# How to Optimize Your Life in 2026: Productivity Tips, Deepfakes, and More | EP 172

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAYc9NTJ-Mo
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/XAYc9NTJ-Mo
Generated: 2026-01-02T12:02:20.632+00:00

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## Quick Overview

Kevin Roose and Casey Newton, hosts of Hard Fork, shared their New Year's tech resolutions for 2026, which included Kevin committing to short-form video experimentation and being more present, while Casey resolved to stick with his established productivity system in the app Capacities for the entire year, following a review of their previous year's resolutions.

**Key Points:**
- Casey Newton declared his 2025 resolution to use AI for meditation a "major flop" because the instinct to meditate never became a habit, despite feeling good afterward.
- Kevin Roose judged his 2025 resolution to 'be the poster I wished to see in the world' as only a 'medium good job,' succeeding by posting more freely without worrying about objections.
- Kevin Roose's 2026 resolution is to get good at short-form video, exploring how to create high-value, journalistic content without catering to trending gimmicks.
- Casey Newton's 2026 resolution is to make no meaningful change to his productivity system, committing to using his setup in the app Capacities for the entire year.
- Casey's Capacities system includes a daily journal, lightweight task management, and a feature using live queries to randomly select five 'blips' (notes on narrative threads like an AI bubble) daily for spaced repetition research.
- The hosts discussed listener questions, including the ethical use of deepfaking Santa into home security footage (which they ultimately endorsed as a funny gag) and the legal jurisdiction of space data centers (governed by the Outer Space Treaty).
- The hosts explained that the podcast name 'Hardfork' is a crypto term signifying a break, originally pitched as 'NGMI' (Not Going To Make It) before legal concerns intervened.

**Context:** Tech columnists Kevin Roose of The New York Times and Casey Newton of Platformer hosted their annual New Year's tech resolutions segment on their podcast, Hard Fork, setting goals for 2026 after reviewing the success or failure of their 2025 commitments. The episode also featured listener mailbag questions covering topics ranging from corporate IT failures and space data center legality to the ethics of using AI for holiday hoaxes and which AI models the hosts choose to cover.

## Detailed Analysis

The episode centered on the hosts' 2026 New Year's tech resolutions, framed by reflections on their prior year's goals. Casey Newton admitted his resolution to use AI for meditation failed because the habit never formed, but he found renewed purpose through work and conferences, which helped combat burnout more effectively. Kevin Roose felt he partially succeeded in posting more freely on social media, overcoming fear of criticism, especially on X. For 2026, Kevin aims to master short-form video, viewing it as a necessary evolution of media consumption, even though he is a writer, while Casey is focusing on stability by committing to his existing productivity system in Capacities for a full year, which utilizes daily journaling and random spaced repetition queries for tracking narrative threads like the AI bubble. The listener questions segment addressed practical concerns: the hosts found no ethical issue with deepfaking Santa, suggesting the primary concern for space data centers is regulatory evasion, though the Outer Space Treaty holds nations liable. They also discussed the frustration of basic tech failing in companies announcing massive AI initiatives, noting that AI adoption does not fix mundane IT issues like broken Wi-Fi, and explained their model coverage strategy prioritizes frontier models over established, functionally equivalent tools like Copilot.

### Review of 2025 Resolutions

- Casey's AI meditation goal was a 'major flop' due to lack of habit formation
- Kevin achieved a 'medium good job' by posting more freely online and worrying less about backlash

### 2026 Resolutions - Kevin Roose

- Commit to getting good at short-form video to create high-value, journalistic content
- Commit to being present ('be where I am') by compartmentalizing phone use

### 2026 Resolutions - Casey Newton

- Achieve productivity system monogamy by sticking with the app Capacities for the entire year
- System relies on daily journaling, lightweight task management, and random spaced repetition queries ('blips') for research tracking

### Listener Mailbag

- Deepfake Santa is acceptable as a funny gag, though trust issues might arise later
- Space data centers face liability under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, contrary to suggestions of being entirely lawless

### Corporate Tech Frustration

- Disgruntled Optimist noted massive AI initiatives announced while basic tech like Wi-Fi fails
- Hosts agreed this tension is real; AI adoption does not fix fundamental IT problems like broken printers

### AI Model Coverage Philosophy

- Hosts prioritize covering frontier models that invent new capabilities over established, functionally equivalent tools like Copilot (ranked 62nd in LM Arena)
- They acknowledged the need to eventually cover widely used enterprise tools like Copilot and the loaded nature of covering Grok