8 Short Reminders for Making 2026 a Great Year
Letter #003 on making 2026 great
I find myself writing more than usual this time of year as business slows down, with fewer emails to tackle and meetings to jump on.
During a recent journaling session, I began reflecting on some of the best things I’ve learned over the past decade. I figured I’d compile the list into a few helpful reminders in case it helps one of you as you’re prepping for the new year.
Here are 8 short reminders to help you make 2026 one of your best:
The good plan you follow is better than the perfect plan you quit. Keep things simple. Whatever makes it easiest for you to actually follow your plan is the best plan. In other words, it’s better to walk three times a week than to set an ambitious gym routine you only do three times a month. Consistently good enough is better than inconsistently perfect.
Limit the number of goals and intentions you set. Keep your list short (fewer than 10 things, ideally 5-7) so you can focus and avoid spreading yourself too thin. And whatever you put on there, make sure there’s at least one health goal—your health is the most important priority in 2026. Don’t compromise on it for anything or anyone.
Keep your goal list visible. I keep mine taped above my desk. I see it every day, and it keeps me on track throughout the year, like a GPS. Whenever I have conflicting decisions to make, I just need to look up from my laptop to be reminded of what I’m trying to achieve.
Start a win journal. Throughout the year, if anything good happens, put it in your win journal. Got your first subscriber? Win journal. Someone complimented you? Win journal. Ran 3 miles for the first time without stopping? Win journal. Gave a presentation despite having stage fright and anxiety? Win journal. When you look back on the year, you’ll be super proud of yourself when you see your collective small wins.
Accept the messiness of progress. You may have an amazing 2 weeks, get off track for a week, get back on track for another week, and then have another amazing 2 weeks. You may break your diet. You may lose your workout streak because you took a trip and it “threw you off.” That’s completely fine. Progress is messy. Life is messy. The point is to keep trying and work to get back on track whenever you fall off. As long as you don’t give up, no matter how many setbacks you face, you’ll do great over the long run. I promise.
When it comes to building good habits (or breaking bad ones), use friction. If you want to do something more often, make it easy to start. For example, if you want to build a morning run routine, sleep in your gym clothes, and keep your running shoes by the front door. This will make it easier to get going when you wake up. On the other hand, if you want to do something less often, make it hard to start. So if you want to use social media less in 2026, delete the apps from your phone and consider using an app blocker like Freedom. This will prevent your thumb from finding those apps easily and doom-scrolling for an hour.
Great days are built the day before. Every evening, take a few minutes to plan tomorrow. You’ll get a far more productive day in return for a few minutes of thoughtful planning. Pro tip: Plan to tackle your most important task first. Eat the frog. As the saying (often attributed to Mark Twain) goes: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
The conditions will never be perfect, and if you’re waiting for them to be perfect, you’ll be waiting a long time, potentially your whole life. Don’t wait on the sidelines hoping motivation shows up. Motivation comes after taking action, not before. If there’s something you really want to do in 2026, take imperfect action and course-correct along the way. Start the Spanish lessons. Film the video. Create the LLC. Launch the newsletter. Put your resume out there. No more “somedays” in 2026.
I hope these 8 short reminders help you have a great year ahead. Be easy on yourself, unapologetically go after the things you truly want, and don’t forget to have some fun along the way.