Last year was such a horrific year that I haven’t spent much time thinking about or planning for what the new year will bring. I’ve been waiting for the day when I could shake off 2015’s traumas and start to move forward again. But I’m not sure January 1 brought that day. In fact, I’m sure it hasn’t as there are still many loose ends – legal and otherwise – to resolve from all of last year’s struggles. So for the first time in a while, I have rung in a new year without a plan, without goals, without resolutions. I’m still numb, still sad, still so tired.

Certainly I’d like to finish Teaching Machines this year. That was my intention in 2015 too, until everything went to hell in June. Now the book project weighs pretty heavily on me – something I feel I must complete but have lost almost all momentum. People continue to ask when the book will be published, and all I can say is “I don’t know.” I just finished reading George R. R. Martin’s blog post, confessing that he won’t have The Winds of Winter done before Season 6 of Game of Thrones airs this spring. The expectations and pressures are far far greater for Martin no doubt, but I can relate to his feelings of letting down readers and disappointing himself. But like Martin, I said I was going to do this thing (well, he has a publishing contract too) and I just want to put it all to rest. So finish Teaching Machines I will. Or I will try.

I have thought a lot over the last year about putting my work in ed-tech to rest too. I suppose that partly explains the lack of enthusiasm I have for identifying the projects I’ll work on in 2016. The work I do is often much more exhausting than rewarding. I fight with fury for a better future for education technology, but the past two years have really zapped me. I have a couple of new topics I’d like to start writing about totally unrelated to ed-tech, but I do feel like I need to wrap up Teaching Machines first. (To be clear: I won't leave ed-tech behind in 2016. Everything does feel a little grim right now, and I haven't rested enough over the holidays. But I'm too stubborn to quit.)

I haven’t scheduled many speaking events this year. There aren’t any keynotes on my calendar yet. Perhaps I’ll be asked to speak; perhaps people are sort of tired of my doomsaying. Kin and I have talked a lot about traveling less this year; certainly that will help me to write more. I was incredibly prolific during December when I stayed home: 65K words on my “Top Ed-Tech Trends of 2015” series.

Some days, I think I would like to increase the visibility of some of my writing in the new year. I find many of the headlines in major publications about ed-tech frightfully dumb. Then again, when everything fell apart last summer, I was forced to ditch several high profile writing projects. (Thank goodness for kill fees, I guess.) I don’t want to get a reputation for being a flake, and I’m not sure I’m back up to full speed yet. Moreover, I’m not sure how I feel about writing regularly elsewhere – I really do love the work I do on Hack Education. My confidence isn't too high right now either (obviously). Ideally I can find a sponsor or funder to pay for my “trends” work this year, and that’ll relieve the pressure of having to travel and speak or having to pitch other publications to make ends meet.

We’ll see.