I AM SO READY FOR 2026.

I’ve been writing these Prologues for half a decade and for the first time ever, THIS is the year I finally feel at peace.

I have the foundation set — I own my house, my son is settled in school, I’m so happy with my home life with my little family, I’m consistently fulfilled by work, I love the things I’m teaching and launching, my website is perfect, I get to see my friends enough, I’m confident in myself and what I’m doing — and now it’s time to see what life looks like when everything works.

Since the beginning of Between The Lines, I’ve been living in chaos, navigating everything from an international move to an unexpected divorce to suddenly becoming a single mother with no support to an ADHD diagnosis to loss in my life to fuck ass breakups to burnout spouts…

And now, I finally have what I’ve been searching for all this time:

Peace.

…which is why my main focus of this year is KEEPING IT.

My 2026 Plans

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but my goal this year is actually to do less.

And I’m not being dramatic when I tell you that this will be the most difficult resolution I’ve ever set for myself.

I am, at my core, a workaholic with a dopamine addiction (and my preferred source of dopamine is work-related praise and a fat Stripe notification).

Literally NO ONE believed me when I said the only things I’m launching this year are Site Series (my website copywriting course) and Success Story (my group mentorship program for copywriters). Like I genuinely had to swear on my life that I was serious in order for them to believe me.

& you know what, I don’t blame them!

I’m obsessed with what I do, so I keep launching something new, coming out with a new resource, teaching something live… it’s genuinely what I LOVE.

But it’s also what I rely on.

I like to live in chaos — doing the most all the time — because I’m used to living in chaos.

One of my biggest success stories (and most classic Sara Squirrel stories) from 2025 was the launch of my Newsletter Strategy Workshop, when I accidentally announced it (on a whim, one second after I decided to create it, of course) without realizing it was happening in 10 days.

So, the pressure was on: exactly how I like it. Inadvertently backing myself into a corner, like always. Those ADHDers looove their high-pressure deadlines.

My goal was to get 20 people inside the program. I got 110.

It’s thrilling, to be honest! Especially when it’s something I genuinely love.

BUT I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LIFE IS LIKE TO BE CHILL.

And after an inspiring conversation with my friend Maia about how in order to expand our capacity and prove to ourselves we can hold more (by not distracting ourselves with self-inflicted chaos every second), we actually need to do less…

I decided to give it a try.

So, in 2026, I’m shockingly, confidently admitting I’m doing LESS. And I’m just as interested as you are to find out what that really looks like in practice.

My 2026 Focus Areas

👀 Site Series Sprint® — I’ll be launching my website copywriting course in February and September, and both times I’ll be teaching my 4-week Write Your Site workshop series to the VIP group.

👀 Success Story — my copywriter-only group mentorship program is a year long this time around, for the first time ever! As of now (January 6th) there are 10 people in the program, and I’d love to support 20 this year.

👀 Growing my email list — I’ve been sending a weekly email every single week, without ever missing a week, for 263 weeks straight. Buuut in the past year, I haven’t worked too hard to grow my email list much (likely because I’ve been busy with all those manic-episode-launches and dopamine chases).

So, in 2026, I’m back on my Pinterest grind, I’ll be talking about my list more, advertising in more places, and giving it my ALL to get to 10,000 subscribers!

👀 Serving website designers — as a website copywriter, designers are a wicked important piece of the client success puzzle, and I’m making a big effort to serve designers EXTRA this year. Subscribe to my designer-only newsletter for more details!

👀 Serving copywriters — in addition to my group mentorship program, I plan to also serve copywriters this year by continuing to send my free copywriter-only newsletter Open Loop every Thursday.

👀 Writing my BOOK!!! — the biggest thing I’m focused on this year (aside from my business and my client work, obviously) is writing my book about managing ADHD for entrepreneurs. I cannot wait to help the girlies stop squirreling all over town and start taking control of their brains, their businesses, and their busy ass lives.

My 2026 Words of the Year

Reflecting on past Prologues, I’m realizing it’s classically quite difficult for me to choose one, so this year I’m giving myself three, because I make the rules.

DEEPEN: because I have the foundation of everything I want, but now I want to take things deeper.

COMMIT: because I want to start keeping promises to myself. While I’m great at achieving professional goals, personal ones often fall to the wayside, and this year, I’m not letting that happen. I’m committing.

REFINE: because it’s been my word of the year almost every year and I still don’t feel like I’ve made an effort to refine the things I want to refine. If I’m reading this back at the end of 2026 and all of my freebie still funnels still aren’t updated, I’m gonna cut a bitch.

And by “a bitch” I mean me.

What I’m Making Time For In 2026

We all have the same 24 hours in a day, blah blah blah, no we don’t. I have a six year old who doubles as an overstimulation machine.

But excuses are unbecoming, so I’m not going to make them.

(Anymore.)

In reality, I can make time for what I choose to make time for. I’m not on anyone else’s schedule but mine. I have the resources — flexibility, finances, privilege, opportunity — to be able to do what I want to do.

So if I don’t… well, that’s on me. And I refuse to get in my own way anymore, crying “burnout” or “no time” or whatever other lame excuse I was using to avoid actually doing the things I said I wanted to do.

#1 — CREATIVE HOBBIES.

This deserves a spot at the top of the list, because my creativity is dwindling.

Somewhere along the way, I lost the plot.

My business used to feel like my creative hobby, back in the good old days, when I was working in my garoffice and had significantly less responsibilities.

Now, I’ve let my business become a big beautiful beast, and I’ve started an affair with her. A big, fat, juicy, tantililzing affair, where I’m getting my rocks off in the form of Stripe notifications from new clients and subscribers and sign-ups and students.

I love what I’ve built, but my brain deserves to have hobbies outside of work.

It’s unfamiliar territory for a December Capricorn 3w2 Generator like me, but… it genuinely DOES make me feel so recharged and fulfilled to do little pointless things just for the sake of it.

When I sit at the kitchen table and cut and paste and glue scraps and photos to a notebook, I genuinely enter flow state.

So, I’m making time for that brain break this year, as opposed to just reserving it for that one awkward week between Christmas and my birthday.

#2 — MOVING MY BODY.

The gym is a paying client this year. Full stop.

Consider my Apple Watch rings closed, my matching set on, my walking pad perpetually at 2.6 while I’m working, my alarm set for 6:15am, and my pits sweating.

I’m not fucking around this year.

So, when you see a little leaf floating around Cape Cod this summer… don’t be alarmed, that’s just me.

#3 — PLAYING GAMES.

My little fam has been obsessed with playing games lately, and I think it’s such a fun, wholesome, character-building offline activity! We’ve implemented a weekly game night in our household, but I also want to invite friends to play games more — whether if it’s cards while we’re at the brewery, a quick lunch break game of Uno, or a fun night playing Clue.

What I’m Doing For My Business This Year

I’m giving that bitch a REST.

I’m letting her breathe.

I’m looking at her from every angle, making sure she’s operating properly, and giving her the rejuvenation she deserves in the areas she needs support.

I love her so much, and I want her to age well, so I’m taking care of her this year.

That begins with (systems audit, funnels, platforms, etc etc)

What I’m Investing In This Year

Less, actually.

(Not exactly a surprise, given my theme of 2026.)

I’m not much of a business spender — I don’t typically buy too many courses or resources or programs — but last year, I outsourced more than I ever have in my life.

I hired a podcast manager, a podcast strategist, an online business manager, a designer, another designer, and, for the first time ever, a coach.

It was a big year for my wallet but also a big year for my business, and it felt good to bet on myself in those ways.

Now, though, I’m interested to challenge myself and see how much profit I could actually keep if I chose to hold on to my money and be stingy with my investments! I’m optimistic about it (and I’ll likely include the report in this year’s Epilogue).

2026 INS:

• Doing what I say I’m gonna do
• Doing things for the sake of it
• Obsessively closing my Apple Watch rings like a freak
• Conceding that function does sometimes have to surpass aesthetics
• Going to all my doctor’s appointments
• Scheduling breaks and sticking to them
• Doing crafts
• Playing card games and board games
• Still getting excited about sleepovers with the loml even though we live together
• Making things more whimsical
• Blue raspberry protein water
• Junk journaling
• Reminding everyone I’ve been junk journaling since before it was a trend
• Being offline
• Not feeling like I need to post online about how offline I am
• Unapologetically getting really fucking hot
• Talking at 2x speed
• Using the desktop computer
• Pre-bedtime sour gummy candy
• LinkedIn
• Rewatching Scandal
• Being someone’s version of cringe
• Hosting at home
• Telling people how you feel

2026 ICKS:

• Being a baby back bitch
• Using the word “friend” too loosely
• Setting goals just for the sake of setting them
• Doing too much
• Being too cool to double text
• Clutter
• Over-explaining
• Underestimating yourself
• Relationships that aren’t reciprocal
• Drinking the poison and expecting someone else to die
• Feeling pressured to post
• Saying “yes” when you don’t fucking want to
• Numbers goals without the actions to back them up
• Caring what other people think
• Comparing yourself to people whose opinions you don’t respect or lives you don’t want

31 things I want to do at 31 🩵

2026 marks my “golden” year, because I turned 31 on the 31st of December. I’m taking this as my sign to make every second feel truly golden.

1. Actually fucking chill for once
2. Make 1 recipe from every cookbook I own
3. Celebrate Xanthe’s birthday with her in person
4. Go to Paris again
5. Cheer on my friends running the Boston Marathon and the New York City marathon
6. Keep falling more in love
7. Get invited to go to London for work
8. Learn how to sew
9. Keep up with all of my health appointments (not allowed to skip the dentist ok I know it’s scary but have to go!)
10. Host at least 3 themed Bean Water cafes open to everyone
11. Get the garage professionally organized
12. Run a 5K without croaking (and maybe also fill that inhaler prescription…)
13. Go on a work retreat in Barcelona
14. Go to a Celtics game
15. Ride bikes with Wesley
16. Host a retreat on Cape Cod for Success Story students & 1:1 mentees
17. Save $70,000
18. Do 1 new workout class each month
19. Go on 31 podcasts & Cross some of my “dream guests” off my own podcast guest list
20. Make something fun with air dry clay
21. Treat the gym like a paying client (always feel so great physically and mentally when I do this!)
22. Use my paddle board more
23. Go on 12 coffee dates with friends I don’t see or spend 1:1 time with often
24. Make more time for creative space (been collage journaling since before it was cool & I want to do it more!)
25. Play more board games + card games
26. Stop making baby back bitch excuses (like hello?? I have every resource available to me and all the flexibility to be my richest hottest self???)
27. Throw a massive birthday party (venue, DJ, photographer, tattoo artist, the whole ass thing)
28. Watch more documentaries / read more memoirs
29. Learn how to play piano
30. Get back into film photography
31. HAVE THE BEST GOLDEN YEAR 💛✨

I will accept nothing less than my best year yet!

I wrote that same headline in the 2025 Prologue — and I could not possibly be more thankful to share:

It came true.

Last year absolutely was my best year yet, and I have a strong feeling that 2026 is about to be even BETTER.

I love who I am, where I am, what I’m doing, and who I’m doing it with.

I cannot wait for December Sar to see how much she’s accomplished and how far she’s come.