As I reflect on 2025, here are some lessons and musings – in no particular order.
- As far as I can remember, 2025 was the year that went by the fastest in my life. As you get older, time really does fly. Even outside of work, there are so many responsibilities, duties, and chores. What do you do? You don’t create more time (you can’t!) Instead, you waste less time, bring more focus, and simplify life as much as possible.
- For that matter, sleep is the ultimate productivity lever. I’m still not as good at this as I want to be, but I tried harder this year. Counterintuitively, the busier you are, the more sleep you should get.
- Simplicity and clarity are the ultimate goals of product building. If an average person can’t immediately see the value, or be able to explain it to someone else, it’s very hard for a product to catch on and succeed.
- Speed comes from focus, and focus comes from defining what not to do
- This year, I started most days with pencil and paper – even if only for five minutes – and it really helped align me with my North Star on a daily basis.
- Matcha lattes can be a great substitute for coffee.
What about you? What are some things that you learned this year?