Hello friends,
It’s been a while…
The truth is, I actively chose not to write a SOTU last year for 2024/5 because I started to feel a bit icky about putting my life on blast on the Internet. I was leaving Twitter* for good because it had become such a cesspool, and I just wanted to be away from public view for a bit. But now…I find myself missing that public accountability. So here we are, back at it again. Let’s dive in, shall we?
* Yes, I still call it Twitter. That’s what his mama named him and that’s what Imma call him.
Highlights of 2025
Finally got on ADHD meds!
Y’all, when I tell you…life changing! I’ve resisted meds for so long because I thought with enough systems in place, I could brute force my mind into submission. Turns out, I can’t. Concerta has given me the ability to stay disciplined and focused and actually do the work I say I want to do. That said, it hasn’t miraculously fixed everything in my life – I still struggle with taking on too much and directing my energy towards the right things, but now I’m able to do even the tasks I don’t want to do and stick with them through to completion.
Visited Singapore
Singapore has been on my bucket list for a while. It shares many similarities with Jamaica (similar size island with tropical climate, close proximity to a superpower, got independence two years apart) but Singapore has gone in a completely different (read: better) trajectory in terms of infrastructure and development. They also have pandas! It was wonderful to see it in action, but I spent much of my trip battling a chest infection, which limited the activities I could do. I hope to go back one of these days when I can justify putting my body through another 18-hour flight. (I did see the pandas though!)
Certificate in Cyberpsychology
Cyberpsychology, i.e. the study of how human behaviour is impacted by digital technology, has been a passion of mine for over a decade. In 2024, I finally took the leap and registered for the 6-month remote Certificate in Cyberpsychology course offer by IADT in Ireland, which ended in April 2025. Not sure if I’ll pursue anything further officially, but it has definitely given me a different perspective on the everyday debates about our use of digital tech. Shout out to my amazing lecturer, Dr Nicola Fox-Hamilton aka “Irish Phoebe” as I call her in my head. She’s one of the leading voices in the CyPsy space with lots of free content online if you ever find yourself interested in the topic.
Built the Lego Titanic
I am an adult obsessed with puzzles and I’m not afraid to admit it. I fell in love with the Lego Titanic ever since it was released. It’s a massive set with 9,000+ pieces that took me a whopping 32 hours over the space of 5 weeks to complete. I intended to do it as a birthday celebration in November, but Hurricane Melissa had other plans for me (see below). That said, I did get it done and now it sits proudly on my bookshelf for all the world to see. (Through online meetings, of course. I’m not letting anybody in my house.)
Family Health Scares & Hurricane Disaster
Besides the disaster that was Hurricane Melissa, which devastated Jamaica in late October, there were several health scares in the family this year, including my own. Thankfully, everyone is well or recovering. While it was taxing on us psychologically and financially, I am grateful that I had the ability to take time off and the resources needed to help out.
Plans for 2026
Revamping and Relaunching My Business
The past couple years have been a whirlwind for my web design business. And not really in a good way. While the business has grown (for which I am immensely grateful), I’ve also learned a lot and acquired new, useful tools, but have not been able to fully implement them to maximize returns. As a result, I find myself a bit stuck between being overwhelmed with work and finding time to revamp the business. This year, that has to change. That means taking a break from projects (for hopefully no more than 3 months) to fully focus on revamping the business so I can get back to the work that matters – helping my small business clients make a huge impact online.
Keeping Spending In Check
2025 was…expensive. In some ways, I had planned for that. After all, trips across the world don’t fund themselves. But due to all the unforeseen emergencies, my safety net currently has a grenade-sized hole thanks to the warzone that was 2025. And with my plans to take time off to work on the business this year, I’m yet again depending on savings to get through part of the year. So with that in mind, we are staying on budget and minimizing any unnecessary spending until the net is all patched up.
Writing More?!?!
Don’t hold me to it. I don’t exactly have a plan in place. But one of the things I’ll be doing as part of the business revamp is to give Hayles By Design its own website, so that I can use this one mainly as a personal blog. This will give me a lot more freedom – and hopefully, more motivation – to write whenever I feel the urge. So fingers crossed, look forward to more of the old content about whatever’s taking over my brain that week. But don’t count on it.
That’s all folks! I hope you had a better 2025 than I did and that we’ll both have an amazing 2026. See ya when I see ya!