The current year is drawing to a close – once again the best time for a brief review of the past year and a look ahead to the coming year.
Looking back to 2025
What was good in 2025:
- Medium was a surprise hit for me. Not because my posts there were particularly successful, but because you can read fantastic articles on a wide variety of topics from all over the world. I really enjoy it. So, my thanks to all the Medium authors out there who have kept me entertained this year.
- I was more active. A short walk in the morning before work and various physical exercises during the day, such as push-ups. They work like coffee for me, only much faster.
- Audible, with its extensive selection of audiobooks, especially in the educational field, has repeatedly saved my day. Listening is different from reading, but it works very well for me when it comes to continuing education. Plus, you have your hands free and can, for example, take care of housework.
- I was able to write and publish more again, which I really enjoy.
- My blog gained in popularity. I started the blog at the end of 2024. By 2025, it had around 27,000 visits, without me having done any search engine optimization or advertising. Since I publish across multiple platforms—on LinkedIn, Medium, and this blog, I was able to reach quite a few people. That makes me happy.
What was less good in 2025:
- I don’t like advertising. But it’s everywhere. I rarely use Amazon Prime Video, but the ads are annoying even after just one use. And what they’re advertising is often more than questionable to me.
- The sheer number of incredibly negative news stories, or the news stories of absolute extremes—overly positive or overly negative. This creates pure uncertainty. AI was, of course, a top topic in 2025. It’s very annoying and makes it difficult to form an impression, let alone an opinion.
- In 2025, I often perceived cloud computing and the associated dependencies on the respective provider as predominantly negative rather than positive. And not just in the press. Above all, I was dissatisfied with Microsoft due to various personal experiences. This dissatisfaction was further exacerbated by the mandatory upgrades to Windows 11, which gave me quite a headache. Therefore I started working with Linux again in 2025. Actio and Reactio.
- LinkedIn has deteriorated significantly for me in terms of content by 2025. It’s a bit like a shopping street full of shops with colorful neon signs. Everywhere you look, you’re promised amazing things. Identifying truly relevant content was exhausting for me, but thankfully, those “gems” still existed.
Outlook for 2026
Let’s take a look at my personal goals and wishes for 2026:
- I’d love to publish a book someday. There are three topics I can currently imagine doing so on. This is partly because these topics are too broad for the blog format, but would certainly be a good fit for a 150-page book.
- Continue writing a lot, because it helps me organize my thoughts on certain topics and achieve a clarity that wouldn’t be possible for me without this form of reflection. Furthermore, based on feedback from my publications, I can say that there are quite a few people out there who enjoy reading my writing. Digital greetings to them!
- Continue my collaboration with AI, even if the interaction often ranges between “Wow!” and “Seriously?”
- Be more present on more levels again. The last few years have been characterized by a strong focus on my work. That didn’t leave much room for anything else. Besides work, however, there are numerous other things that are either an integral part of life or contribute to a fulfilling outlook.
So much for the review and the outlook. I wish all my readers a happy New Year and a great start to 2026.
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed the post, please share the article with your community. Thanks in advance.
Michael (a mind forever voyaging)