I learned something awesome (and I want to share it with you)

Since I wrote about the question I’m taking into 2026—How can this be easy?—I’ve been testing it in one specific area where “easy” feels… suspicious: writing.

Because if you’re anything like me, you don’t mind doing hard things. You just don’t want to make it harder than it needs to be.

Here’s what I learned: AI can be a calm, practical support system for writers without taking over your voice or turning your work into generic mush. Used well, it acts like an executive assistant—helping you sort, summarize, organize, and decide what matters—so you spend less time spinning and more time writing.

So I’m hosting a free workshop to show you exactly how I’m using it.

If you’re AI-skeptical but curious—same. Consider this my anti-resolution offering: no tech overhaul, no complicated system, no pressure to become a “power user.” Just one hour to learn how to use AI as support (not a substitute) so you spend less time spinning and more time writing. Remember, we didn’t grow up on tech. The most tech-y thing in our house was… honestly, probably an Atari—and I’m not even sure we had one.

Atari game console set
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

How Can This Be Easy? (Free Workshop)

Saturday, January 24 | 9–10 a.m. PST | Zoom
45 minutes teaching + 15 minutes Q&A
Bonus: you’ll get a downloadable cheat sheet afterward.

We’ll cover:

  • what AI is (and what it isn’t), in plain English
  • a support-not-substitute approach that protects your voice
  • how to get helpful output (and avoid the generic stuff)
  • simple ways to use AI to research, organize your ideas, and figure out your next step

Learn more.

Or, if you already know you want to grab your spot? Register here.

And if you’re choosing a word or question for the year, I’d still love to hear it. (Seriously—tell me in the comments.)
Originally published on my Substack.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like these:

  • The Emotional Hangover Is Real

    It’s been a week since my son Nick married his true love, and I’m still catching myself crying over things that have nothing to do with the wedding: an irritating driver, a task that’s harder than it needs to be, a random memory that surfaces while I’m folding laundry. I…

  • I Think Today Is My Daughter’s Birthday

    I say it that way on purpose. Not “today is my daughter’s birthday.” I think it is. When we traveled to Russia to meet her, the paperwork gave us some numbers, but we didn’t know whether they’d been translated from the traditional European date format to the American one, and…

  • The Year I Needed A Navigator

    Six months into asking how can this be easy, I found out where that question actually comes from In December, I wrote about the phrase I was taking into 2026: How can this be easy? I borrowed it from my business coach Krista Smith, and I loved it immediately. Not because I was…