The Most Underrated Skill for 2026: Making Space

Why doing less is the power move this year

It’s only the third week of January and already, there is just... so much?!

So much content. So much news. So many opinions, crises, takes, updates, emails, alerts.

Every time you open your phone, the world is on fire in 20 different ways. And somehow you’re expected to keep up, stay informed, have a take, be present, reply to everything, and also... be well?

Cool. Sure. No problem.

At this stage, it’s not just information overload anymore. It’s everything overload.

And I know you feel it too.

That constant background noise of “too much” that never goes away. The sense that you’re always slightly behind. Always reacting. Never quite catching your breath.

You’re a normal human trying to process an inhuman amount of input. And it’s so fucking exhausting.

But this isn’t accidental, right?

The overwhelm is the business model. Every app, every platform, every ping is designed to keep you hooked.

We’re not bad at coping. We’re up against entire mega industries that profit from our scattered attention.

Enter the wellness industrial complex.

A lot of the advice you get out there? It’s pretty useless.

“Just set better boundaries.” Cool, and with what energy exactly?

“Try this morning routine.” Great, another thing to fail at.

“Be more intentional.” Dude, I’m intentionally trying not to scream into a pillow.

No productivity hack is going to save you here.

You can’t fix this with another app. Or another ‘system’. Or a morning routine you saw on TikTok. There’s no room for any of it.

I know because I tried. For years!

But here's what I got wrong

I figured I just wasn’t disciplined enough. Bad at habits. Probably an addictive personality.

You know, just fundamentally a bit shit at getting my life together.

I knew exactly what I should be doing. Drink less wine and more water. Move more. Sleep better.

I’d read the books, bought the apps and programmes, started fresh every January and nearly every Monday.

Nothing worked. Ever.

I was trying to shove healthy habits into a life that had absolutely no room for them.

My calendar was packed. My head was worse. I was running on caffeine, cortisol, and sheer stubbornness, smoking 20 a day and wondering why I couldn’t “just” meditate.

Of course nothing worked. How could it?!

So I stopped asking “how do I add this?” and started asking “what do I need to clear out first?”

I got my butt to therapy. I set some boundaries that terrified me. I stopped drinking which gave me a clearer head to actually look at the stuff I’d been avoiding for years.

After living in a fog for a few years, I actually feel good. In my body. In my head. In my life.

Because I finally made room for the good.

Making space is the most underrated skill for 2026

Space in your head. In your calendar. On your devices. In your life.

Room to actually think instead of just react.

When your calendar is full, your head is full, and your to-do list is full, there's nothing left.

You can't think properly. You can't make decisions. You snap at people you love. You're exhausted but you can't sleep. You're just getting through the day so you can do it all again tomorrow.

But when you make space? Something shifts.

You stop tolerating shit that drains you. You notice what’s actually working and what’s just... there. You start making real choices instead of running on autopilot.

Here’s the shift: Thriving in 2026 won’t be about doing more.

It’ll be about deciding what doesn’t get access to you.

Your attention. Your time. Your energy. Your head.

Subtraction before addition. Always.

We live in a culture that makes money from your overwhelm. Busy-ness is a flex. Rest feels lazy. And the same companies selling you focus apps are designing products to destroy it.

Making space isn’t just about feeling better. It’s about refusing to play a game you were never going to win in the first place.

It’s about being ruthless about what gets in.

Because the stuff that actually matters doesn’t scream for your attention. It’s quiet. And you can’t hear it when everything else is so fucking loud.

Making space isn’t a luxury. It’s how you get your life back.

The world won’t get quieter.

But you’ll finally have room to breathe.

With love,
Noemie X

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