"One Page Is Enough": My 2026 Writing Promise

Here’s the thing about a new year:

You think you are going to suddenly feel different when you wake up in the morning. As if you have drunk a magic potion or something that is going to make you feel different about your life, about how you see the world, and about how you are going to accomplish everything your heart desires in this new year. As if you have been given a brand new notebook with that fresh smell of unused paper and a fancy new fountain pen that slides effortlessly on the paper, connected to a deep stream of brilliant ideas. [Insert vinyl record scratch]

Real life is not like that. You wake up in the morning. The calendar on your phone says January 1. You try to remember all the excitement from last night, counting backwards from 10. 3, 2, 1… Happy New Year! Thinking this is going to be THE year.

So where did all that excitement go? Why does today feel like any other day of our lives?

Then you remember the holidays are over and you have to go back to work. Oh, and that thing with the deadline you have been putting off because of the holidays is dangerously closing in, and you have to deal with it. Half of the things you promised yourself you would do during your time off did not happen, and down and down it goes in the rabbit hole of self deprecation.

But…

If there is one good thing about aging, it is that you learn to weather the storm when it comes to these moments. You see, when you are in your twenties and there are new things happening in your mind and body and psyche every single day, you do not have enough data points to look back and try to read your life, your moods, your ups and downs. You rely on hopes and dreams and planners and New Year Resolutions to keep things moving forward. That is the way to do it.

But as you get older, you get to a point where you can see the trajectory of events in your life. Yes, you are still growing and learning and evolving. Yes, there can still be life altering, how-the-fuck-did-this-happen moments. But there is one big difference. You have learned by now to curb your enthusiasm, to know there will be a hundred things you cannot possibly predict, and all you need to do is put one foot in front of the other, keep your eyes on the prize, and keep moving forward, slowly but surely.

You start to appreciate all the little steps you have taken to get here. You see where you started, the big leaps of faith you took throughout the years, and how every little setback, every tiny accomplishment, every heartbreak brought you here, made you who you are.

The answer is in the little steps, patiently and consistently taken over time.

Yes, there are people out there who break records and experience huge success, popularity, fame, and fortune, sometimes in a ridiculously short amount of time. And do not worry, I am not going to say “but they are not necessarily happy” or “money cannot buy happiness” or all the other conciliatory bullshit we mere mortals tell ourselves to feel better. What I am going to say is this. Those people are the exceptions, not the rule. They are the outliers, and we cannot and should not compare ourselves to their success.

Is it fair that they have all the money and opportunity? Well, newsflash. Life is not fair.

I know you might be thinking, why is this New Year post so dark and gloomy? Is she okay?

First of all, thank you for your concern. I am perfectly fine, thank you very much. Perfectly is a stretch, but it is the new year, so let’s go with it. And no, this is not dark and gloomy at all. Au contraire, it is quite liberating.

Last year, I promised myself one thing: Don’t Break the Chain.

Inspired by a mythical anecdote from Jerry Seinfeld, here is how it goes:

In an interview with Lifehacker, Brad Isaac, a young comedian who met Seinfeld backstage at a club, talks about how he asked Seinfeld if he had any tips for a young comic.

Seinfeld told him the key to being a better comic was creating better jokes, and the way to create better jokes was to write every day. He recommended getting a wall calendar that showed the entire year on one page and hanging it somewhere he could see it daily. With a big red magic marker, he would mark an X over each day he completed his writing.

“After a few days you will have a chain,” Seinfeld said. “Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You will like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job is not to break the chain.”

This morning, I took a picture of my wall calendar for 2025, wrapped it up, and put the new one for 2026 on the wall. How did the chain do in 2025? Well, it got broken several times here and there, but you know what? I kept it going for 75 percent of the year. Not too bad, if I do say so myself [she pats herself on the back].

And what made the difference? Small, seemingly insignificant steps.

I learned something valuable from a mentor this year. All you need to do is sit down and write 250 words a day, just one page, and then you can go do whatever else you want.

One page.

I have heard this advice in different shapes and formats many times before, but this time it was as if it latched onto the promise I had made myself at the beginning of the year, and something clicked. One page a day is what got me to 19 chapters so far. Even I do not quite believe it yet.

Here is to being kind to ourselves, meeting ourselves where we are in life, and believing that progress is what matters.

Here is to a year of steady progress, one page at a time.

Happy New Year, all.