The Starting Line
Well boy howdy, 2025 is now behind me, and with 2026 here, tis the season for New Years resolutions and looking back at the year that was.
As my first task of 2026, I want to start setting an annual tradition of looking back, and being a bit more introspective as well as reflecting on the last year: what has changed, who I've become, what I've learned, and what I've achieved. As a bonus, it's also a great way to force myself to write more, as I've been less consistent with blogging this year. 🤓
Being the quintessential introvert that I am, I think I speak for most of us when I say that it's quite easy to not give yourself credit for the achievements and progress you've made, no matter how small. I've made some great progress in 2025, and I'm proud of the person, as well as the engineer, I'm becoming as I gear up for 2026.
I haven't been great at sharing my wins, and putting it out into the world, this is something I hope I can improve on this year!
Reclaiming Time and Focus
As part of my New Years resolutions, I really want to start treating my time more like a precious resource, not wasting it on things that don't align with my goals and aspirations. This means cutting down on that Netflix time, cutting out the background noise and distractions, and really doing my best to lock in and focus when I set aside the time to learn something new, work on those side projects I've been putting off, or just go deeper into a new topic I'm interested in.
The idea is to do this without going off the deep end and cutting out all the fun stuff, bearing in mind that magical word: BALANCE. I'll still be playing some of the ol' video games, kicking back with TV shows and movies, and reading more books; the point is to simply be more intentional with my time and energy, rather than letting Jesus take the wheel.
Navigating the Crossroads
I'm now entering into a different stage of life, the 30's milestone; after finally moving into my own little apartment, I'm very much the same in a lot of ways, but my priorities and goals have definitely shifted away from "comfort" and more into building a more sustainable and fulfilling life. Both exciting and also a bit frightening, I think of 2025/2026 as my "crossroads" era, where I'm in the process of aligning these goals with my everyday actions, long-term aspirations for where I see myself as an engineer, and likely a father at some point in the not too distant future.
It's around my early 20's I believed that by this time I would have my life together, and I mostly have; I've got my own place to call home, a stable relationship, and a job working in the field I'm passionate about. While I've made some pretty big strides in the last year, I'm really looking forward to developing those areas where I have room to grow, whether that means being more patient with the process, or leaning into the discomfort that comes with technical challenges or social interactions.
Throughout 2025, I've been working through moments of uncertainty, "am I doing the right thing here?", "how can I articulate myself better on the spot?", which has helped me recognise that these feelings are part of growth, not obstacles to it. Moving forward, I'm really looking to consciously put myself in those situations, so I can better operate in ambiguity, and give myself the confidence to handle those situations; trust myself.
On the flip side, I've noticed something interesting about my personality: when I actually voice these feelings, whether through conversation or writing, it fires me up and makes me more attentive to patterns I'd otherwise ignore until they bubble up again. That's why I'm introducing regular journalling as a key routine. It'll help me consciously focus on what matters, squeeze out the things that aren't serving me, and amplify the good.
A bonus is I also actually do enjoy the process of writing, but I sometimes lose focus on what truly matters by getting distracted with less important tasks, or obsessing over trying to over-optimise for growth, rather than allowing space to reflect.
Body and Mind
Body and mind... I've really keyed into the importance of some good ol' fashioned sunshine towards the end of 2025. I've started running regularly again towards the end of last year, which has really helped me start feeling more active, rather than just embracing the "gym bro" lifestyle, which was made up of effectively 0 cardio, and 3-4 body builder style workouts a week. 😬💀😩
Focusing on improving general cardiovascular health has made my body feel more energetic, alive and more importantly, less lethargic; goodbye post-dinner naps! This is a trend I want to carry forward and really amplify going into 2026, starting with at least two runs a week, bumping up the VO2 max, and working up to some longer distance running. Maybe a half-marathon by EOY? 🤔 Let's see... Start small, finish big. 😎
Of course, this little change I've started in 2025 has also been a good way to carve out some intentional time away from tech. I find my thoughts often stay busy even when I'm in the house, so quieting those little voices down and making room for new ones has been an overall net positive for the mental health. 🧠
Beyond the Screen
But of course, we should talk about places I went to in 2025, the things I saw and new experiences I got to immerse myself in!
Japan
Earlier in the year, during Cherry Blossom Season, Yuki and I flew off to Japan for a 2-week adventure, exploring the cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and finishing in Kawaguchiko, a small town located near the base of mount Fuji.
Visiting Japan was a whole new experience for me, I had been dreaming about going there since my early teen years, getting into anime culture for the first time, to admiring the vast range of food available there... 🤤
You can read all about our little adventure in my extensive blog post, starting with Tokyo here.
Warrnambool
Later in the year, Yuki and I went down to Warrnambool for a weekend getaway. It was something really different; we rarely venture out to the West side, but we got a lot of enjoyment out of it.
It had a really unique vibe, part Phillip Island, part Bendigo. You could tell it had a long history, from its roots in whaling to its role as a port, right up until its decline once rail became much more mainstream.
I don't have a post for this one, but you can check out the little photo op I've posted up on Instagram.
Looking to the Future
Engineering Mindset
At this stage in my career, I'm realizing that "seniority" isn't about having all the answers, it's about how you help the team find them. In 2026, I'm focusing on three core pillars of my mental approach to engineering:
- Reducing Entropy: I've started viewing questions not as a sign of weakness, but as a tool for reducing chaos. By asking the right questions early, I can help clear the fog for the entire team, ensuring we aren't all building on a foundation of assumptions. With that in mind, a part of this is also documenting knowledge so it can be referred back to later; for this I use Obsidian as my personal knowledge base.
- Rejecting Performative Seniority: There's a temptation to feign understanding to "look the part," but I've learned that true seniority is the confidence to say, "I don't know, let's figure it out." I'm prioritizing genuine understanding over performative knowledge.
- The "Lock In" Balance: I'm working on the intuition of knowing when to go deep into "tunnel vision" mode to solve a problem, versus when to step back and seek guidance. It's about being patient with the process without letting myself get stuck in a loop.
Expanding the Toolkit
In 2026, I'm doubling down on the "T-shaped" developer pathway. While my roots are firmly planted in the frontend for now, I've found that I'm far more consistent and engaged when I spread my attention across different domains; it keeps the "new toy" feeling alive and prevents the stagnation that comes from staring at the same layer of the stack for too long.
This year, I'm turning my homelab into a genuine force multiplier for my life, rather than just a glorified media server. The reasoning for this is I want to really intentionally focus on drawing out these other complementary skills in other parts of the stack, so I'm not pigeonholing myself into being only good at frontend.
The goal will be to build depth in:
- Backend & Infrastructure: Moving beyond the frontend "bubble" to understand how to architect robust, scalable systems from the ground up.
- DevOps & Cloud: Mastering AWS and the automation/deployment pipelines that turn code into a living product, that users actually want to... use.
- Electronics & IoT: Exploring the physical side of engineering, seeing how software can interact with hardware to solve real-world problems.
- The "T-Shaped" Mindset: Intentionally broadening my horizons so I can ask better questions and reduce entropy within any team I'm part of.
Tracking Success
By the end of the year, I'll write another recap of how I went and post it on this blog. This isn't just about checking boxes; it's about making sure that "Finding My Pace" remains a lifestyle shift rather than just a catchy title.
The main markers I'll be looking for are:
- Cutting out the noise: Actively limiting social media and passive media consumption to make more room for active creation and deep focus.
- Self-trust: Backing my own decisions and intuition, especially in those ambiguous situations that used to spark anxiety.
- Authentic engagement: Showing up as my true self in both my work and personal life, reducing the energy spent on being performative.
- Sunlight as a priority: Making it a non-negotiable to spend more time outdoors and away from screens, maintaining the running routine I've reignited.
- Balance in practice: Ensuring that my drive for growth doesn't come at the cost of burnout; remembering to enjoy video games and movies without the guilt.
- The T-Shaped journey: Not just learning about Backend, Infrastructure, and DevOps, but actively seeking out opportunities to apply these skills in real-world scenarios at work or on hobby projects.
I'm looking forward to seeing where these markers lead me by the time 2027 rolls around. I'll continue building this series out year after year, but until then, ciao! ✌️