From YouTube to Spotify, and even LinkedIn and PC Optimum points, it feels like everyone is recapping and unpacking 2025. It’s also tradition around these parts to do a year in review, looking back at personal goals, content created and consumed, and where we go from here. Let’s dive in with my 2025, by the numbers.

My Mantra for 2025

Building on the idea of making more intentional choices in my life and how I decide to spend my time (and headspace), my mantra for 2025 was “do less to choose more.” You could say this is a version of learning how to say “no.” More and more, I’m coming to terms with the fact that I can’t be all things to all people and I can’t do everything (at least not all at once). I have to choose.

This goes beyond simply saying no when asked. It’s about making the active, intentional decision to do less, which you’ll see reflected in the numbers below. But it is through this intentional decision to do less that I have provided myself with the freedom and space to choose more. You’ll see what I mean in a minute. From a big picture perspective, I’d say 2025 was a success, even if I came up short in several areas where I would have felt guilty in past years. (I still do, but I’m more forgiving of myself now.)

Beyond the Rhetoric Blog Posts: 2

I keep bringing this up to anyone who cares to read it, but it’s rather startling how I used to blog daily on Beyond the Rhetoric. While I may have missed an odd day here or there, I’d consistently come up with over 300 blog posts every year. Then, it was more like every other day, or twice a week.

Over Christmas dinner with extended family, at least two people asked me about how things were going with the blog and whether I was still keeping up with it. They were shocked to learn that, as of last night, I literally only had the one post in 2025. (These words you’re reading right now make up literally the second blog post I’ve published in this space in 2025.)

They asked why, of course. And I told them a simpler version of what I’m telling you now: I simply had to “do less to choose more.” The reality is that this blog was never my main business, and it’s never been a significant source of income. With everything else going on, it’s become harder to find the motivation to blog regularly, if we’re being honest. I don’t think I’ll stop, but this blog is certainly less busy than it has been in the past.

My New Mantra for 2025 (New Year’s Resolution)

Instagram Reels: 58

In the past few years, I’ve shifted some attention away from the blog and toward social media. In particular, Instagram (I’m @beyondtherhetoric, if you’re not already following me) has become my primary platform. Even then, my focus has shifted on Instagram, too. For the most part, my “foodie” type posts have shifted back to being photo carousels, while most of my Reel videos are dad jokes.

The 58 Reels I posted in 2025 are a fraction of the 149 Reels in 2024. Again, this has to do with granting myself the permission to “do less.” I once felt a great deal of self-imposed pressure to post daily (or near daily) on Instagram, which was just a shifted manifestation of what I was doing on this blog before that. While 58 is less, I’d argue it’s still a lot, and it’s something I am proud of accomplishing. I hope you’ve been enjoying my dad jokes.

YouTube Videos: 1 (+ Shorts)

Yes, it’s another smaller number. With the shift to short-form vertical video, and not really having the time or space to do longer-form “vlog” videos anymore, my YouTube productivity has taken a back seat. It’s just the one video I shot of my Lakeview hotel room in Penticton, a video I put together at the last minute just before we checked out.

Perhaps, it’s ironic, then, that YouTube is one of my faster-growing platforms where Facebook and Instagram (and this blog) have stagnated. I cross-share most (all?) of my Instagram Reels as YouTube Shorts, including all the dad jokes, which might explain the slow but steady growth in subscribers. Maybe YouTube Shorts justifies greater investment.

Content Created for Freelance Writing Clients: 854

With all the numbers above getting smaller in 2025, this is the biggest (and most important) number that got larger in my professional life. By shifting a lot of my time and attention away from blogging and social media, I’ve dedicated myself a lot more to freelance writing. And business, to put it bluntly, has been pretty good. Production has grown significantly, and income has grown along with it.

Of the 854 articles and webpage content pieces I wrote in 2025 (compared to 448 in 2024), the vast majority were on a ghostwriting basis. I primarily write articles and website copy that aim to accomplish three simultaneous goals: to provide readers with the answers they seek, to rank in Google for the target keywords, and to generate warm leads for companies. The objective is a win-win-win.

From fall road trips to personal injury law, new flooring costs to revocable living trusts as an estate planning tool, the subject matter has been diverse and interesting. Running your own business always feels a little precarious, and freelance writing is certainly no exception, especially in this age of AI and overseas outsourcing. Even so, I’m hopeful that 2026 will bring a similar level of professional growth as 2025 did.

Books Read: 35

Reading is still a very important part of my life. The 35 books I read in 2025 ranged from graphic novels to memoirs, fiction and nonfiction. Some of my favourites from this year were:

Movies Watched: 70

I’m honestly surprised I’ve watched this many movies in 2025. It certainly doesn’t feel like it. I was pleasantly impressed by Host and Out of My Mind, in particular. Host is about a Zoom-based seance gone horribly wrong (very much a story of our times), whereas Out of My Mind is coming-of-age story about a 6th-grader with cerebral palsy. My daughter actually recommended the latter to me, having read the novel of the same name, and I’m glad she did.

Upward, Onward, Forward With Words (More or Less)

I don’t know how often I’m going to update this blog next year, to be honest. I’ll still be around, and it’s probably easiest to find me on Instagram (especially via Stories) or Threads. When pressed for a new year’s resolution last night at dinner, I wasn’t sure what to say. Looking ahead to 2026, I hope to continue on a positive trajectory with my main writing business, which along with all my familial duties, will make up my main priorities for the year to come.

But, really, I just want to cut myself more slack. I’m doing okay, and I hope you are too.

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