Did Something List: A Guide to Look Back on 2025, So You Can Reclaim Your 2026

I know we're all rushing to look forward and plan our goals, but I want to help you create your "Did Something List" to reflect on 2025 first. This list is a bit different from my Do Something List; it's time-centric and helps us look back so we can better look forward. By reflecting, we can honor the past year, validate our progress, and gather the practical information needed to set a better, more practical course for 2026.

Don't skip this chance for personal growth—it will help you make 2026 the year you establish better daily habits and figure out how to be happier and how to feel happy without the exhaustion. Grab the free guide to create your list now at ⁠aboutprogress.com/didsomethinglist⁠.

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TRANSCRIPT

Monica Packer: in our rush to look forward and to even plan ahead for January to get clarity on what our goals are and our resolutions

in our rush to do that or to even avoid it, we skip over. Sitting in the space we are in now and looking back.

 

Monica Packer: Hi, this is Monica Packer and you're listening to about progress where we are about progress made practical. The day this will be released is December 1st, and it is honestly very rare that I release the first episode of the month on the first of the month, and December 1st for some reason, feels extra serendipitous because.

This is the time where we really begin to feel a lot of feelings to process how the past year went and to look forward to the next year after all. Right now we're getting a lot the best of lists coming out from movies, to books, to music, and while I love those lists so much, I find that we don't readily do that for ourselves in our rush to look forward and to even plan ahead for January to get clarity on what our goals are and our resolutions or to ignore all that because it's just too much or is too painful for this time

in our rush to do that or to even avoid it, we skip over. Sitting in the space we are in now and looking back. So what I want to do today is to help you create that reflection, to help you look back by creating something we call the Did Something List. You are likely familiar with my Do Something list.

This is one that I make personally at the beginning of every year, but you can make it any time. It's a list I do to help uncover and discover parts of myself, to find fulfillment in my everyday life. And to prioritize that. But the did something list is a little different. It is more time centric.

It is based at the end of a year, and what it does is help us look back so we can better look forward. If you are goal averse like I have been for many years, this is still something I really think you should do. And if you are a goal person, I definitely think you need to do this first.

I have used so many planners over the years as I've gotten back into goal planning. I took a long break from goal planning and part of learning about how to do something to lean into the messy middle, to not strive for perfection has also weirdly included, getting back into goal making. But in the process of doing that, I have tried so many different planners over the years.

And one thing that has struck me is most planners get right into you making goals without you reflecting, without you really looking back. Also, I just think there's something that is so validating in honoring what your year brought you, whether it's a mixed bag or you had some good highs or some pretty low lows, there's something very special and honorary to ending one year and before we start another to really give it that space to.

Say, Hey, I did that. I experienced that. I went through that. I made progress in these areas. Um, and, and, and even giving that space, I think is special, but it even practically, it better informed what's coming next. What I wanna do today is invite you to reflect back.

And if you wanna do that alongside me, I have a free printable for you that you can about progress.com/did something list it's link in the show notes for you. And that is just a free download. It's a very simple printable that guides this reflection and in ways that vary.

So if you need an easy way to do it, that's in the printable. If you want a little bit more of a step up, that's also in the printable. And then as part of that. There's also an opportunity for you to look forward too, and instead of me guiding you through making this like 10 point goal plan with all the ways you're gonna break it down quarterly, what we're doing here is just giving you a little bit of a step up by helping you get clarity on

how you wanna feel by the end of next year and what your word might be of the year. And that coupled with the reflection on this past year is going to set you up better to maybe this be the year you make goals that are actually practical to your life, or to step back into goal making for the first time in a long time.

Or to do so in a way that isn't so exhaustive and painful, or to do it for the first time if it's something you've never really done. Or to let it inspire your do something list, which we always do at training, a free training actually in the new year. So you can look forward to that in 2026. Or maybe it's just to help you come up with some resolutions as well that aren't really goal centric, but a little bit more general.

I don't care what you do with it, but that's what we're gonna walk through today. I'm gonna help you look back so you can look ahead. That's coming up after a quick break for our sponsors.

 

Monica Packer: I have big plans for the holidays, and they mostly involve me getting ready for bed by 7:00 PM wearing comfortable pajamas and curling under a blanket with my family, with the tree lights glowing softly and playing games, watching shows and reading books.

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Monica Packer: Again, just a quick reminder that I have a free printable guide for you to help you make this did something list, and you can find [email protected] slash did something list., And that is in the show notes for you. What I'm gonna do is just walk through that guide myself in real time.

So if you. Find yourself not really wanting to print something off. How about you just pause with every question I do and think about it for yourself. Maybe you can listen to my own, fill in the blank so that you can get an example on maybe what this can look like for you. Now in the guide, I do have one area that gives you a baseline way of doing this.

A baseline meaning the simplest and easiest way to look back. I'm gonna actually save that for the end of my reflection. And so stay tuned for that. If you're like, well, I liked hearing those questions, but honestly I just do not have the bandwidth right now. I don't have the brain power or the energy and this was a tough year and I don't wanna do it.

Uh, whatever the reason is. Hold on, because I do have a very simple way of you looking back that I'll share before our mid break. Now what I like to do in creating our did something list is to actually start there. Think of the things that you did. These may be literal accomplishments, but also things that aren't so literal.

Maybe things that are a bit more general, like I kept my chin up when things were looking bleak, or I made a lot of progress in connecting with a child who really needed that. Your answer to this prompt may be very outcome based, others of them may be works in progress or a bit more general or emotion centric.

And that's all good. So what did I do this past year? If you are struggling to even think of this like I am already, one thing I recommend doing is pulling up your phone and checking out your photos and just kind of briefly go back through them and, and try to like, look through and just kinda see like, well, what happened this year even, because so much of it is just a, a foggy memory now.

So I'm gonna actually pause and do that for myself. I'm just gonna look through my photos for this year, and I'm not even gonna flip through one by one. I'm just gonna scroll through the whole album and kind of see, well, what did happen in 2025?

Actually, as I've been going through this, I'm like, I'll share some of these along the way with you. I, I can see that I did a lot of. Organization projects at the beginning of the year. That was a nice reset. I see me reading a lot of books. I see me baking a lot of things, doing a lot of sourdough. I see some recordings of the days in the life videos where, oh my goodness, it's like every single moment was so intense and there was so much going on.

I see me skiing with my kids, even though I had a broken nose. I see us gathering with some friends. Um, going to events like the ballet with my friend, my, my best friend and I from junior high we went on a date together, like left our husbands behind, which is hysterical to me.

I see a lot of pictures of, food I made, so that seems like an important thing for me. I can see that I tried new things. I see pictures of sewing tutorials, whether they include. Hey, I wanna make sure I go back to this person's account, or even products they recommend, like a different sewing machine.

I went to m made sourdough bagels. Sourdough rolls, lots of different sourdough things. I got my rainbow necklace, which meant so much to me at the time. 'cause it was just like, I looked at that necklace at this local boutique and I was like. That's not a cheap necklace. I mean, it wasn't hundreds of dollars.

It was definitely under a hundred dollars. I think it was maybe $60, but $60 for a necklace that's not cheap either. So I remember looking at that necklace and just thinking that necklace feels symbolic to my life in many ways. And I look at that and I think that looks artistic, which is something I, I gravitate to, but also like classic.

It just felt like me, and so wearing it for the first time felt so good and I ended up wearing that for my passport photo, which I took later. And speaking of which, I can see me taking that passport picture because I had signed up for my, my tour. To go to the pride of prejudiced pilgrimage to England.

More events with my son. I went to LA Miss twice, which was so cool. Again, lots of books read. I also get to see some of the things that I did with my work. Um, the people that I interviewed and what we were talking about. I hosted my last sticky habit intensive, and that's reminding me one of the things that I did this year.

And so I've wrote, I've written a freaking book. Today is gonna be my final day in writing this. Uh, this is the Friday before Thanksgiving. I'm recording in advance since I'm going to be in California the week before. This is supposed to air, which is usually when we have our episodes out. And so I'm recording a bit in advance that today I, I am pretty darn certain I'm going to finish writing my first draft of the book.

And so that's a dream fulfilled, that's a big did set thing. That's something I have thought about my entire life. There's still a long road to come and you should be on the book launch committee if you wanna hear about what the process is from here, because a first draft isn't the only time you're gonna write your book.

I'm gonna write it over and over and over and I have to do so like three times within the next week before my manuscript is due. Also, there was some good news and bad news recently. Um, so. Definitely got on the newsletter so you can read about that. But yeah, it's cool to see that my daughter graduated from eighth grade, my son had his play.

So I'm seeing like these big moments with my kids. We went with my oldest daughter to her first concert to Rocket Summer. You know, this is so good for me to just go back through this and explore because like, oh my goodness, I forgotten so much. I can see the design projects I did. I, I helped one son's.

Room get, improved a lot. I painted it, got him a new bed, redecorated it did that. Same with the bunk bed for my other sons. Did that for the office for Brad. And as I'm going through this, I'm like, oh, so many of these things were on my, my do something list for the year. I wanted to take on one home project a month and I didn't get 12 totally checked off, but I think I probably did about eight or nine.

And that's a great thing about the, did the do something list on the did something list. The Do something list is about that. It's never about. A completion. It's about exploration. I see a lot more of that exploration happening than I even realize I did, including adventures with, my kids.

That was something I didn't think I really did too well this year, but now I'm looking back, I'm like, no, here's us. In St. George and here's us at a new park and here's us using our Get out pass to go to Lagoon and to a trampoline park. And one thing I'm really proud of that I did this year is our summer felt really lackluster for most of it.

And near the end of the summer, I just felt really disappointed with how it went. But I still had two and a half weeks till my kids started. I decided, hey, it's never too late. And that's something I did. I took back our summer for those last two and a half weeks and really leaned into all those feelings we wanted to create, and I'm proud of that for us.

So my kids already look so much younger than they do now. We went to the Tulip Festival and the spring. I'm still going through some of the summer stuff I saw. More plays. Oh gosh. This is just really affirming. I highly recommend you do this. I didn't realize how in instructive this would be. I can see me saving money on groceries.

I can see more of the path I took. 'cause I, you know, took pictures of our groceries and our receipts, which is really instructive. I see. Kind of releasing my daughter to these big opportunities. She had these, this summer for several camps, um, which was way out of her comfort zone of mine too. I see pictures of me preparing to share about Italy, which is another thing I did.

As I'm recording this right now, we literally have one spot left, so hopefully that will be filled by the time this airs, but if not, um, just email me if you're curious. I see me going on a hike with supporters. I'm actually starting to get near the end of the summer, so we're doing great. Oh my me day, which was such a good day.

That me day was awesome also, I took my kids to museum just to see quilts and stuff. Yellowstone as, with my family near the end of the summer for our reunion was so wonderful. A reunion with Brad's family. Yeah. And I also know during this time I'm thinking about professionally. I know what I did all summer.

I worked my tail off on the More For Moms conference. I started it in April. Summer is when I did all those 25 interviews and began editing them and preparing the site. And I. The sales page and all the, the content for, uh, the speakers and it was just such a tremendous amount of work. In the fall, one of the things I did was send my two and a half year old to preschool, which if you listen to some messy mills around that time was such a challenge for me and for him, and something I almost decided wasn't for us.

But he's really thriving there. He's doing really, really well. Oh my gosh. So as I'm thinking about this, I am seeing, I, I just talked about the book, but what I didn't realize is it was this year that I wrote half the book, then decided I got some coaching from my friend Miranda Anderson, who really pushed me past my own, fears and self limitations.

To only self-publish. That was my only plan. I didn't even think about pursuing traditional publishing, and she urged me to do that. And that all happened this year. I, I stopped writing the book. I wrote a book proposal in the middle of writing that I got pitched by a publisher. I got an agent because of that, who helped pitch me to many others.

But we ended up going with the original people. I signed a traditional publishing offer and then. I went through the whole process up to now too, which I'm like, wow, that was this year. That was this whole year. And that was a big thing. 'cause honestly, 2024 kind of stunk on the career front.

Um, also career front and got to interview Sharon McMahon and Catherine May have those, those interviews released as well as many others. Okay, now we're steadily in the fall I see me harvesting my garden, which the garden wasn't really fun that year. This year, the garden felt more like a responsibility and I've been able to recognize, but more why.

And I think that's just because my time was so limited that fitting in that hobby for me. W became of a chore because the urgency of a garden and me like, like if I don't get my seeds in now, we're not gonna have anything. If I don't put the soil in, we're not gonna have this. If I don't harvest this now, everything's gonna rot.

If I don't pick off these squash bugs, our pumpkins are gonna die. And they did. I only had two tiny pumpkins grow If I don't can this all right now, you know? So it just felt more urgency driven and I'm like, I want to garden. I love that, have that hobby, but I gotta figure out how to do it in a way that.

There's just the time to do it. Uh, exploring my style was actually fun this year. I, I remember when I was doing the summer interviews for the More For Moms conference. Brad came down a lot and kept saying like, um, or after I got ready and uh, for the interviews to be like, you look so cute.

And I was realizing, I think I'm coming more into my own with my style and this is really fun. Then we have the Trip of a Lifetime, my Pride and Prejudice pilgrimage. I had to like basically go a month without looking at these photos because the joy and the grief are just so equally yoked. But now as I look through them, it's more of the joy is transcending.

Like what an experience I, wow. I would give. A lot of money to go back and relive that all. I'm so glad I got to do it. And, um, you'll have to listen to, uh, an episode I did on that. Um, I think it was about a, a case, uh, the, a case for big acts of self-care. I know the title ended up being a little bit different than that, but that was probably my favorite solo episode I've ever recorded.

And that was, if we're still going on, what I did on professionally there, that was a. An episode that actually flowed. A lot of times when I'm drafting an episode, it's like squeezing blood out out of a turnip. Like it's just, it's just hard. It takes a lot of effort and pushing through and trying to find motivation and working messily.

That one not only flowed in the writing, it also flowed in the recording, which is another half of the episodes, which you don't typically see. Sometimes I edit the heck out of what I do because I am stumbling over my words, or I'm stuttering a lot, or the thoughts that I thought were clear on paper aren't coming out, or I'm just having an off day.

But that episode's. Everything flowed and that doesn't happen that often. Um, so listen to that one. That was such a good one. I see my husband coaching volleyball for the, it was the first time, , that he was able to coach one of our kids, like recreational teams. And, that was just such a great experience for all of us.

And then I see me totally exhausted. After the War for Mom's conference, my toddler learned how to take pictures the last day of the conference that night. And you could just see me, Brad, on the couch and I'm smiling at him, but I look half dead, like there's nothing behind the eyes. So then we go into what did I did?

What didn't I do This year I had a, I went through a major funk and I am feeling lucky to be on the other side of that. If that had continued, then I would know that I would need like more professional and perhaps even medical help. Um. I've been through depression many times in my past, so it was kind of veering that direction.

Um, I don't think I necessarily saved myself or did anything to like prevent it because I think depression very often isn't something that we can just grit our way through or pull ourselves out of easily. I think a funk is a little bit different that way and that's how it felt for me. So I'm feeling better about that.

, And again, I'm almost done now. We're into our celebrating nine years of the podcast. I'm taking a lot more pictures, screenshots of different design projects I wanna do. I see my sewing machine finally set up thanks to Brad, me buying fabric to finally lean into that hobby. And yeah, this is so, so good and so helpful.

I see my son in his play. He was the lead of his elementary school play, which was such a huge blessing for him. And that's where we're at right now. Oh, and my daughter too. Her, her opening night of a place she did as well. So what did I do if I, I think I shared the specifics really as I went along. So that's what I want you to do.

How about you go through your photos and just kind of jot some things down? I can see some threads too, of what really. Help me feel like myself on an ongoing basis. I can see the threads of what I'm getting interested in. I'm seeing some threads of what I want to better prioritize moving forward. So this is giving me information.

So what I did, there's some professional things, there's some personal things there. I think personally, I feel like I did a really good job of encouraging. I'm trying to get more specific with myself about, well, also both general and specific in the same vein. So personally, I feel like I did a good job.

At being the kind of mom I wanna be, I feel like overall I was involved in my kids' lives without getting overly involved. I was invested in trying to nourish their interests and where I thought they needed some help. I feel really connected with my kids overall. I feel like I advocated for them the ways that they needed and I corrected where I misstep, like I like.

This was the year I realized I really do need to take Halloween more seriously because it's important to some of my kids and I want to do better job of helping ensure they have costumes. That's something I did, I feel like within my marriage. I think Brad and I did a good job of prioritizing dates together and talking together.

, I can also say like, I think we need to like, go on a trip. It's been so long since we have probably six years since we've gone on something. Just the two of us. Maybe even 2018, so longer. So anyway, I'm kind of getting, getting more information there. Also personally, I stuck out some tough things with, with, uh, that funk that I went through also with some faith issues.

I, I feel like I did a good job of giving myself a lot of space and time to work through those tough things. I prioritize myself in the biggest way I, I ever have since having kids and taking that solo trip was a, which was a huge sacrifice of time and money from my family. I put myself on the list in a very big way.

And I also still try to prioritize my interests in a very, very busy life. And that's actually one of the things I, I'm going to answer later about what went well and what did not. Um, I'm gonna come back to something I learned from that too. Professionally, uh, I overcame some. Massive insecurities that I gained from those iOS switches that dropped our numbers in half at the end of 2022, very end of 2022.

Um, I've stuck with it. We've kind of broken through a plateau thanks to the More for Moms Conference and people who've stuck around to listen. The More For Moms conference was one of, was not even one. It was the biggest work project I've ever taken on, and I did that. I've written a book like Wow.

These are things like, you don't, even in the moment, you are gonna have these things too, where you're like, whoa, I forgot, or Wow. I haven't given myself a moment to be like, I did this. And I think just like if I were to give myself a, a general but specific, like, I did this, I would say I. I moved through a pretty messy middle kind of year.

It wasn't all bad. It wasn't all good. It was a lot of both, and I moved through a messy middle year in a way that I feel proud of. More specifics what habits I gained. I think it's just more. I've evolved with my times. I'm, I, I altered my morning routine to better meet the needs of my family.

Like going from waking up at 6:00 AM to every day to 5:00 AM was a big one for me. Meal planning, biweekly is a big one. Saving money on groceries, where those are some habit based ones. And reading with my 7-year-old, which is finally happening, those are the habits I'm really feeling like.

Good job there. I've already shared the experiences I had from, but I'm just gonna highlight a few. For me, I, because I can see like I getting out and, and going to museums and the ballet and to plays and musicals is really important to me. I can see that I need more times outdoors. So that's a big thing.

And that tour, of course, was the biggest experience. I would say personally, what I learned, I learned that I, and this is gonna go with what's something that did not go well. I was really stretched thin this year, really stretched thin. And in large part, I think that was mostly just due to my circumstances and ones that I chose.

Like I could quit my job, but I. I would also needed to get another job. Like that's what my family needs. It is just hard because it's like, so much came on this year and because of needing to take on so much of myself because I couldn't afford, to hire more and to build out our team, which is fine.

I just felt very stretched thin and like there was very little buffer time and very little time for hobbies and adventures, and I've learned that I need those things and that I need to. Find more buffer space next year. I've also learned that there are still some other dreams inside of me that if my plan a's don't work here with a podcast, I have some good plan B's now that I'm really excited about and that's good for me to see.

Like there's always something else and there's also more inside me that I can continue to develop and to pick up those pieces. I am starting to get into my middle, like next year I turn 40, so my midlife is coming up and I'm learning more about just life in general and being a person. And those life experiences are building up in ways that I am feeling kind of more refined by and, but also that wisdom I think is starting to come in for me more.

It's less about the superficial knowledge that you think, like, you know, things, but it's more of like this deeper knowing, so that feels more like a wisdom I'm feeling more of like a wise maven, I guess. So, yeah. And the last question I had there is, um, how I felt most of the year. How I felt. I felt stressed a lot this year.

I felt exhausted a lot, but I also felt more confident. In weird ways, and I felt like I had more clarity. So yeah, the messy middle about sums it up. So that was me going through, some of the prompts that I have and the guide for you. If that's too much for you, then I want you to just do this baseline version, and it's following the win-win formula that helps you reflect.

And the win-win formula is an acronym Win-Win. The first win is actually made up of two letters, WN. So there's no, there's no vowel there. No, IW stands for what went well, n stands for what Did not. And then the next win is a single sentence. What's important now? So what went well? I would say in general, I feel like I, like I said, my involvement with my kids, my priorities were pretty straight.

My own perseverance. I'm proud of, how I've tried to focus professionally and also personally. I, I think that went pretty well. And the book writing has gone pretty well too. What did not go well? Like I said, I need more bandwidth. I'm stretched too thin. I need more adventure and hobbies.

And also what did not go well is Brad and I are just squeezing in time together. So that's something I'm like, I, even though we prioritize date nights a few times a month, usually, sometimes less, sometimes a little more, uh, that's something I think could do better, and more fun as a family. So that's what did not go as well.

And then, what's important now is making sure I am prioritizing a little bit more bandwidth, perhaps getting creative about ways I can get more help with my work or just lessen loads to certain things because I'm gonna have a really big Z year with the book launch.

I'm gonna have to sort through that. And then also what's important, I think I wanna go on a trip with Brad. We need that. And, um, what's important now too is just embracing, hey, forties coming up, what can I do to do this for my life? Like to kind of look back on my life. And then to look ahead on what's, what the next chapter will bring for me personally, professionally, spiritually, like what will that look like?

And I have to say in this moment, it feels more like. A space of possibility. And that's probably largely thanks to my conversation that I aired a few weeks ago with Wendy Valentine. That was really helpful for this. So yeah. Okay. That was, that was a lot. Forgive me if it just felt really rambly.

What's coming up next though is looking forward, and again, this is all here for you on the Did Something list guide that you can [email protected] slash did something. List. So that's going to be connected for you in the show notes. Uh, so I'm gonna do, looking forward next after a break for our sponsors,

 

Monica Packer: If you owned a business, would you sign up for continuing education to support it? What if you were or are a teacher, a beauty technician, a doctor, a photographer, a dental hygienist, or anything else? The answer is, of course, you would sign up for continuing ed, because that is what all good professionals do.

So if you would answer yes when it comes to investing in a job, then why are you any different? I have found that online education for parenting abounds, I have signed up for countless courses and conferences for parenting. My A DHD children.

But and our pursuit to be good mothers we put parenting and mothering above being humans, which affects those things obviously so deeply. So where's the online education for moms to learn, not just how to be a better mom, but a better fulfilled, joyful human.

That's where the More For Moms course comes in. This was my More For Moms conference, turned into a self-paced course made up of 25 world class speakers who will educate you on how to be you again in ways that are deep and practical. from making sense on why you lost yourself to good intentions in the first place, to helping you explore what it would look like if you were on your own list to tactile ways to improve your every day from dinner.

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Monica Packer: Now looking forward, this is something that you can do to kind of create a sort of compass for your year. Whether this guides the specific goals you are going to create or resolutions or just more this general focus in your life that you don't even have to necessarily get super specific on. I am kind of a, a, what's the word?

I wouldn't say I'm. Apathetic to people making goals because I do make them now and I see the difference it makes to do so. But I also would say that when I started this work with about progress, I intentionally chose to still not make goals yet. And I'm glad I took that time. And I think there are some years that you just don't need them and it's okay to take breaks from them and we don't always have to have such specific goals in mind.

So yeah, if this is just what helps you have a general. Feeling or forecast or compass to what's coming in 2026 for you then this is good. So I'm actually gonna try to answer these a little bit more rapid fire since our, uh, first half of the episode was a little longer. So the second half will be a little shorter, I hope.

Um, and probably you hope too. But as I share these questions, feel free to pause and think them through yourself or get that guide so you can fill this, this out yourself. Okay. Looking forward to 2026. How do I wanna feel in this coming year? I wanna feel centered. It's hilarious because my word for 2025 was calm.

No, it did not feel like a calm year. And I don't think that's 'cause I failed. I just think I probably knew it was gonna be a lot and it was so I wanted to counteract that. So maybe instead of calm, what I really know I need is to feel centered and grounded. And I also wanna feel open to possibility, , in all areas of my life.

What do I want more of? I want more hobbies. I want more adventure. I want more rest. I want more buffer space as I've shared. I want more dates with my husband. I want to go on more trips as a family, and I also want more breakthroughs with my work professionally. What I want less of is stress.

Too full of schedules. I want less fear of what the future will bring. And I guess that goes back to what I want more and more possibility in my life too. What accomplishments I'd like to have. I think personally I would like to feel very strong in my most important relationships with my husband and my kids.

I'd also like to nourish more friendships this year. At the end of this year, I said my son got to be part of a play, and I volunteered for it a little in the beginning, but as the preparation for the play grew, my eyes were open more and more to how much work was really being poured into it. And I tried to raise my hand more, and I'm glad for that.

One, because it was so, it was so meaningful to be more a part of it. And two, it also helped me see that I've been living on an island for a really long time, and as an introverted person, that works for me in many ways. But I could see how being part of. More of a tribe of like leaving the island and joining more of a civilization of other women in particular is really gratifying.

And it's also made me get outta my shell and push me to contribute more in ways that I think are needed for me. So an accomplishment I'd like to have is I'd like to be more social, and I'd also like to volunteer more in my kids' schools, and as maybe that could be a two birds, one stone situation.

Uh, professionally, I would like to feel really proud of my book and that's what I feel like I can control the most. I actually don't have ambitions for it to be a New York Times bestselling book, but I think that's because I am downplaying. My ambitions as a way to preempt my disappointment. So I actually think it would be a big accomplishment for me to dream bigger with a book and to go for it a little bit more.

And while I can't control whatever that turns out to be, I would like to feel accomplished knowing that I created a good book and I'm really proud of it. And also, I did everything I could to ensure that I marketed it and publicized it. So. What that would look like for me is going on as many podcasts as I can, doing something new for me, which is trying to get on TV more.

Radio shows more, and getting more creative about how that can look with doing lots of lives online either too, or I'm gonna have to host my own launch party and do PR boxes so. It'll be an accomplishment for me to know that I'm really proud of the book I created and it will be an accomplishment for me to not downplay this book, but really go for it and be proud that I gave it all I got, even if I can't control how many books end up getting bought.

Um, another accomplishment is growing the podcast and I'm hoping the book will actually help do that as well as all the podcasts I go on and maybe, hopefully. TV shows and talk shows and radio shows I'm able to get on will help grow the show as well so that I can create more of a solid ad revenue that will help also help me grow my team so that I can have more of those other things I shared with bandwidth for myself.

And, um. Yeah, what habits I wanna gain. I want to gain habits that help me rest more and read more and have more hobbies. I'm gonna have to get more specific on how that looks, and I think that's where my goals are gonna come into play. Um, what experiences I hope to have beyond the book ones I just shared?

Like the book launch, I want to travel with Brad. Like I said, I wanna go on a trip with Brad. I am so excited for my tour that I'm hosting my female foodie tour I'm hosting in the fall, so that's gonna be a major experience and I think in many ways to my Pride and prejudice pilgrimage, I want on this year, life changing.

But I also I wanna travel with my family. Um. For years, Brad has been eligible to get, have this month long sabbatical from his work for being at his job for five years. And that milestone passed, I think three or four years ago now. I would like to take that and I don't know if that means we are going to rent a sprinter van and just tour the west coast with like a giant road trip, or if we're gonna do something even bigger, like go to Hawaii for a month.

Who knows, or New York or even abroad. I'm not sure what our finances will look like either, so would be flexible with that, but I'd like to do a big thing like that as a family. So that's the look forward for me and actually that's really grounding of helping me see what matters in my life and my do something list and the goals I'm gonna make.

4, 20, 26 are going to be the practical ways I live this out, but now I feel like I have more of this core compass to help guide the way those things will look. So they're more chosen and less about those sneaky shoulds and prescriptions that come in so easily when those things happen. Now, I do have a whole uh, page in this guide that helps you.

Take that compass and sum it up in words of the year, so I have a little section for you to brainstorm potential words and a spot for you to narrow it down to your three to five and then to finalize it. The way I'm gonna do that is I'm gonna take some of the feelings that I had. I'm gonna put it into chat, G-D-P-G-B-T, and I'm gonna tell it the feelings I want, some of the accomplishments I want, um, what I want more of, less of.

And then I'm gonna ask it to tell me some good potential words of the year. And then because of that. I'm gonna see what words it comes up with and I'm gonna just come do that for me because I'm one of those pers people, that I am not really great at just bringing up words out of the ether. Like, I need help with that.

And as a writer, that's something I've been working through. As I go through my book, I'm like, okay, I use the same word over and over and I use the thesaurus a lot. But I don't use chat GBT for the book, just so you know. Except it did help me come up with a better acronym for something. That's the only thing I've used it for.

But in this case, I'm like, let's let it do the work for me. So I'm gonna do that really quick. I'm gonna pause you hearing this, and I'm gonna find out what has to say.

If you're gonna do this too, um, this is what I said to it. I need help refining my word of the year for 2026. I'm gonna tell you about some hopes I have. Can you suggest some words that communicate those hopes? So now I'm gonna do that and I'll come back and tell you what it comes up with.

So I just did this really, really messily because I could write like an entire three page. Explanation to chat. GBT. So this is what I wrote. I want my rest. Hobbies, reading, fun, and adventure. I want less stress, overwhelm, and fear. I'm publishing a book this coming year and it will require a lot from me. I want to proceed with hope, hard work, and confidence, while also releasing my sense of self from the outcomes.

I'd like to better prioritize relationships with my husband, kids and friends. I'd like to contribute more to my school community. I want to take a trip with my husband. And go on a wild, crazy adventure with my kids. I want more bandwidth overall to have more respite, to sew and to create and to actually have time for myself and my relationships instead of just getting stuff, things done all day, every day.

I am turning 40 years old, so that that is a big milestone. I'd also like to lean into more with. Healthy reflection, and even empowerment. Okay. Let's see what that comes up with. What, and then I put in the end, what words would you suggest? So, let's see.

Okay. There are several words of the year that capture the mix of rest, renewal, adventure, wholehearted work and identity freedom you're describing. I'll group them. Okay. The first words that embrace both rest and expansion. Ooh. I love the word expansion because of Jennifer Finlay Fife in that episode that we recorded, I think two years ago.

So, and then they have another grouping of words for adventure and joy. And another grouping of words for courage and groundedness and ones that honor turning 40. Okay, so this is coming up with a lot and it does feel a little overwhelming, so I'm just gonna read the words to myself and not the explanations, but I'll go back through the ones that are really standing out to me, spacious, which creates room for rest while I'm reading some of the flourish.

Okay. Renew. Hmm. I like that one. Restore unburden. I'm really being drawn to renew right now. Um, other words that speak adventure. Enjoy venture. Embark, radiate. Hmm. That one's standing out to me too. Wander. Don't think so. Steady, rooted, brave, open. Words that honor turning 40 claim rise whole. I like claim.

So claim your time, your rest, your identity, your adventure, your voice, your decade, okay? And words that capture the heart of everything. They put that at the end. So I didn't see that. Spacious, flourish, open venture, whole and claim. I don't like any of those, but claim, so I'm gonna write down the three words.

My top words were, I'm just gonna write this for myself. Renew.

Radiate was another one.

And claim. Those are the three that stand out to me the most is there a word encapsulates those three? Let's see. Otherwise, I might just choose between those three. Okay. Top five. All in one words that blend, renew, radiate, and claim emerge. Hmm. I like that one. Captures renewing yourself.

Stepping up into your power at 40 and shining outward with confidence without forcing outcomes. It's both soft and strong. I like that. Rise embodies renewal, radiance, and claiming your season. The only thing I don't like about that is I feel like Rachel Hollis ruined that word for me. Um, mostly because she, did not properly act, attribute a quote she did to Maya Angelou

and also she used it in so many other things. I don't think so unfold. That sounds good. A gentle reclamation. Reclamation has been a word I'm really, really into right now because it's also gonna be part of the subtitle of my book, you guys. Gentle Reclamation, becoming More of You Opening, revealing, expanding Your Life, creativity, re Relationships, and Rest.

Actually, what a rec reclamation is the word. Awaken renewal and radiant. Stepping fully into who you are in this decade. I like that, embody claiming your identity, your seizing your desires, and then living them outward of calm brightness. Those are all also good. So this is where I struggle

deciding a word of the year is always hard for me. So what I've always told myself at least the last few years is that I just have to choose one and I can change it later. And it doesn't have to be the word for the entire year or like the word that is gonna make or break me. So with that, as I'm looking at these ones.

I think my word is actually going to be reclamation. Which is so funny because it's not those top three, I said renew, radiate, and claim. But it feels like that. Well, I guess it definitely is tied to claim, but to me it encapsulates all those three because I wanna reclaim my time. , I wanna reclaim.

What I want for my life. I wanna reclaim this period of renewal, of reflection, and deciding what's next in my life. As I turn 40, I want to reclaim who I am by bringing back some parts of myself that got lost. And overall, I just wanna reclaim that this is my life and that I get to live it. And. If that comes down to how I choose to spend an afternoon to what I'm gonna do with my career or not, or how I'm going to prioritize relationships, that feels like the word.

So reclamation is my word. Wow. I highly recommend using chat GBT to help you do that. Um, and just go with your gut. So that's the word I have for me. And as I'm looking at my work where my, my guide for you, um, that's what you can do as well. So my friends, check out the did something list guide. Again. It's about progress.com/did something.

List, uh, it's linked for you in the show notes and you can do this as well and I would love to hear about how it goes for you. You can email me about your experience at [email protected] and look forward to our do something training that is coming up in January of 2026. I don't have the exact.

Date, but you will be emailed about it. And speaking of email, um, if you are on the newsletter, I will just send this guide to you. So go to about progress.com/newsletter to sign up. Also to be in the know about things that are coming up with the book and the latest newsletter I recently sent out on

me being done with the book and the good news and bad news that are really big, both of them for the book. And the bad news, by the way, is it started to be like the worst news ever and then it's like not now, and I'm feeling better about it and also hopeful for the direction we need to go. Now. So make sure you get onto that too by going through the link in the show notes to join the book launch committee.

It's free, it's mostly a newsletter right now, but . Coming up we're gonna have some exclusive virtual events. I need some advanced readers that people will need to apply to for, because they're saying they'll only a lot like two or three advanced readers. And, uh, other just book launch stuff that's coming.

You're gonna be first in the know with the actual title and, uh, the book cover. That's part of the bad news, by the way. The title needed to change, so that's kind of a spoiler there. So my friends, is this helping you? What does this making me think of? How can you look back on this year to validate what you've been through, to validate how far you've come to validate even a hard time for yourself so that you have this guide now for what's coming next for you in 2026?

I really hope that regardless of if you fill out this guide for yourself, if you create your own did something list, at very least, do the win-win formula, what went well, what did not, what's important now, but I hope in doing so. You can feel that inner sense of knowing for yourself, that you can, like me, reclaim that life is full of possibility, that this is your life, that you do get to decide and that 2026 can be done.

So with this inner knowing and also some practical information on what you want to do differently moving forward and what you wanna make sure you do more of as well. So thank you so much for listening. We have some good things coming for you this month. We're gonna do our normal two week break at the end of December, just as a heads up, but there's gonna be some great content coming for you this month as well as an excellent start to our 2026.

I have the whole year for the podcast plotted out. I'm really excited for what's to come and as part of that, the book as well. And just a quick reminder that about progress is listener supported, members of the Supporters Club make about progress possible and free for all.

And I'm hoping that won't change. But just so you know, like, uh, the Supporters Club made it so I didn't have to triple my ads spots here or that I had to put. The podcast behind a paywall or one episode a month behind the paywall. And in return, they get access to three levels of exclusive benefits, including a private premium podcast.

If you want more content, that's the way to go. Uh, so sign up for the Supporters Club. We really need more people in that club for this work to continue to be free here. So you can go to about progress.com/support to sign up, and I thank you so much for doing so and. You can support the show for free. The number one way to do that right now is to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, and doing so automatically submits you to my favorite things giveaway.

That is still going on through the end of the year, and we still have the best stuff coming by the end of the year, including Roth's Clogs, A Gap Sweatsuit, Jenny Bird Earrings My favorite purse right now that is so cute and goes with everything and is really high quality and more. So please support the show for free by leaving and reading an interview on Apple Podcasts right now.

And thank you for doing so, and thank you for listening. Now go and do something with what you learned today.