Happy New Year! I’m excited to start off 2026 with a plan to be blogging all year! And I’ll be making some changes here too…
Last year, I shared HERE that I set five general goals for the year (one in each of five areas of life) and then within each of those domains, I set smaller goals/projects/action steps to help me achieve the overarching intention in each category. And this year is no different! Though I did switch up the categories ever so slightly (mostly just in name)…
This post is bound to be a doozy, so before we jump into my personal goals, I wanted to share my blog news. Last year as I got back into posting after a long hiatus, I found myself writing about more than just decorating, which was the original intent of the blog and what I still want to focus on. But I like sharing other aspects of myself so I am going to try my hand at blogging twice a week this year: Wednesday posts will be mostly interior decor focused, and on Mondays I’ll be sharing shorter posts about what’s on my mind that week or pre-planned topics I want to talk about. What do you think? I’m excited!
Now, on to my goals for 2026!
Me, Myself & I
Subcategories: self improvement, health & fitness, wealth management
Overarching goal: Make great strides toward securing my future and solidifying who I am.
Cook 1+ recipe from each cookbook (1/month) – I have approximately 12 cookbooks on my shelf, and most of them I’ve NEVER used. So I want to go through each one, hopefully find a recipe or two that look appealing, and make at least one of them each month.
Discover who I am (personality tests, values, etc) – I had this on my list in 2024 and only got so far, so I’m reattempting. I don’t know if I fully believe in these types of things but might be fun to try and see what the results are. I also have a book on my TBR called “Becoming You” by Suzy Welch that I think will help with this goal.
Make my systems and schedules more fun – I don’t know why I struggle with this one so much. I love to make a plan, but it’s the executing that I find difficult. This is mostly related to keeping up with cleaning schedules and AM/PM routines. So I’m thinking of taking a page from Ali Abdaal’s book “Feel Good Productivity” and asking myself, “what would this look like if it was fun?” And maybe gamify the whole thing and see how I do with that approach.
Continue exposure therapy to reduce social anxiety – just to be clear, this is not official exposure therapy nor do I have diagnosed social anxiety. But last year I tried an experiment of pushing myself to do something that would usually cause increased anxiety, at least once a week. This could be going someplace new, by myself, or maybe just making a phone call I was dreading. I would like to try to do this every week, but I’m going to give myself grace and be satisfied and consider it complete if I do it 80% of the weeks. Or at all, really anything is better than nothing.
Get out of obese weight range – this equates to about 14lbs loss to hit the high end of the overweight range (and about 21 to hit the low end). I’m committed to making this a reality this year. Ideally, by my wellness visit in late July…
Focus on positivity through journaling (and meditation?) – I like the practice of journaling to get my feelings out, good or bad, complain, reflect, discuss, etc. The thing I struggle with is making the time, especially in the mornings (morning pages) when there are other things I want to do in my AM routine. As of this writing, I’ve done great— because I’ve been off of work for the holidays lol. The real test is during a normal work week. I’m also doing PM pages, for recap/reflection and gratitude. And meditation? Well, I haven’t had much success with it. But willing to try again…
Save at least $15,000 in assorted buckets – I have most of this automated so it shouldn’t be too hard to do, but the balance will require me to be smart with any windfalls (gifts, bonuses, tax refunds, extra pay months) which to my credit, I usually am. I have a couple of annual savings goals each year, and then some bigger, long-term goals, that I’m wanting to make progress towards in 2026.
Practice slow spending and stick to fun money budgets – I started giving myself an allowance of sorts, a certain amount I can spend on fun and frivolous purchases, in 2024. Early on, I would plan out anything I was thinking about buying and make sure it fit in the budget. By the end of the year, I usually become more lax about planning ahead and then tracking my spending, so I usually find myself exceeding that allowance. I am going to rework my system for 2026 and I think that will allow more flexibility and opportunity for success this year.
Work toward balancing my portfolio – first I have to figure out what this means for me at my age and risk tolerance, then slowly work toward achieving said balance.
Relationships
Subcategories: friends & family, community
Overarching goal: Strengthen my relationships and community for a better today and beautiful tomorrow.
Make a true effort to see my bestie and her fam more (6x/year) – last year we saw each other 3x, but we both agreed we would like to get together more often. We used to see each other every day before we went to separate colleges, and even though that is many moons ago, I’d like to get back to seeing each other more often in person (we check in at least once a week via text), and I’m going to make it happen this year!
Streamline Mom’s physical and financial assets! – I didn’t finish the basement last year, so that’s a top priority for 2026, and then I want to work on other areas and declutter and organize everything. Also get a better handle on the finances. Funnnnn….
Connect with extended family on a regular basis – a continuation of last year’s goal!
Be open, friendly and supportive to my neighbors – I only “know” one of my neighbors and all I know is that she has the same name as me, and that she’s a nurse. I sort of know a couple of others, just having had brief conversations YEARS ago. So I want to make a conscious effort here. This could fall into the do something that makes me anxious bucket, and can kill two birds with one stone lol. I am also extending this to my town, by supporting the stores and restaurants by shopping and eating local.
Approach coworkers and customers with joy – I migrated this goal from 2025 where it lived in my work domain (I don’t have that one anymore), but am considering coworkers and customers as my work community. I think the key to this one is really checking in with myself daily and recommitting if I fall off the wagon at any point.
Participate in online groups – I tend to be a stalker of sorts online, that is, I never comment or participate in discussions. I’m planning to comment on blogs and socials, join my alma mater’s GoodRead’s bookclub (if they’ll accept me), and support a couple more online artists through Patreon (and participate on their pages too!).
Environment
Subcategories: home & auto, digital devices, online presence
Overarching goal: Improve the state of my spaces with organization and mini makeovers.
Organize memorabilia better – I have boxes in my big hall closet with various mementos (school things as far back as elementary, family keepsakes, concert tees, photos, birthday cards, etc) and right now it’s not sorted/organized AT ALL, so I finally want to do that. Getting my label maker ready!
Do a deep cleaning in spring – see above systems and schedules goal and you’ll know I struggle with the cleaning on a regular schedule (I’m more if I see it’s dirty, I’ll clean it). But I want to make it a priority to be better about that AND to do some good deep cleaning too.
Complete 3 big house upgrades – the plan is for a new back door (sliding or French, TBD), new flooring upstairs, and a closet build out in my bedroom.
Clean up and organize computer storage – my computer is a mess, mostly the downloads folder and my photos, and everything else lol. I just want to get a handle on all my files, clean up folders, and create systems I can keep up with on the regular. Is that too much to ask?
Optimize new iPhone to promote less screen time – I ordered a new iPhone (the Air) and am excited to make the most of it! I have focus settings on my current iPhone 12, but I want to tweak them to work even better for me, and also set limits for certain apps. The trick is not to override these settings…
Set up iPad primarily for side hustle work – When my Airbook died several years ago, I replaced it with with an iPad Pro and I have the Apple Pencil for drawing (in theory) and a Bluetooth keyboard, so I can type more easily. I’m currently writing this post from my iPad, so that’s a win already! I have a bunch of apps on here that I either don’t use or want to limit my use of, especially if it’s a weekend work time block for my side hustle. Maybe setting up focus blocks is the answer here too.
Continue transitioning away from Comcast email – this was an unofficial goal that I started last year. My personal email is still with my mom’s Comcast account, and there’s no way to migrate it to my Comcast account. So I want to start transitioning my emails away from Comcast entirely, so that when the time comes (as morbid as it sounds), I’m not scrambling with all of my email subscriptions, etc.
Clean up online accounts – this sort of ties in to the Comcast email goal, I want to change my accounts over to a new email address, make sure passwords are secure, etc.
Separate social media profiles for personal and business – in general I want to clean up my follows, and I also want to move some from my personal Instagram and YouTube profiles to the ones I set up for LAF Lines.
Recreation
Subcategories: hobbies, experiences, entertainment
Overarching goal: Bring balance and joy into my life through adventure and creativity.
Read all of Lucy Score’s backlist – I love her books! I devour them, so to be honest, I don’t even know if this will take all year. I do have other reading goals too, but this is the main one. I think I have 32-ish to go, so 2-3 per month…
Complete 4 art projects (1/quarter) + fill 1 sketchbook – I want to be an artist again. All through school I felt like one. My job (full time and this blog/freelance work) revolves around design. But I don’t draw and paint and craft like I once did and I want to get back to that.
Create, and partake in, seasonal fun lists – I love to be at home, just tackling things on my to do list or vegging if I’m honest, so this will be a way for me to push myself to actually do some seasonal things out in the world, or in my house…
See my first Cirque du Soleil show! – tickets are already acquired! I’m very excited and prepared to be amazed!
Go to the movies, a concert, a performance, etc at least 2x – I think this is self explanatory, right?
Do 5 or more things from my various bucket lists – originally this sub-sub category was adventure, but I have non-adventure things on my bucket lists (a 100 dreams list, and a 50 x 50 list) that I want to tackle so I’m opening it up to that. TBD what those things are…
Have popcorn and a movie night every weekend, 80% of the year – when I first set this goal I made it Friday night movie night but I have to be honest about the season of life I’m in. I go to my mom’s most nights for dinner, including Friday, and by the time I get home I am too tired to sit through a 2 hour movie. So I think I’m going to make it a Sunday night movie instead because I go home earlier and will have more time. Or it might be a Saturday afternoon matinee…
Watch Emily in Paris (plus new seasons of old faves) – last year I tackled Grace & Frankie, so I wanted a new series to watch. I believe there are 50 episodes with most recent season factored in, so one per week should do. And then of course other shows that will have new seasons coming out (or ones I haven’t caught up on yet): Reacher, Nobody Wants This, Shrinking, The Last Thing He Told Me
Complete a 2026 Music Jar – there are some new artists I want to check out, and some not-new artists I want to check out…
Extra Credit / Mixed Media
Subcategories: none – or all – this category is meant to be a catch all, either a second goal from a previous subcategory, or one that could fall in multiple
Overarching goal: Welcome unexpected (and/or uncategorized) wishes with open arms.
Complete a personal curriculum 3x/year – you’ve probably seen that these are all the rage recently and I’m jumping on the bandwagon lol. There are certain things I want to focus on for short periods and I think treating them like a course will be helpful. I plan to have 3 terms: Spring, Summer and Fall. Separate post on this to come…
“Improve” my handwriting – my printing isn’t too bad, and it’s kind of connected so pseudo cursive, but I want to practice cursive and hopefully improve it and ideally have a legible signature!
Attempt 3-4 baking projects – I had this as an action step of my “Improve cooking skills” goal last year and I guess maybe I technically achieved it, but I failed at the sourdough project… and I also want to try to make a pie crust from scratch. And a bear claw… so those are on my list, and something with yeast!
Organize/declutter my stuff in Mom’s loft… I moved out of my parent’s house 10+ years ago and there is still a ton of stuff in the loft there that I didn’t bring with me. Some because I really don’t have the space for it… and some because I don’t want it. Actually, it’s probably a lot that I don’t want. So that’s a massive project that I plan to tackle in Q1.
All things dream home plotting and scheming! – I have done some things related to this off and on over the years, mostly saving for a down payment, but I’m also always pinning something on Pinterest and I created a list of must haves too. I want to build on this, create a physical vision board, collect realtor info, browse listings, do some more research on the financial end, consider possible locations/distance/radii. The actual moving is probably at least 3 years away…
Tackle other house projects from PPL – I just walked through the house and wrote an updated list and holy moly, I think it’s longer than the original. Some are fun things. Some are BIG things (see above house project goal). Some I’m dreading…
Improve my skin tone and texture – I’m pretty good about moisturizing my face, but I don’t use lotion on my body unless it’s an emergency, so I want to make that a regular occurrence. I also have some dark spots on my face as I’m getting older, and the texture isn’t quite the same as it was, despite moisturizing daily (and using sunscreen!) – so TBD exactly what this looks like, but I’d like to work on it.
Car stuff… get the Jeep washed! And take care of some other maintenance/issues. And maybe test drive that Hybrid in case the Jeep dies this year…
Read magazines on library shelves – I have old issues of design magazines from YEARS ago that I NEVER read. SMH…
Test all nail polish colors and edit collection – last year I bought nail polishes in my color palette hues, in different shades, and did not use them all. So I want to test each of them out at least once and see if I like and if I want to keep in rotation. I also have some old polishes I want to evaluate too.
Have no goals December so that I can focus on…
Prepping and planning 2027! – Ideally all of these other goals will be checked off by end of November… or maybe sooner, so that I can work through all the tasks to get ready for 2027 and enjoy the holiday season!
Phew! I’m exhausted lol— did you make it to the end? If you did, I appreciate you. I love to read/hear about other people’s ambitions for the year ahead. I hope I gave you some inspiration for your own goals.
What’s one goal you’re looking forward to in 2026?
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