Goals for 2026
January 6, 2026Tags: careers
Now that 2025 is gone, it’s time to focus on 2026! What’s the goal for this year? Thrive, not just survive!
I am on an upswing medically speaking and can hope that it continues on that path throughout 2026. I expect to take on more tech adventures with the brain fog out of here!
So what are my goals for this year?
SignalR
On one of my projects for work, I deal a lot with Blazor. It uses SignalR as part of its tooling, so it is on my goals this year to become more familiar with SignalR. I know a little about it, and I suspect that the more I learn, the better we’ll be able to leverage it.
If it follows anything else I’ve done with learning a new technology, I learn its ins and outs. Then I learn to hack around the problems and make it work where I need it. So I suspect this will be the technology I regret. 😆
User Experience
I started this year by finishing Storytelling for User Experience. Yes, I’ve read a lot of storytelling, story building, and user experience books. While I don’t have a formal UX title, it has always been an important thing for me. I read some of these books and take courses to reaffirm that my core understanding of human-computer interaction is still relevant. This is a part that AI can’t seem to get right - the human factor. So I’m going to continue in this space. I am looking forward to going through The field guide to Human-Centered Design.
Also, for those who think you have to be a good graphics designer to do UX, guess again. As I explain to others, I’m a functional designer, an experience designer. However, when it comes to the visuals, I may need to tap in a graphic designer. I’m still growing in creating initial graphics visions.
This also means the return of the Sadukie on User eXperience (SUX) series!
Entity Framework Core
The grumpy DBA in me is finally ready to embrace Entity Framework Core. Don’t get me wrong - ORMs have a place. But for the longest time, the inner grumpy DBA tried to fight working with it. I work with ORMs, begrudgingly.
On one of my projects, I’m fighting with navigation properties and ASP.NET Identity. These frustrations have lit a fire in me. I need to know what’s going on so that I can troubleshoot these things better.
This year, I’m determined to understand Entity Framework Core. I want to have a more solid understanding of what’s going on under the covers. I’ve explicitly set the bar so that I’m not necessarily at the level of Julie Lerman. However, I do want to be proficient enough that I can feel more comfortable and willingly using an ORM, rather than begrudgingly.
Conclusion
These are some of my goals for 2026. It’s a long year ahead, and I have goals! Now let’s see how well I tackle those!