2026 Goals

Today I wanted to share some bookish and non-bookish goals for 2026!  I thought about it a lot, and I'm only going to set one bookish goal.  I just want to keep things simple and I don't have the bandwidth in my brain to be keeping track of too many things, ha!  But, I also wanted to set out some non-bookish goals to help me focus on other areas of my life.

1. Read 75 books.  This is lower than what I usually read, but it will keep things low-stress for me!
2. Complete the sit-to-standing test.  Has anyone else been seeing this "longevity" test everywhere lately?  Supposedly, being able to get up from sitting on the floor to standing, without using hands, knees, or leaning on anything, is a good indicator of your health and predicted longevity.  So, I tried it and couldn't do it, but my goal is to gain the strength to complete the test and continue doing it.
3. Do 100 jumps a day.  This is another fitness thing I've been seeing lately - jumping!  In general, I want to get healthier and I am always struggling to lose 15-20 pounds, but unlike my husband, who has impeccable willpower and drive, I am much slower to make changes.  I need to start somewhere, though, and this seems like a good thing to add to my growing fitness routine!
4. Complete 52 puzzles.  Last year I did 95 puzzles and as much as I love doing them, it maybe felt like too much?  Puzzles take time and I don't want to feel like I'm neglecting other things.  Aiming for one per week (treating myself after finishing work on Fridays, LOL!) seems reasonable.
5. Complete at least 4 new-to-us baking projects with Henry.  Henry always wants to "make something" in the kitchen - he loves helping me measure things out and watch its progress in the oven.  We are trying to help him overcome an egg allergy, which means he needs to eat baked egg daily, and the easiest way we've found is through things like muffins.  Admittedly, not the healthiest, so in addition to box mixes, I've been trying to make "healthier" versions from scratch.  So, I would love to find some new things to add to our repertoire!  Please drop your suggestions in the comments!

Michele also wanted to share some bookish and non-bookish goals for 2026, so here they are!

Bookish Goals 2026

• Read 200 books – This is less than my 2025 total, and will force me to be more selective in my reading
• Read books from a wide variety of genres – I have been reading more thrillers, historical fiction and middle grades the last couple years and would like to continue with that
• Utilize my library more – Especially now with my daughter getting more into reading, I will try to be more proactive in using our township library and its resources
• Buddy read with my daughter and husband – Luna and I have been sharing so many middle grade books and I look forward to continuing that in 2026.  My husband has a goal of reading 15 books this year, so I’m sure we’ll have some overlapping reads!

Non-Bookish Goals 2026

My bookish goals are admittedly a rehash of my 2025 goals – reading has been a hobby of mine for years so there’s not much to add at a certain point.  I also want it to keep being something fun for me.  But I thought I would document some of my non-bookish goals as well!  I try to choose a word or phrase for the year – just something small and quick to kind of guide me.  For the last couple years, the phrase has been With Purpose, to remind myself to be intentional with my time and energy.  This year I’m switching it up and the word will be Progress – some of my goals are things I want to learn for the first time or things I want to get better at, so I think this will be a good mindset to have.  

2026 will be a challenging year professionally – my husband is changing jobs and is going to be in office a majority of the time, instead of fully remote.  I was also promoted to partner at my CPA firm last year (kinda cool but mostly terrifying) so my responsibilities there will be changing this year.  Despite this (because of this?) my 2026 goals pretty much pertain to my personal life and the fun stuff I’ll need to stay sane.

• Learn needlepoint.  Do I need a new hobby?  No.  Am I going to do it anyway?  Probably.
• More monthly baking challenges.  My daughter and I follow the monthly baking challenges from Sally’s Baking Blog and The Salted Sweets.  We did a few last year but really want to keep up and do as many as we can this year.  
• Plant a garden.  Ok, not a full garden but a couple vegetable plants would be good to start!
• Complete 24 puzzles.  I try to carve out time to complete a couple puzzles a month – it also helps me bump up my audiobook listens!
• Continue my fitness journey.  I only got serious about exercising a couple years ago – while I regret waiting until I turned 40, I know that I can still make great progress and better myself.  I try to focus on a couple different apps (iFit and Reps nMotion) to keep me on track and progressing and I want to try to accomplish as much as I can.

What will you be focusing on in 2026?