There’s a strange comfort in adding things. We add goals, habits, productivity hacks, subscriptions, responsibilities and expectations, hoping that if we stack enough “good” on top of the chaos, we’ll finally feel in control.

But if the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that the world is filled with more noise than we can possibly manage, and adding more isn’t the way through.

Stress wearing you down? There’s ways to make 2026 a better, more balanced year.Credit: Louise Kennerley

So for 2026, maybe the real question isn’t “what will you do” but “what will you stop doing?” What can you gently remove from your life so you can create a little more space to breathe, think, connect and feel whole again?

Below are four things most of us can do to make this year feel just a little lighter.

Somehow, we’ve normalised the idea that every message deserves a rapid-fire response. A text dings while we’re cooking, an email arrives at 9.47pm, a group chat erupts with memes while we’re trying to sleep, and before we know it, we’re carrying around this low-level guilt that we’re always behind on something.

In 2026, try........

© The Sydney Morning Herald