I loved reading this, especially the part about inviting serendipity into your life by saying yes to meeting new people and going new places without a utilitarian reason.
One small thing I began doing this year is setting aside a couple hours, 2 evenings per week, to cook dinner for the days ahead. I plan ahead by picking out my favorite recipes, then the day of, I pour a glass of wine, put on music, and immerse fully into one of my favorite hobbies that had been getting lost in the shuffle of life. It's a small joyful thing to share a delicious meal with my partner at the end of every day.
Such a good idea! Going to try this too. I love cooking but tend to forget that when it becomes a chore and I hate hearing “what’s for dinner tonight?” and having no plan.
I'm struck by how much you've achieved (huge congrats on the book deal), and how mindful you are about it. What a great piece.
I've been able to clear some heavy things from my docket this year but in them being heavy I've had to make space for nothingness, which has actually been joyful. I've even been bored and it took me a while to work out why.
It's clear you and your husband make a good team (a man who buys an orange watch is definitely a keeper). I don't have a partner so it's more challenging to come up with ways to tweak my behaviours, but it's also been good to be truly independent.
WOW diet coke fridge cigarette made me feel seen lol. I'm not sure when or how I subscribed to your newsletter Rosie, but every time it hit my inbox this past year I always set it aside for when I have a minute to read it fully and not just scan it like I do everything else. It never fails to slow me down in my busy day and provide some introspection. This one's inspired me to think about my goals for the new year as my husband and I have a HUGE chapter change coming up. Thanks again and keep up the writing as long as you love it, it's appreciated!
I feel like I am failing reading all these posts about people building community, ha! I honestly had a really hard year this year. Am still trying to figure out the path forward. But I know community is the way, and I can't wait for your book on it. My daughter is eleven and I've found it's a lot harder to build a mom community at this age, since the kids are more independent and the adults are all doing their own things. So I'm trying to build communities around writing, art, books, etc. This is a major goal for 2026. I'm also trying to be on here a bit more! I taught three classes in the fall and the workload was insane, so I didn't write nearly as much as I wanted to. I hope to be on here much more in 2026. Happy New Year, Rosie!
Small things that added up to a lot: similar to your pub dates, forging regular Monday-morning coffee klatches with my library friends; bi-weekly (mostly) Sunday dinners with the same group of friends and rotating hosts, with the expectation that no one has to bring anything, just show up as you are; always trying to have an irresistible book to look forward to before bed (your non-fiction list is awesome and overlapped with mine a LOT); shifting from "I need to work out" to "every movement counts and health is more important than 10 extra minutes of work," etc. I feel like it's more of a mindset shift that has to be practiced over and over again, and isn't flashy, but when you take a step back at look at life on the whole, those things just make it all BETTER. Love your reflections, writing, and candor, and can't wait for your "underachieving" in 2026. ;)
I am here to say I am all in on wearing a watch! And putting clocks around the house! And using an alarm clock! It is shocking how much it cuts down on unhappy phone time!
thank you for sharing! it looks like a fabulous year you lived in 2025 - not algorithms and productivity optimized, but fitting to the exact person you wanted to become? it’s contagious- thanks again for inspiring us!
i decided to own my holiday mood and declared cookie week at work and is very content about it - i love baking, this is my meditation and the ultimate creative act, i wish i could say this about my writing 😂 i like the combo of enjoying the act of cookies production and that other people are enjoying the results of it. so simple yet so satisfying. i wish you and your family a very peaceful end of this year!
I just loved this, top to bottom. Not just what you tried (did), but also the thinking and stories behind each. Enjoyable to read and inspiring. Thank you.
I really enjoyed this and much of what you shared resonated. A thing I did this year… after 20+ years of yoga practice, was to deepen my understanding and to share with others by becoming a certified yoga teacher. It was something that finally, I was able to do, because I am retired from my previous career. Then I struggled for a period of time because as a person who does enjoy to engage in not necessarily all the “life optimization” and instead, some “life enjoyment” …I thought, I have no business teaching yoga to anyone (I’m the person at a gathering, you’d find in a corner, outside, having a smoke, enjoying a beverage…looking at the stars and potentially deep in a conversation with someone who found me out there). I’m in the suburbs of 50, I love yoga (and many other things to include reading, writing, hiking) but no paragon of virtue on any yogic mountain. And yes, I’ve decided, I will teach yoga - because I love the practice, the values shared in the Yoga Sutras (and in many other readings)…and I love people. If any modicum of teaching can reach even a few hearts, to know that they are not alone - to be more loving, forgiving, kind, connected and patient (of themselves as well as others), while being human. That’s something.
I love the way you put words to and place frames around experiences I can relate to. I’ve also started wearing a watch for the first time in over 20 years! My partner proposed with a gold Casio watch as a placeholder & looking at it gives me a surge of pleasure that phone-checking never can (I mean.. it’s functional jewelery, how cool is that?!): I’ve had a Philips ‘sunrise’ alarm that plays birdsong and glow gently since this analogue technology was cutting edge, lol. I hope it never breaks.
Also, hard relate on the tiny-but-massive house improvements and love your husband’s branding of them.
This year I instigated NOvember (a month of exercising my no to almost everything I wasn’t obligated to do, resulting in a month almost free of social engagements). This was desperately needed and hugely remedial for me after a very big year of saying YES (enthusiastically and joyfully so) to as much as I could. And I couldn’t believe I’d never thought of it before. November is the perfect month for NOs before Decembers social schedule and activity ramps right up. I’ll be making NOvember a regular fixture from now on.
It sounds like you’re doing a good job of setting boundaries with algorithms. As far as my boundaries with algorithms go, I love books. Unfortunately though there is so much good writing just in my substack subscriptions. Any advice?
I too sent out emails a couple times a month to a group of guys to meet for coffee, the old guys coffee group. Love the Burkeman quote.
I loved reading this, especially the part about inviting serendipity into your life by saying yes to meeting new people and going new places without a utilitarian reason.
One small thing I began doing this year is setting aside a couple hours, 2 evenings per week, to cook dinner for the days ahead. I plan ahead by picking out my favorite recipes, then the day of, I pour a glass of wine, put on music, and immerse fully into one of my favorite hobbies that had been getting lost in the shuffle of life. It's a small joyful thing to share a delicious meal with my partner at the end of every day.
Love the idea of cooking less often, but more intentionally and joyfully. Going to try that next year!
Such a good idea! Going to try this too. I love cooking but tend to forget that when it becomes a chore and I hate hearing “what’s for dinner tonight?” and having no plan.
I'm struck by how much you've achieved (huge congrats on the book deal), and how mindful you are about it. What a great piece.
I've been able to clear some heavy things from my docket this year but in them being heavy I've had to make space for nothingness, which has actually been joyful. I've even been bored and it took me a while to work out why.
It's clear you and your husband make a good team (a man who buys an orange watch is definitely a keeper). I don't have a partner so it's more challenging to come up with ways to tweak my behaviours, but it's also been good to be truly independent.
I hope you have a good break.
Congrats on clearing the heavy things! That's hard work.
(And yes, my husband is a really excellent gift-giver.)
WOW diet coke fridge cigarette made me feel seen lol. I'm not sure when or how I subscribed to your newsletter Rosie, but every time it hit my inbox this past year I always set it aside for when I have a minute to read it fully and not just scan it like I do everything else. It never fails to slow me down in my busy day and provide some introspection. This one's inspired me to think about my goals for the new year as my husband and I have a HUGE chapter change coming up. Thanks again and keep up the writing as long as you love it, it's appreciated!
Thank you! I love that my writing is a reason for you to slow down. Wishing you many fridge cigarettes in 2026!
I feel like I am failing reading all these posts about people building community, ha! I honestly had a really hard year this year. Am still trying to figure out the path forward. But I know community is the way, and I can't wait for your book on it. My daughter is eleven and I've found it's a lot harder to build a mom community at this age, since the kids are more independent and the adults are all doing their own things. So I'm trying to build communities around writing, art, books, etc. This is a major goal for 2026. I'm also trying to be on here a bit more! I taught three classes in the fall and the workload was insane, so I didn't write nearly as much as I wanted to. I hope to be on here much more in 2026. Happy New Year, Rosie!
This made me buy a watch and an alarm clock and finally commit to no phone in bedroom and less checking phone overall. Thank you!
Small things that added up to a lot: similar to your pub dates, forging regular Monday-morning coffee klatches with my library friends; bi-weekly (mostly) Sunday dinners with the same group of friends and rotating hosts, with the expectation that no one has to bring anything, just show up as you are; always trying to have an irresistible book to look forward to before bed (your non-fiction list is awesome and overlapped with mine a LOT); shifting from "I need to work out" to "every movement counts and health is more important than 10 extra minutes of work," etc. I feel like it's more of a mindset shift that has to be practiced over and over again, and isn't flashy, but when you take a step back at look at life on the whole, those things just make it all BETTER. Love your reflections, writing, and candor, and can't wait for your "underachieving" in 2026. ;)
Love your list -- thank you for sharing! I also embrace 10 mins of exercise/movement as valid.
I am here to say I am all in on wearing a watch! And putting clocks around the house! And using an alarm clock! It is shocking how much it cuts down on unhappy phone time!
thank you for sharing! it looks like a fabulous year you lived in 2025 - not algorithms and productivity optimized, but fitting to the exact person you wanted to become? it’s contagious- thanks again for inspiring us!
i decided to own my holiday mood and declared cookie week at work and is very content about it - i love baking, this is my meditation and the ultimate creative act, i wish i could say this about my writing 😂 i like the combo of enjoying the act of cookies production and that other people are enjoying the results of it. so simple yet so satisfying. i wish you and your family a very peaceful end of this year!
I'm so terrible at baking so I admire this!
I just loved this, top to bottom. Not just what you tried (did), but also the thinking and stories behind each. Enjoyable to read and inspiring. Thank you.
You write beautifully and there’s so much in here I’m going to copy. Thank you.
I really enjoyed this and much of what you shared resonated. A thing I did this year… after 20+ years of yoga practice, was to deepen my understanding and to share with others by becoming a certified yoga teacher. It was something that finally, I was able to do, because I am retired from my previous career. Then I struggled for a period of time because as a person who does enjoy to engage in not necessarily all the “life optimization” and instead, some “life enjoyment” …I thought, I have no business teaching yoga to anyone (I’m the person at a gathering, you’d find in a corner, outside, having a smoke, enjoying a beverage…looking at the stars and potentially deep in a conversation with someone who found me out there). I’m in the suburbs of 50, I love yoga (and many other things to include reading, writing, hiking) but no paragon of virtue on any yogic mountain. And yes, I’ve decided, I will teach yoga - because I love the practice, the values shared in the Yoga Sutras (and in many other readings)…and I love people. If any modicum of teaching can reach even a few hearts, to know that they are not alone - to be more loving, forgiving, kind, connected and patient (of themselves as well as others), while being human. That’s something.
I love the way you put words to and place frames around experiences I can relate to. I’ve also started wearing a watch for the first time in over 20 years! My partner proposed with a gold Casio watch as a placeholder & looking at it gives me a surge of pleasure that phone-checking never can (I mean.. it’s functional jewelery, how cool is that?!): I’ve had a Philips ‘sunrise’ alarm that plays birdsong and glow gently since this analogue technology was cutting edge, lol. I hope it never breaks.
Also, hard relate on the tiny-but-massive house improvements and love your husband’s branding of them.
This year I instigated NOvember (a month of exercising my no to almost everything I wasn’t obligated to do, resulting in a month almost free of social engagements). This was desperately needed and hugely remedial for me after a very big year of saying YES (enthusiastically and joyfully so) to as much as I could. And I couldn’t believe I’d never thought of it before. November is the perfect month for NOs before Decembers social schedule and activity ramps right up. I’ll be making NOvember a regular fixture from now on.
Gold engagement casio is SO much chicer than a diamond imo.
YES to not doing renovations because everyone is!
It sounds like you’re doing a good job of setting boundaries with algorithms. As far as my boundaries with algorithms go, I love books. Unfortunately though there is so much good writing just in my substack subscriptions. Any advice?
I too sent out emails a couple times a month to a group of guys to meet for coffee, the old guys coffee group. Love the Burkeman quote.
Great read! Cooking dinner in the morning and consistently attending my weekly mediations are two things I’m proud of!
A wonderful read as always - insightful and inspiring. Thank you 🌷🌷