Get Free Fam,
Happy 2026! Oooooowwwwwwweeeeeee! 2025 was a ride. Why does it feel like we packed five years into 12 months? Chatting with friends weâll recall an event or a moment that weâre CERTAIN happened two or three years ago, but our trusty calendars let us know that said event was, in fact, last month. What in the DeLorean time travel is that? 2025 had its own timeline and speedometer and I refuse to believe otherwise.Â
But for real, I hope 2026 is one of peace, joy and kindness for you, your family and your community. I hope you have moments to slow down and savor, and find freedom in ways that make life richer and sweeter. Letâs do this!
So, whatâs up this week?
As weâre still in that âwhat day is it?â timeless week, Iâm dropping in with some recaps and a taste of whatâs to come from The Get Free Guide in 2026. But first, a little storytime that gave me my word for the season: Clarity.
So: I have a real issue with paper. Thereâs not a single notebook I donât love because the physical act of gliding a pen across the page is one of lifeâs joys. I have umpteen fancy paper products and cards for various occasions (yes, including the ones I buy and then forget to send. Doh!) And then thereâs the less-fun paper ephemera in the guise of old bills and junk mail that need to be shredded but just build up over time. How did I spend my New Yearâs Day? Clearing up the paper pile because I. just. CANâT!
When I tell you it took HOURS to clear through it all. Like, why did I find a glasses prescription from four years ago? With the best will in the world, my 2026 eyes are NOT on the 2022 operating system (on the real, my 2026 eyes arenât even that close to the 2025 version, but thatâs another story for another time.)
So this leads to clarity point number one: Youâre holding on to too many things that really donât serve you, and worse still, are weighing you down. The levels of light I feel walking into my home office knowing all that paper is gone? Game changer.
Itâs easy to think âbut itâs just paper!â And yes, it is just paper, but it takes up space - physically AND mentally. So my first order of 2026 business is setting a weekly timer to go through the weekâs physical mail and read, act or shred because ainât nobody got time to spend another New Yearâs Day processing paper (and while weâre here, the same goes for techno mail, too. Remember, delete is your BFF!) And while this clarity point is about paper, we all know this applies to pretty much everything in life. So ask yourself: whatâs taking up space and not serving you any more?
Still on the paper trainâŚ
I got hit with another clarity point. So you know I said I was in clean up and processing mode for hours? During that time I listened to some music and podcasts on my laptop and didnât miss my phone AT ALL. That was until I wanted to call someone and realized I couldnât find my phone. I figured Iâd put it somewhere random (which happens all the time) but that it would turn up. It didnât. I asked my kid if heâd seen it: No. I asked my husband if heâd stumbled across it. No. So he called my phone. No sound anywhere in the house. I thought maybe Iâd dropped it during our evening walk, but one of us wouldâve heard it fall. Flummoxed, I tell you!
And thenâŚ
My mind flashed to the trash cans. I had a couple of bags of recycling and I asked the kid to take them outside. You know where this is goingâŚ
Why am I outside my house, in the dark and the wet, flashlight on, calling my phone and digging through the recycling? Of course, one of the bags started to ringâŚ
Itâs OK, you can laugh - I did!
So this gets to clarity points two and three: First, pay attention to what youâre throwing out. The start of a new year can have us thinking we need to get rid of everything from the previous 12 months, when the reality is that with every passing year we learn, we refine, we build. How can we do that if weâre always throwing everything out and starting again? Even in the worst of years we have things that will serve us along the way. Pay attention to what you keep and what you release: you might need it! Hereâs a question: What are you taking with you into 2026?
And point number three: Leave that phone alone! I had a perfectly good time without being at the beck and call of a screen for a few hours. Itâs OK to not always be available, and itâs OK to enjoy life beyond a screen. Ask yourself: What are you making time for?
Day one of 2026 came in hot and taught me a lot, lol! And this is why, more than anything, Iâm staying close to clarity this year. When youâre clear on your values, your why and where youâre trying to go, cutting out some of the noise becomes easier. Iâll have more to share on clarity in the weeks to come, but tell me: What are you seeking clarity on? You can reach out using this form or email [email protected] and put CLARITY in the subject heading.
Before we dive into 2026âŚ
One of the BEST things to come out of 2025 for me is the launch of The Get Free Guide! Whether youâre an OG rolling since Day One, or joined at the close of the year, we covered A LOT of ground and I love that youâre here. Here are some of your favorites!
In short, this one is all about how we live our dreams out loud with some practical steps to set us on our way.
Hereâs the thing â and this isnât breaking news â we all have things we desire, from the small to the audacious. Sometimes it feels strange to even acknowledge them out loud. The desires of your heart can feel too big, too impractical, too far away. Or we worry about what others might say. So we talk ourselves out of wanting them. But hereâs the thing: we canât really get free if weâre not even acknowledging whatâs true for us.
2025 was a year of rapid change, from natural disasters, man-made upheavals and socio-economic challenges. And thatâs just the shortlist. The Chokehold of Scarcity was a reminder that even in the midst of hard times, we can still be free and exercise the choices we DO have. Hereâs a snippet from this issue:
A few of you shared how side hustles are becoming more urgent and taking more time because of fears that the 9-5 will soon be gone. The feeling of abundance isnât there. But GFF Paulina shared how Issue 19 and some conversations with her spouse made her think differently about a recent side hustle opportunity:Â
It started to feel like the side hustles are actually me selling myself short. Itâs like Iâm telling the universe that thatâs all Iâm worth, while lamenting that I want better leadership roles. Like Iâm focusing on the wrong thing. My spouse has been telling me this for years but this time it came from within. After reading your newsletter, I wrote to the person [the side hustle opportunity] and confirmed - âthank you, no thank you!!!â itâs like I thought about the space in my brain and heart as a valuable (not necessarily limited) resource - and decided to put it to something better. Money comes and goes. My own contributions to the world are more important.
I was fortunate to spend a lot of time with family this year, especially my parents who are in their 80s. While joyful, it was a chin check. Time is not renewable. No do-overs. So what are you doing with it?
When I look at myself and my time, I donât have that freedom or commitment. Often my time isnât my own or is taken up by things that suck up energy in ways that just arenât helpful. Case in point, over the last almost 30 years of work (how did that happen?!) Iâve lost count of the hours (probably months at this point) spent in endless conversations about decisions or processes or differences of opinion that people just canât get over. Or meetings about meetings that could be an email. Can we just stop this, please?! Outside of work this looks like saying yes to things that should be an automatic no for no other reason than I just donât want to.
This one got yâall in your feelings. Weâre not trained to appreciate mess, but we get free when we work our way through it. One GFF shared this reflection:
The mess of the middle has me, for once, very quiet. And I canât even properly say what exactly Iâm in the middle of ⌠away from something and toward something else I suppose? But to even figure that out Iâm trying to strip things waaaay back. Saying no. Staying still. Examining my actual feelings and motivations. Itâs uncomfortable. Itâs scary to do less. Iâve been quitting things ⌠from the PTA to certain friendships ⌠and get pangs of guilt over it ⌠but the clutter has got to go. Because here is whatâs at stake: If I donât make space for it, I might not ever find out what me and my life are actually about.
There are so many questions, comments and reflections that come in - keep sharing! I donât have all the answers (clearly!) but together, we know a whole lot. Reach out using this form or at [email protected]
And coming in at NUMBER ONE (in my best Billboard or Top of the Pops voice for the UK folksâŚ)
Given the year itâs no surprise this was one that resonated with the Get Free Fam. Itâs also the post that was shared hundreds of times across various platforms and read online. Hereâs a taste:
Saying layoffs are hard is like saying that stumping your toe while half asleep is a real doozy: we all know the deal. If youâve been in the workforce long enough - five minutes or 50 years - youâve been impacted directly or indirectly by a layoff. Maybe youâve experienced the elimination of your role, or youâve had to watch as colleagues packed up their belongings, or perhaps youâve been the one to sit on a call with Debbie from HR and tell someone they no longer have a job. Either way you need to hear this:
The layoff is not your fault.Â
Say it with me.
The Layoff Is Not My Fault.
We can control what we can control, but donât blame yourself for things that arenât yours to hold. Free yourself!
Do you have an issue or a topic youâre still thinking about? Would love to hear - and share. We donât gatekeep!
So whatâs coming up?
Iâm excited to share some new tools next week and fresh ways to connect with The Get Free Guide (I really wanted to do it today, but weâre all still in the holiday layover, so Iâm going to hold my excitement and hit yâall with it next week!)Â
In the meantimeâŚ
đGet Your Life: Things to read, listen to, enjoyđ
đWhat Iâm reading: I donât subscribe to New Year, New You, but I did find this piece in the NY Times Well section a useful reflection tool: 7 Questions to Ask Yourself for a Happier New Year. A few key ones:
What gave you energy? And what drained it?
What habit, if you did it more consistently, would have a positive effect on your life?
Is there anyone you need to forgive in 2026?
That last one, thoughâŚ.đ
đşWhatâs on the TV: Weâre still in the holiday TV window, so I had to crack open The Best Man Holiday, which was closely followed by The Best Man: The Final Chapters.
đľ Soundtrack for the week: Janet Jackson, baby. The Pleasure Principle!
⨠If youâve got a recommendation drop me a line. â¨
THANKS FOR READING!
If you got something out of this issue of The Get Free Guide, give us a follow or a shout out on Instagram and share the love with a friend. We donât gatekeep around here!
See you next Friday!
