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š”Get Free: Why Clarity Matters
Issue 30: Understand where youāve been, so you know where youāre going
Joanne GP
January 02, 2026
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 weāll recall an event or a moment that weāre 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.
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. Letās do this!
So, whatās up this week?
As weāre still in that āwhat day is it?ā timeless week, Iām dropping in with some recaps and a taste of whatās 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. Thereās not a single notebook I donāt love because the physical act of gliding a pen across the page is one of lifeās 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 thereās 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 Yearās Day? Clearing up the paper pile because I. just. CANāT!
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 arenāt even that close to the 2025 version, but thatās another story for another time.)
So this leads to clarity point number one: Youāre holding on to too many things that really donāt 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.
Itās easy to think ābut itās just paper!ā 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 weekās physical mail and read, act or shred because aināt nobody got time to spend another New Yearās Day processing paper (and while weāre 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: whatās taking up space and not serving you any more?
Still on the paper trainā¦
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 didnāt miss my phone AT ALL. That was until I wanted to call someone and realized I couldnāt find my phone. I figured Iād put it somewhere random (which happens all the time) but that it would turn up. It didnāt. I asked my kid if heād seen it: No. I asked my husband if heād stumbled across it. No. So he called my phone. No sound anywhere in the house. I thought maybe Iād dropped it during our evening walk, but one of us wouldāve heard it fall. Flummoxed, I tell you!
And thenā¦
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 goingā¦
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 ringā¦
Itās OK, you can laugh - I did!
So this gets to clarity points two and three: First, pay attention to what youāre 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 weāre 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! Hereās 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. Itās OK to not always be available, and itās 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, Iām staying close to clarity this year. When youāre clear on your values, your why and where youāre trying to go, cutting out some of the noise becomes easier. Iāll 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 2026ā¦
One of the BEST things to come out of 2025 for me is the launch of The Get Free Guide! Whether youāre an OG rolling since Day One, or joined at the close of the year, we covered A LOT of ground and I love that youāre 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.
Hereās the thing ā and this isnāt breaking news ā 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 hereās the thing: we canāt really get free if weāre not even acknowledging whatās true for us.
2025 was a year of rapid change, from natural disasters, man-made upheavals and socio-economic challenges. And thatās 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. Hereās 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 isnāt there. But GFF Paulina shared how Issue 19 and some conversations with her spouse made her think differently about a recent side hustle opportunity:
It started to feel like the side hustles are actually me selling myself short. Itās like Iām telling the universe that thatās all Iām worth, while lamenting that I want better leadership roles. Like Iām 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 - āthank you, no thank you!!!ā itās 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 donāt have that freedom or commitment. Often my time isnāt my own or is taken up by things that suck up energy in ways that just arenāt helpful. Case in point, over the last almost 30 years of work (how did that happen?!) Iāve 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 canāt 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 donāt want to.
This one got yāall in your feelings. Weāre 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 canāt even properly say what exactly Iām in the middle of ā¦ away from something and toward something else I suppose? But to even figure that out Iām trying to strip things waaaay back. Saying no. Staying still. Examining my actual feelings and motivations. Itās uncomfortable. Itās scary to do less. Iāve been quitting things ā¦ from the PTA to certain friendships ā¦ and get pangs of guilt over it ā¦ but the clutter has got to go. Because here is whatās at stake: If I donāt 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 donāt 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 folksā¦)
Given the year itās no surprise this was one that resonated with the Get Free Fam. Itās also the post that was shared hundreds of times across various platforms and read online. Hereās 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 youāve been in the workforce long enough - five minutes or 50 years - youāve been impacted directly or indirectly by a layoff. Maybe youāve experienced the elimination of your role, or youāve had to watch as colleagues packed up their belongings, or perhaps youāve 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.
Say it with me.
The Layoff Is Not My Fault.
We can control what we can control, but donāt blame yourself for things that arenāt yours to hold. Free yourself!
Do you have an issue or a topic youāre still thinking about? Would love to hear - and share. We donāt gatekeep!
So whatās coming up?
Iām 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 weāre all still in the holiday layover, so Iām going to hold my excitement and hit yāall with it next week!)
In the meantimeā¦
šGet Your Life: Things to read, listen to, enjoyš
šWhat Iām reading: I donāt 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, thoughā¦.š
šŗWhatās on the TV: Weāre 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.
šµ Soundtrack for the week: Janet Jackson, baby. The Pleasure Principle!
āØ If youāve got a recommendation drop me a line. āØ
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 donāt gatekeep around here!
See you next Friday!