January always gives me just enough quiet to think, right before the calendar fills up and momentum takes over.

This year, I’ve been asking myself one simple question:

What do I want to do differently in 2026?

Not bigger.

Not louder.

Just… different in a way that feels more honest.

I keep coming back to two buckets: Mindset and Deliverables.

Mindset

Care about myself more

This isn’t about being selfish. It’s about being more intentional with my mental and physical well-being. If this sounds a little Gen Z, I’ll own it. That’s one thing I’ve learned from them: proactively taking mental health seriously actually makes you better at everything else.

Caring about myself also means saying no to things I don’t want to do, without over-explaining, justifying, or apologizing.

Embrace JOMO

I want to be genuinely okay with what I do and what I don’t do. I don’t need to chase every opportunity, attend every event, or prove anything by being everywhere. Missing out isn’t a loss, it’s often a conscious choice.

Be more forgiving—of others and myself

Forgiveness doesn’t mean avoiding hard conversations or lowering standards. It means making the point clearly and constructively, then letting it go. No replaying the tape in my head. No unnecessary self-punishment.

Deliverables

Have fun

I tell marketers this all the time, yet we’re some of the most exhausted people I know. Yes, we’re stressed. Yes, budgets get cut. But fun doesn’t disappear just because things get hard.

“Fine, we have less budget. Let’s see what we can do.”

Let’s think. Let’s experiment. Let’s make thinking fun again.

AEO (AI Engine Optimization)

I believe every marketer needs to understand AEO—not as a trend, but as a fundamental shift.

Working with AI is one skill.

Understanding how AI understands your company is another.

• How does AI find your products and services?
• How does it interpret your messaging?

LLM-driven search impacts everything: websites, demand gen, planning, messaging, and copy.

AEO isn’t a side project anymore—it’s becoming part of every marketer’s job.

Writing

I want to write more. Not just marketing frameworks or how-tos—but what I actually want to write. Fictional stories about marketing. Human stories. Slightly uncomfortable ones. The kind that don’t fit neatly into a proper purchase funnel.

In the past…

Revenue goals were always my primary deliverable. I still have my goals—but this year, I’m experimenting with a different belief:

If I have more fun and do AEO right, revenue should (in theory) take care of itself.

Maybe not in a straight line, but in a more serendipitous way.

I don’t know if it will work out exactly as planned.

But somehow, things usually do.

As I get older, I’m more aware of time. It moves fast—faster than I think.

Life isn’t about working endlessly now, so we can finally live later. Try to find time to work and play, swapping work and play back and forth → productive work, intentional learning, lifestyle travel, bucket-list moments. Whatever form it takes, find your playful moments, even in the middle of work.

Discover what’s good in this messy world.

And most importantly, help others see how good they already are.

I mean you, my friend.

— Pam