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The year of complete transformation
My 2024 theme of “swagger” pushed me out of my comfort zone, so for 2025 I chose the theme Hold Your Own – inspired by Kae Tempest’s eponymous poem, which feels like a sacred text to me. Hold Your Own became my mantra and often helped me make decisions, so it passed my litmus test for a useful annual theme.
In some ways, this was a really quiet year. In others, there was a lot of upheaval. That upheaval was all about the basics: where we live, what pets we keep, who we spend time with, who we work with / for, how I view myself.
It was a big reshuffling, like a Jenga tower that was rebuilding itself while keeping its form. In some ways I feel like I made zero progress. In others, I feel like I'm completely transformed. I am the same person as last year, I am a completely different person than last year. I have grown, I have stayed true to myself. Maybe that's the true meaning of Hold Your Own: Finding out what's truly of myself, and what's of others.
With so much change and patience and letting go, I enjoyed things from the past: books, TV series I either already knew or that were set in the past. I read all of David Lodge's fiction – he passed away at the start of 2025 – and realised that some things I used to enjoy are less enjoyable to me now. Only a small handful of his books still resonate with me. One of them is Small World, which inspired me to think of a German parlour game (more at the end of this update).
So, here’s my list of 2025 favourites.
Best of 2025
Music
Kae Tempest, Self-Titled.
I listened to Kae Tempest more than to any other artist last year. I admire his intentional living, his vulnerability and immense power of expression. When I feel discouraged or down, Kae is sure to have some sort of secular sermon and a beat that lift me up. Two tracks for you to get started:
Quotes
Love said: If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. But if you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.
Power comes from relaxation. Tension decreases power.
We work in the dark — we do what we can — we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion and our passion is our doubt. The rest is the madness of art.
Software & apps
2025 has shown me how much energy I get out of playing with new software. There was at least one new app in each quarter. Here are my favourites:
Q1: Capacities – a made-in-Germany note-making tool that won me over from Obsidian. It’s where I make sense of stuff and turn ideas into action.
Q2: Dia browser – the sequel to Arc by The Browser Company of New York, and now owned by Atlassian. It's an AI browser with skills that make my work life so much more efficient.
Q3: Endel – another German app, another AI based app. This one generates soundscapes to help me focus, exercise, relax, fall asleep, manage my seasonal affective disorder. Nature soundscapes often put me on edge because they're so noisy, unpredictable and call up undesirable associations (like, fire! Who can relax when it sounds like the house is on fire?). With Endel, I can keep my tinnitus in check and minimise distractions.
Q4: Tiimo – a Danish productivity app that won Apple’s iPhone App of the Year at the App Store Awards. I remember trying the app years ago and not really resonating with it, but we've both come a long way! It's made my planning more realistic and satisfying, and I've achieved a better work-life balance using it.
Top Takeaways
I am a city person
Moving to Amsterdam was everything last year. I love the smaller space, the people outside, the ability to get things done easily and not having to drive. Wish I could have made more use of this – I was so busy with work that I could not go out as much – but it's a good start.
From Scratch is about website and culture strategy
The best outcome from spending 5 months in Joanna Wiebe’s Copy School Professional is that we revisited our positioning and now have a much better connection between Holger's and my areas of work. It seems so logical now that I know what it is, but the search for this clarity was painful and much overdue.
Learning to respect the sensitivity and intensity of my brain
Last year I had a revelation about how I’m wired. I’m rebuilding around clearer boundaries, structured work, and environments that let my intensity be an asset, not a liability. The result: