Hi

Writing this email required me to write 2026 for the very first time. That's because, for the past three weeks, I spent disconnected from most online-related activities — how great that has been. Long-time subscribers might remember my writings about burnout back in July 2023, and during that period I learned a valuable new practice: to truly step away from my computer for a while.

These days I'm nowhere near burnout, which is exactly why I decided to disconnect now instead of later. I rather stay ahead of any problems instead of being overwhelmed by them. And wow, do I feel refreshed! During those three weeks, I think I spent a total of 5 minutes thinking about work, and maybe 10 minutes about Tempest. I spent my time with my wife, kids, and family; I played a game (Don't Starve, it's an older game, it's really good), I did a lot of reading, as well as some writing for the second part of my sci-fi novel. And that's about it.

I would say it's so worth it, and I hope you've enjoyed a break as well. Let me know what you did!

Now, what does 2026 bring for me? For starters, I really want to be more active on YouTube again. I already started doing a lot more livestreams at the end of December, but I also want to make a proper effort for high-quality video content as well. First up will be a "PHP in 2026" video that I'm starting to work on this week.

Then there's Tempest, of course, for which I think 2026 will be a massive year. The community has never been more active as today, and the framework is getting more and more traction. Currently, we're working towards the 3.0 release, and I keep being amazed by the number of talented people pitching in. Tempest even got a mention on a recent PHP RFC, which I think is really cool!

When it comes to my blog, I have a handful of drafts lined up; but as always: I write when I feel like it, so who knows when I'll finish them. I also plan on writing a book this year, although it'll be the second part of my sci-fi novel, so nothing tech related.

Finally, there'll be another PHPVerse this year in June, I'll keep you posted about it in the coming months!

That's it for my personal update; I hope you didn't mind my ramblings too much. Let me finish this newsletter with some interesting content from my feed.

From the feed

• Partial function application is coming to PHP 8.6! — the is the missing link to make the pipe operator truly useful.
• An Open-Source Maintainer's Guide to Saying No — this post really resonates with me.
• 20 years of Symfony — time flies!
• Speaking of time flying, PHP 8.1 is now end of life!
• What Happens When Your Open Source Project Suddenly Gets Attention — "if you think your idea is too small, too simple, or too obvious, publish it."
• Casually building something new — I may have started going down a new PHP-project rabbit hole. We'll see where it ends.

Finally, in case you were still on the fence on buying my book Things I wish I knew when I started programming, I've created a coupon for my newsletter subscribers to celebrate the start of 2026. During this week, you can get it at a reduced price!

Until next time

Brent