Month-in-Review Highlights: January 2026

One of the creations in an exhibit of Swiss designer Kévin Germanier’s haute couture work using upcycled materials. January 2, 2026. Lausanne, Switzerland.

I postmortem each month shortly after it ends. Previously, I used these posts to hold myself accountable on progress toward my annual goals. Starting in January 2023, I broadened these posts to address more generally my observations and experiences for the month. (To read previous months’ reviews, click here.)

January tends to be a quiet month in my personal world. This January no exception.

In many ways, I welcomed the quiet. The dark, cold, and gloomy months give me the most time and headspace for my fiction writing. I’ve learned to lean into that time and space rather than lament the sunny season as much as I once did.

Thanks to January, I made immense progress on the plan for the next novel I aim to draft either late this year or early next year. That feels good; I like having two projects in progress so that I can switch between them when my brain needs a break from one or the other. In February, I’ll shift back to the novel I drafted last year with an eye to beginning revisions.

In other ways, January’s quiet oppressed me a little. In these doldrum days of winter, once the holiday season has ended and everyone has returned to regular schedules, the life and energy feels bled out of the world. Though I talked with friends and family here and there via calls and texts, I barely saw anyone in person. (And no, I don’t count people I pass on the street. Come on, now.)

Events on the geopolitical stage didn’t help bolster my mood over the course of the month, either—and that’s an understatement. Though I try to keep my morale afloat with immersion in my work (hello there, mixed metaphor), I found focus for that effort easier on some days than others.

Though, for a flash of color in the gloom, I did go to the contemporary art museum here in Lausanne at the top of the month to see an eye-candy exhibit of fashion created from recycled materials by the Swiss designer Kévin Germanier. Stunning. A much needed pop of wonderment.

January’s feelings of ho-hum and isolation prod me to renew my efforts to create a recurring, low-key activity with local friends and acquaintances. I didn’t make any progress on that front in January, but here’s looking at you, month to come.