It is time to reflect on the first six months of 2026. 2026 has been less about specific goals and more about habits. I selected six areas in 2026 that I wanted to focus on and improve at. You can read all about the six areas in the post below.
Today’s post is a progress check on how the first half of 2026 is going and reflects on the progress I’ve made in the six habits I picked back in January. This post will also outline the steps I’ll be taking in each area to improve in these areas for the rest of the year.
The next progress check will be in December. This will be an end-of-the-year summary of how 2026 has been and the last progress check for the year.
Coding
The only coding I have done was the projects I was working on with students before my contract ended. I have been using this time to work on updating my GitHub profile and sorting through all my repositories. I like to think of it as using the kon-mari method to tidy my GitHub by deciding which ones can go on my LinkedIn profile, what gets deleted, or what can be archived.
There have been more portfolio updates. The portfolio section and projects page got the most updates with my best projects on the page. The ones that didn’t make the cut have ended up on my LinkedIn profile.
I’ve been trying to learn how to use more tools these past six months and was able to use Claude. Right now I’m learning a lot about Figma and have been playing around with designs to get used to the workspace.
Plans for Coding
- Continue with the GitHub updates and remove any that I no longer update, as well as select additional projects for my LinkedIn projects section.
- Use AI to help with coding. I am planning on using old freecodecamp projects to try coding more with AI and see what it is capable of.
- Trying out more AI features on Canva, Grammarly, and X.
Writing
One is a post I contributed to the annual WeCoded celebration. I have been using AI to help with the brainstorming on my posts. I used AI tools to help brainstorm my last post and make an outline before I began writing.
It isn’t perfect, but I’m glad it is published. I will revisit this post again in the future to do further revisions and edits.
I’ve been cutting back on the writing to put more time towards the job search, but I am trying to write a bit in the evenings to see how it goes. I was able to write 8 posts so far this year. Cuckoo began misbehaving when I was doing 25-minute sessions, so I haven’t used it in a while. I am using Focus Friend when I do Pomodoro sessions.
I have gotten back into journaling. I have been doing the following:
- Fox Tale phone app. I use this daily to reflect on each day.
- Day One phone app. I use this to write random notes about the job search, coding, and professional development ideas.
- Hard-bound journals. I write in a journal all updates on projects I’ve done each day, plans for the next sprint, and notes about the current session.
Plans for Writing
- Writing in the evening for 25 minutes if possible. I might not be able to write a post each day, but I would like to write a bit each day.
- I deleted my Pinterest account, and I was only able to post one thing on the Future Forem community during the first half of the year. I’ll be spending most of my time on DEV and writing about series I’ve already started. I’ll be particularly finishing the Skillcrush Git & GitHub course and Sololearn Python. I would like to make 80% progress on one of these series by December.
- Brainstorm ideas similar to the KPOP Demon Hunters post. I like the idea of combining a non-technical idea with a technical one.
Learning
I’ve earned a lot of certificates from Sololearn and LinkedIn Learning on AI and project management. After finishing the last AI certificate on Sololearn, I’ve been spending my time on LinkedIn Learning and exploring other concepts. Some concepts I might explore in the future and others didn’t feel like a right fit for me.
I’m still using Drops to learn Korean, but I started to use AirLearn with my husband. I’ve also been learning Korean from different Instagram accounts I follow and made flashcards for some of the words I’d like to learn.
Plan for Learning
- Continue using Drops for 5 minutes a day and doing AirLearn in the evening. I will try doing small batches of flashcards each day to see if I can master some of the words and phrases I’ve seen on Instagram.
- Learn GitHub Copilot. Some members in Virtual Coffee are recommending Cursor instead of Copilot so I might try out both to see which one I like better.
- Explore a possible language or framework to learn next year. Ones I want to research a bit more are Typescript and Vue.js.
Professional Development
My contract ended with Coding with Kids in March, so I’ve been back on the job search. I’ve been putting more time into the job search as I can and looking at jobs that are the best fit for me. I’ve updated my resume, portfolio, and social media profiles to reflect this new change.
Networking still needs work, but I’m making some progress. I have been spending more time in the co-working room on the Virtual Coffee Slack and haven’t been using Discord very much since leaving Coding with Kids. I am also trying to get better with LinkedIn and have been posting something new each week.
The side hustle/side gig idea sounds better to me as every day passes. I’ve been looking into possible ideas and have been using AI to help brainstorm what I should do. Talking to other members in the Virtual Coffee community and other online communities helps me get a better idea but gives me more courage to step outside the box.
Plans for Professional Development
- Network much more. Attend a Virtual Coffee chat once a month or bi-weekly as well as utilize the co-working room. I also need to visit the Slack communities I’m a member of and participate in them just as much as I do Virtual Coffee.
- Start one side hustle idea from the brainstorming list I have created.
- Apply for more jobs.
Adulting
I like to do “No Computer Sundays” each week. This is one day out of the whole week I don’t touch my computer at all. I use Sunday for cleaning around my home.
I’ve started sorting through a lot of things around my home and tidying up specific areas. Right now I’m working on sorting through my office to see what items can be saved, donated, or thrown away. I will revisit The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up to see how else I can keep the office organized.
Each month, I do a very big deep clean and get monthly cleaning tasks done. Lately I’ve been trying to split up deep cleaning days into two days over the weekend. I haven’t done much cooking except for my husband’s birthday dinner in April.
My husband’s birthday dinner was a homemade Chinese noodle dish that Alton Brown had made on an episode of Good Eats. It wasn’t perfect and didn’t quite match what Alton did, but my husband loved it. This recipe will be something I will make more of in the future.
Plans for Adulting
- Continue organizing and tidying the office.
- Bake chocolate thumbprint cookies. This is a recipe I tried making over the holidays, but the cookies didn’t look like the ones in the recipe. I will try making this again to see if the second time is better or if it is just the recipe that is the problem.
Self-Care
The one area I haven’t made any progress on is crafting. I kept putting the tree skirt to the side, but I did try using Focus Friend and podcasts when I was last working on the skirt, so this approach worked. I will try scheduling time each week for crafting so I get a break from job searching.
I have been reading a chapter from a book every day, so I read a book every month. I have been posting a picture of each book when I finish each book. I finished reading all the books I received over the holidays and have started reading the books I got for my birthday.
I’ve also been using Hoopla through my local library and reading e-books here. I have been listening to audiobooks on two different apps in the evening or when I am doing a cleaning sprint.
Plans for Self-Care
- Try crafting once a week for a while. I will schedule a day each week to work either on the tree skirt or one of the Woobles kits.
- Continue reading a chapter in a book per day.
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