Photo by Arina Krasnikova
It’s January 4th and I’m just now setting my intentions for 2026. It’s been a doozey of a week. I ended the year with a case of food poisoning (Self-induced, I’m embarrassed to say) and the youngest man-child is starting the new year with the flu. Things can only look up from here, right? LOL.
So what made the cut this year? Read on to find out:
Drink More Water
I gave up Diet coke two years ago. Unfortunately, I swapped it out for sweet tea and chai lattes/Frappuccino’s so definitely not an improvement on the health front. I realize I’m not going to give up either of these things completely but I am determined to make water a part of my daily routine and the sweet tea and chai’s more of a treat.
Read 64 books and Listen to 150 podcast episodes
Continuing to learn is so important to me. I’ve always said that I would be a professional student if I were to hit the lottery. I love learning new things. That being said, reading goals will be on my intention list every year. We’re starting year 17 in our book club and I treasure this group of friends. The great thing about a book club is that I’ve read books I would never ever pick up on my own.
I set my 2025 reading challenge at 52 books for the year and I easily exceeded that. I ended up reading 75 books, with 9 of them being non-fiction books.
This year I’ve decided to set my goal at 64 books. That’s a book a week plus 1 extra book a month that’s non-fiction. I thought about stretching it a little more but I really want to focus on my writing more this year.
This year I’m adding a podcast challenge as well. I’m fairly new to podcast listening, maybe a year or two since I’ve added podcasts to my Spotify list. I listen religiously to Mel Robbins; she does two podcasts a week and she’s fabulous! I also listen to Marie Forleo, Rachel Hollis, and Diary of a CEO fairly regularly.
I’ve decided to listen to 3 podcasts a week. Looking forward to finding some new regulars so if you have a favorite, let me know. I can’t focus on listening to an audio book during my work day but I do enjoy listening to podcasts at work.
One New Recipe a Month
I’m definitely in a meal rut. Cooking is not one of my strong suits, please reference my earlier food poisoning confession as proof. My kitchen is tiny and lacks storage and counter space so it’s not enjoyable to spend time in there. I tend to stick to easy meals due to this. I also work a lot of hours and tend to get home late enough that I really don’t want to spend a long time creating a fancy meal.
Part of my efforts to improve my overall health in 2026 is to develop better food habits. I’ve struggled with some digestive issues recently and my gastroenterologist suggested I try to follow a Low FODMAP diet. She warned me it’s not an easy diet to follow so I may need to get some help from a nutritionist but I thought I’d try to baby step my way into it first.
Finances
Money, money, money. Saving more money is nearly always on the list for most common New Year’s resolutions. Reducing debt is my big one. I successfully paid off one debt last year-my student loans.
I did not reduce my debt totals as much as I liked but I had some expensive bills pop last year, like some much delayed dental work I kept putting off. I was still able to put some money away in savings though so I’ll count it as a win.
This year the goal is to pay off another debt and reduce my debt by 10%. I think that’s reasonable considering I also want/need to do some much delayed home projects and I have a surgery coming up in a few weeks. If I can accomplish these things without incurring more debt, I’ll be happy.
Home Projects
Speaking of home projects….sigh. That was a huge fail for 2025. Not only did I not get any projects done, I didn’t even get the quotes. I will get at least one project done this year.
What needs to be done? New windows and carpet or hardwoods in the bedrooms, and figure out how to hang my pantry door so it stops falling off.
A new washing machine and a bathroom remodel would be bucket list items. I know, a new washing machine doesn’t sound like it would be a huge deal but in my tiny home, it has to be a very compact machine to fit into my space. You’d think smaller size would mean smaller price tag but you’d be wrong. These suckers are twice the price of a regular machine…
Decluttering and organizing is also going to be a huge goal for me this year. I am not a naturally neat and organized person. Anyone that has seen my home or office will attest to that. I call it organized chaos but truthfully it’s not even that. I am extremely motivated to become organized and neat this year, both at home and at my office.
Writing and Mental Health
My writing is going to be a big focus this year. I let it slip last year for various reasons. I need to make it a bigger priority this year. It’s my Zen activity and it’s ridiculous I don’t make more time for it. I’m not sure what this means exactly. Do I work on making this blog better? Do I focus on my novel? Do I try to find some freelance writing opportunities. Who knows, maybe I’ll do all three. But probably not…lol…not enough hours in the day.
Probably seems a little odd to put writing and mental health together in the same category but as I said earlier, writing is my Zen activity. I really want to focus on my mental health this year. I’ve watched some people close to me really struggle this year and it made me realize that it would be very easy for me to fall down that rabbit hole as well.
My job is sometimes stressful because it just seems like people are so mean with others lately. I’d like to say I’m immune to this, because I know my buddy Mel Robbins would say Let Them be mean and hateful, but it can be hard to not react to the negative noise.
So my plan to work on my own mental health is to focus on consistent sleep, less social media, and to develop a meditation habit to see if that helps me quiet the negativity and stress racing through my brain.
Wrapping Up
So there you go. Probably too many resolutions again but that’s how I roll. Having lots to work on keeps me out of trouble. More people should work on themselves, it might make for a kinder world…lol.
I do think I’m going to prioritize a specific goal each month though. January is starting off with organizing. Having shoulder surgery in January means there will probably be more people in my home than usual so that’s a great motivation to get things tidier and get rid of a bunch of crap. I’ve already taken one load to Goodwill this past week.
What are your goals/intentions for 2026? Any that you want to share?
