2025 was an interesting year.
I’m writing this post in March 2026, not December 2025 or January 2026 as is customary, because guess what? 2026 hasn’t been a picnic either.
As with 2024, I’m still extremely grateful for the support I’ve received since starting PiForge. While the company faced its first real challenges with contracts and late payments, we managed to navigate through them and come out stronger. The new office has been a game-changer, and having a split between work and home has been great.
That said, as we moved into the end of 2025 and the start of 2026, I’ve found work seeping into my personal life again. Not only because the future of the homestead is so closely tied to a) how much money I make through PiForge, but also b) how much time I have to spend on the homestead. So when income diminishes, it needs to be made up somewhere, and that usually means not focusing on the homestead and the family.
Another interesting realization (one I’ll write a full post about) is how the evolution of AI tooling, especially the current iterations of agents, allows me to “work” even when I’m not working. The agents can plan and execute things for me while I’m not actively focused, but honestly, as great as that sounds, it also means I’m “always on” and constantly stressed about what they’ll screw up next. It also hasn’t helped PiForge in the sense that I’ve been able to take on more work, which was the original goal so I could expand the team.
As I mentioned in the 2024 retrospective, the goal is to grow PiForge to a point where I can focus on the projects and solutions I want to build, while the team focuses on the contracts that bring in revenue to fund those. That hasn’t happened yet, so 2026 will be the year of networking as I try to find new clients and expand the team. As anyone reading my blogs and posts will know, I’m extremely passionate about upskilling young developers and engineers in the age of AI, to ensure deep skills and knowledge don’t get lost. I would love to make PiForge a place for talented individuals to grow and learn.
On the personal side, 2025 had a few goals, one of which was working on my game, So This Is How I DIE. I made good progress on it, but I’m still not happy with the result. I’ve become increasingly disillusioned with game development, and I’m not sure if I’ll continue working on it in 2026. The project is currently paused, but I’m excited to try out development for the PICO-8 and TIC-80 fantasy consoles, which are a lot more accessible and fun to work with. I hope they’ll spark that joy again by just making small games.
I also had the intention of getting back into streaming on Twitch. While most of the year went by without that happening, by the end of the year I started the habit of streaming once a week. Starting 2026, I’ve mostly kept this habit, although I’ve switched to YouTube as my primary platform. I hope to continue making content this year, as time allows. Hobbies are important to prevent burnout, right?
The main reason 2025 didn’t go to plan is because, well, life got in the way. Around July, my wife hurt her neck, and during the recovery process we learned that it was caused by many years of small problems compounding. The road to recovery has been long, and while December brought some relief, in February, while working on FAWM, she really started struggling again, and it seems like a trip to the biokineticist is required soon.
Couple that with our cat getting sick in February and requiring surgery by month’s end, and we’ve gone into March on the back foot again. But we will persevere. Dabit deus his quoque finem.
All in all, 2025 was a year of growth, learning, and challenges. I’m grateful for the opportunities and experiences, and I look forward to what 2026 has in store. While it might not have gone the way I wanted, I’m sure it went the way it should have, and I’m trusting in God’s plan.
This post was originally intended to go on LinkedIn, but I’ve decided to publish it here instead.