from the middle of real life. Not only when I have the perfect structure and the perfect ending. Some posts will be clean. Some will be messy. Some will be short because that is all I have.

But I want to keep the light on in this blog, which is turning 20 years old this year and on blogwatch.tv.

2) Grief as part of the room, not the whole room
Grief does not disappear because a calendar flips. So I am not making a plan to move on. I am making a plan to keep living with what I carry, without apologizing for it, and without letting it take over every corner.

3) Staying visible as I get older
I have been thinking about invisibility, the real kind. The kind where you stop offering your voice because you do not want to be “too much,” “too opinionated,” or “too old to still care”. This year, I want to choose visibility. Not for attention. For presence.

What I am changing

1) Less doom-scrolling, more deliberate attention
I want to stay informed without turning my mind into a crowded room. So I am practicing limits. Better reading habits. Fewer clicks driven by outrage.

2) Systems, not moods
Inspiration is unreliable. Energy comes and goes. Life interrupts. So instead of dramatic goals, I want defaults. Small systems I can repeat.

• a writing rhythm I can maintain

• a weekly reset so life does not pile up

• simpler routines that do not require motivation

• be gentle with myself

3) Fewer explanations
I am practicing plain language.

• I cannot commit to that.

• Not this month.

• I need more time.

• I am protecting my energy right now

This does not mean I will become cold. It means I will become clearer.

What “being active” looks like for me in 2026

I am not promising to become a full-time activist. I am promising to become a more consistent citizen.

That looks like this:

• writing about governance beyond the scandal cycle

• tracking outcomes, not just hearings and headlines

• supporting credible journalism and civic work in practical ways

• correcting misinformation when I see it, calmly, with sources

• refusing to share maybe true content that only adds noise

• staying engaged even when the work is boring

Because boring is often where the real story is.

The practical list

Here are my realistic intentions for 2026:

• write consistently, even if some posts are short

• continue producing coffee, but through a partnership so the work is shared and sustainable

• try YouTube Shorts or TikTok and turn some blog posts into fact-checked video versions

• protect my attention with better reading habits and fewer reactive shares

• do fewer things better

• say no earlier, before resentment shows up

• stay connected to people who feel like home

• stay visible as I age, in my work, my voice, my choices

• stay in the governance conversation with follow-through, not just feelings

What I hope 2026 becomes

I hope it becomes a year where I do not abandon myself. Where I choose sustainability over proving something. Where I keep writing because this is how I stay awake to my own life, and to the country I live in.

It is not perfect, but it can be different.

Tomorrow, I will do the next small thing.