Design Your Year

After the stretch of overindulgence and broken routines over the holidays, I'm craving a slower, more intentional pace. AI has become a surprisingly helpful tool in that process to help me shape my year with more clarity and less friction.

This year, instead of making New Year's resolutions, I'm making commitments inspired by conversations with podcast guests over the past year. Sarah Trombley Gallagher reminded me how important it is to model the digital habits I want my kids to develop, so I am leaving my phone downstairs at bedtime. Morgan Wider inspired me to take better care of the foundational things, starting with my undergarments, because how we feel in our clothes affects how we show up everywhere else. And Rajamma Krishnamurthy pushed my thinking about AI agents. My intention this year is to have an AI agent managing another agent for my business.

This edition is about designing a year that works for your real life. One shaped by intention rather than default. One where tools support you instead of overwhelming you.

I'd love to know, as you look ahead, what are you hoping to design more of this year?

Designing the Future with AI

Deanna Leonard joins the show to explore what it really means to design for the future in a world shaped by rapid technological change. We talk about human-centered design and why families and caregivers need to be included in conversations about what comes next. Deanna shares her predictions for 2026 (spoiler alert: change managers and program managers, this is your year!).

If these conversations are helpful, following, rating, or reviewing the podcast on your platform of choice makes a big difference in helping others find us. Please consider:

More Consumers Are Using AI to Shop (NPR)
AI tools are increasingly shaping how families research, compare, and purchase products, raising new questions about trust and influence.

An Update on One Woman's Fascinating AI Relationship (The Daily, New York Times)
A deep look at how emotional reliance on AI chatbots is forming and what it means for mental health and connection.

Try these sample prompts in your favorite AI tool (like ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or Gemini) to ease your transitions this week.

Act as my strategic life designer. Help me identify one meaningful goal or dream to focus on this year. Ask me questions about my values, family needs, energy levels, season of life, and what feels unfinished or quietly important. Then reflect back one clear, well-defined annual goal that feels ambitious but realistic, along with a short explanation of why this goal fits my life right now. Format the output as a simple "North Star" statement I can revisit throughout the year.

Act as my accountability partner and planning coach. Using my primary annual goal [insert goal], help me break the year into four quarterly commitments. Each commitment should feel focused and achievable, not overwhelming. Identify what I will prioritize each quarter and what support or systems I may need. Format the output as a simple quarterly roadmap with one main focus per quarter and a short check-in question I can ask myself at the end of each season.

Mom tip: Put your check-in questions on your calendar with Gemini for Google Calendar or Copilot for Microsoft Outlook.

Act as a reflective coach for a busy parent. Help me identify habits, expectations, roles, or commitments that no longer serve me or my family in this season. Ask me thoughtful questions to surface what feels draining, outdated, or misaligned. Then help me articulate a short "letting go" list and rewrite each item as a permission statement. Format the output as a simple release plan I can return to when I feel pulled back into old patterns.

If you're looking to deepen your AI learning this year, these are the books that stood out most in the AI-Empowered Mom community. Not all of them were published in 2025, but each was recommended, discussed, or loved by community members this year for how thoughtfully they explore AI, technology, and modern life.

All of these titles are collected in our AI-Empowered Mom Amazon Reads list for easy browsing. If you choose to purchase a book through that list, AI-Empowered Mom may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

AI-Empowered Mom was founded by Sarah Dooley, MBA, an AI strategist and mom of three girls. The AI-Empowered Mom newsletter is sent every other Sunday to help parents and caregivers offload the mental load of modern parenthood using practical, responsible AI assistance.

This newsletter is free to everyone, made possible by the support and engagement of our growing AI-Empowered Mom community. If you find it helpful, please share it with another parent or caregiver who could use a little less load and a little more ease.