☕️ (R)emote Expresso #57

☕️ (R)emote Expresso is your weekly dose of creator insights on remote collaboration designed to fuel your day, delivered once a week in your inbox 💌

Hey Remote Rebels and Digital Daydreamers,

We're in it now.

The void.

That liminal space between December 29th and January 2nd where time stops meaning anything. Where "what day is it?" becomes a legitimate existential question. Where your calendar says Tuesday but your brain says "¯_(ツ)_/¯".

The year is over. Except it's not.
The new year has started. Except it hasn't.
You should be working. Except nobody is.
You should be resting. Except you're too wired.

Welcome to the glitch.

This is the week where all the rules break down. Office hours? Fake. Productivity metrics? Irrelevant. The concept of "Monday"? A social construct we've all agreed to ignore.

And honestly? It's kind of perfect.

Last week I gave you permission to have fun. This week I'm giving you permission to just... exist. Sideways. Without purpose. Without a plan for 2026.

This is your survival guide for the void.

Not because you need saving. Because you might as well enjoy the weirdness while it lasts.

The Glitch Explained

Why Dec 29-Jan 2 Exists Outside Reality

Let's name what's actually happening:

Nobody's working. Everybody's pretending. Half your Slack channels are silent. The other half? People asking "is anyone actually here?" followed by cricket emojis. One person posts a meme. Everyone love-reacts it but nobody replies.

Time has no meaning. Is it Tuesday? Maybe. Does it matter when there are no meetings, no deadlines, no consequences? Your phone says December 30th but your brain says "sometime between Christmas and New Year's, I think?"

You're between identities. You're not "2025 you" anymore - that person is done, filed away, archived. But you're not "2026 you" yet either. You're in the liminal space. The glitch. The void. You're whoever you want to be for five days.

The rules don't apply here. Productivity culture takes a nap. Hustle culture shuts up. "Optimize your morning routine" can wait until next week. Or never. Who's checking?

It's too late to matter and too early to start. Any work you do now won't count toward 2025. Any planning you do for 2026 will probably change by January 6th anyway.

And fighting it? Pointless.

You can try to be productive. Force yourself to "make the most of it." Pretend this week is normal and you're a person who does things.

Or you can accept that the void is a feature, not a bug.

This is the one week where you're allowed to exist without justification. Where doing nothing is the correct response. Where time being fake is just accepted by everyone.

Stop fighting the glitch. Lean into it.

Survival Tactics

How to Exist in the Void Without Breaking

Here's how to navigate Dec 29-Jan 2:

Stop pretending to work. If you're online, you're not fooling anyone. Close the laptop. The emails can wait. Nobody's checking anyway.

But also stop pretending to rest. Your nervous system doesn't have an off switch just because the calendar flipped. If you're wired, you're wired. If you're tired but can't sleep, join the club. The void doesn't care.

Embrace the in-between. Watch half a movie. Start three books and finish none. Scroll aimlessly. Make a sandwich at 3pm and call it lunch. You don't have to be productive OR restful - you can just exist.

Let decisions be stupidly easy. What to eat? Whatever's closest. What to do? First thing that sounds less boring than staring at the wall.

Ignore all 2026 content. Every productivity guru is screaming about goal-setting and fresh starts. They can wait. Unless you're one of those people whose brain won't shut up even in the void - then fine, think about it. But do it without the self-improvement industrial complex yelling at you.

Accept that time is a suggestion. Breakfast at 2pm? Sure. Asleep at 9pm? Why not. Awake at 3am wondering what day it is? That's just void life.

Lower every expectation.

This week won't be meaningful. It won't be restful. It won't set you up for anything.

It'll be weird, slightly uncomfortable, and mostly forgettable.

That's the point.

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AI Prompt of the Week

Create Your Anti-Generic New Year's Image

Forget the champagne glasses and fireworks. Make a New Year's image that actually reflects YOUR vibe.

Here's the prompt:

Role: You are a social media designer who specializes in creating anti-generic, personality-driven celebration graphics that don't look like corporate stock photos.

Objective: Create a shareable "Happy New Year 2026" image that reflects my actual energy and vibe - not Hallmark's version of celebration.

Context:

• The vibe/energy I want for 2026 is: [insert: peaceful, chaotic, grounded, rebellious, creative, restful, bold, weird, etc.]

• My aesthetic preferences: [warm colors, moody, bright and playful, vintage poster style, modern minimal, illustrated vs. photorealistic, etc.]

• Style direction: [choose: retro 70s, punk zine, cozy editorial, surreal dreamscape, clean and simple, maximalist collage, or describe your own]

• Mood/lighting: [soft and warm, dramatic shadows, bright and energetic, moody and atmospheric, natural daylight, etc.]

• If including imagery: [abstract shapes, nature elements, urban scenes, objects that represent my vibe, people celebrating in unconventional ways, etc.]

Output: A social media-ready image (square format, 1080x1080px) with "Happy New Year 2026" or similar text integrated into the design. Make it something I'd actually want to share - no generic champagne flutes, no boring midnight countdowns, no corporate celebration vibes.

Role: You are a social media designer who specializes in creating anti-generic, personality-driven celebration graphics that don't look like corporate stock photos.

Objective: Create a shareable "Happy New Year 2026" image that reflects my actual energy and vibe - not Hallmark's version of celebration.

Context:

The vibe/energy I want for 2026 is: [insert: peaceful, chaotic, grounded, rebellious, creative, restful, bold, weird, etc.]

My aesthetic preferences: [warm colors, moody, bright and playful, vintage poster style, modern minimal, illustrated vs. photorealistic, etc.]

Style direction: [choose: retro 70s, punk zine, cozy editorial, surreal dreamscape, clean and simple, maximalist collage, or describe your own]

Mood/lighting: [soft and warm, dramatic shadows, bright and energetic, moody and atmospheric, natural daylight, etc.]

If including imagery: [abstract shapes, nature elements, urban scenes, objects that represent my vibe, people celebrating in unconventional ways, etc.]

Output: A social media-ready image (square format, 1080x1080px) with "Happy New Year 2026" or similar text integrated into the design. Make it something I'd actually want to share - no generic champagne flutes, no boring midnight countdowns, no corporate celebration vibes.

Then share it. Post it to LinkedIn, Instagram, your group chats, wherever. Or don't - making it is enough.

This is your New Year's image. Not theirs.

Your Turn

💬 What's Your Void Week Survival Strategy?

How are you actually spending Dec 29-Jan 2?

Are you leaning into the chaos? Pretending to work? Fully dissociated on the couch? Making a New Year's image? Avoiding all humans?

Or flip it: What's the weirdest thing about void week for you?

The fact that nobody knows what day it is? The guilt of not being productive? The pressure to have profound year-end insights when your brain is mush?

Hit reply and tell us. We're all in the void together. ☕️🕳️

Closing Transmission

We made it.

Not through 2025 - that's still got three days left, technically. But through the newsletters. Through the year that wouldn't let me leave quietly.

This is actually my last one now. (Probably. The year has surprised me twice already.)

You survived the glitch. You're in the void. And in a few days, you'll be in 2026 whether you're ready or not.

Here's what I hope for you:

That you give yourself permission to exist without purpose for these next few days.
That you stop fighting the weirdness of time not meaning anything.
That you make something useless and beautiful just because you can.
That you enter 2026 however you want - not how you're supposed to.

You don't owe the new year a grand entrance.

You just owe yourself honesty about what you actually want and the courage to protect it.

See you in 2026.

— The (R) Generation Team 🧡 🫶🏻

PS: Time is fake. The void is real. Happy New Year from inside the glitch. ✨

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