Happy New Year! I’m excited to share our Learn OmniFocus theme for 2026: Sustainability in Practice.
This theme connects two forms of sustainability that might seem separate at first, but are deeply related: sustainable productivity and environmental sustainability. Watch the video below to learn why these aspects of sustainability belong together and what they make possible.
What Does Sustainability Mean?
When you hear the word “sustainability,” you might immediately think of the environment. Environmental sustainability is an essential aspect of sustainability, and by nature, global in scope. The principles of sustainability can also be applied at a personal level across all areas of life and work.
Sustainability gives you valuable criteria for evaluating your choices. Instead of asking whether something is right or wrong, good or bad, consider asking: Is this sustainable?
At a personal level, some patterns aren’t sustainable. For example, working twelve-hour days seven days a week, getting four hours of sleep, constantly saying yes to every request, and never taking time to review and reflect on commitments. These patterns might work for a while, but they eventually break down.
At an environmental level, depleting the ozone layer and cutting down rainforests result in an ecosystem that’s not sustainable for the diversity of life on our planet, not just human life, but all the animals and plants we share this world with.
Sustainable Productivity Creates Capacity
When overwhelm becomes your default state, everything shrinks to the immediate crisis at hand. Strategic thinking disappears, presence with loved ones suffers, and engagement with larger issues (like the state of our environment) becomes nearly impossible.
This is where sustainable productivity practices come in. The key is designing a system tailored to your life and work, and using it consistently.
I teach people how to implement productivity practices using OmniFocus and complementary productivity apps. Focusing on common tools makes it much easier to move from abstract principles to practical implementation.
When you have a sustainable system and consistent productivity practice, something shifts. You create capacity. This gives you the ability to think beyond what’s immediately due, focus on what matters most, show up for the people and causes you care about, and engage with the bigger picture.
Our Environmental Commitment
Starting this month, I’m making monthly donations to Biome Conservation on behalf of our Learn OmniFocus community to support their environmental conservation work around the world.
I chose Biome Conservation because they, and their sister organization in the USA, Biome Friends, combine financial support with scientific expertise, strategically targeting regions where biodiversity is most threatened. I appreciate that 100% of donations go directly to conservation projects.
The number of active Learn OmniFocus members determines the amount of each donation. As our membership grows and members stay engaged in building sustainable productivity practices, our collective environmental impact grows.
The Connection Between Personal and Planetary Sustainability
Personal sustainability and planetary sustainability are connected. Overwhelm and unsustainable productivity systems consume a significant amount of mental and emotional bandwidth. Environmental concerns and other meaningful priorities get crowded out by the constant struggle to keep up.
A sustainable productivity practice gives you the capacity to care about and engage with causes beyond your immediate obligations. It frees up space for you to think about what kind of world you want to leave for future generations and how to contribute to creating that future.
This is the gift of a sustainable productivity practice: not just getting more done, but creating the capacity to serve others, the environment, and what matters most to you. Being in service is a profound source of happiness and fulfillment.
What’s Coming in 2026
Throughout 2026, we’ll be weaving this sustainability theme into our content and workshops.
One of our initiatives is a new workshop called Design Your OmniFocus Setup and Workflows, with more to come throughout the year. This workshop guides you through designing a system you can sustain, one tailored to your life and based on principles you understand.
If you’re already a member of Learn OmniFocus, thank you for being part of this community. Your continued engagement supports both your own growth and our collective environmental impact.
If you’re not currently a member, consider joining Learn OmniFocus to create a more sustainable 2026. You’ll gain access to workshops, community support, and our full content library, including a growing collection of in-depth courses. These help you build a sustainable productivity practice that creates capacity for what matters most in your life. By joining Learn OmniFocus, you’ll also be contributing to Biome Conservation’s efforts to protect ecosystems around the world.
Here’s to a Sustainable 2026
Sustainability, in all its forms, is worth focusing on. Building sustainable systems and practices creates capacity to engage with what truly matters.
Here’s to a sustainable 2026, in every sense of the word.