The start of a new year always brings a mix of energy and pressure.

Many of us are sitting down right now to think about our marketing, communications, and content plans for 2026 — what to start, what to keep, what to change, and maybe even what to finally let go of. And if we're being honest, that planning process can feel even heavier than it used to.

There are more tools. More platforms. More advice. And now, more AI — promising speed, efficiency, and scale, while adding another layer of decisions and noise.