Happy 2026! It’s time to set new goals. Some are continuations from last year, some are brand new, and some are a chance to try again.
During the New Year’s Eve party I attended this year, someone said their family doesn’t set goals or resolutions for the new year; they choose a word for their new year. We all liked the idea and I picked “Creativity.” I want to spend more time this year being creative and enjoying other peoples’ creativity. I will write more, read more, and try new artistic things. Art is a path toward flow states and finding joy for me. This intention is also a round about way to say I hope to stay in the moment and not take myself too seriously this year.
1. Finish the 3rd Draft of my Memoir
This was my goal for the last half of 2025 and I made progress on it, but I did not complete it. I tried a new organization for the book and got about 25% of the way there and did a review with my writing group. We all generally agreed that it felt like the structure I was working with was limiting my writing.
My current plan is to restart my draft 3 with a looser plan. I want to try a few different ways to prompt my chapters. The idea is to focus on the writing and let the structure and flow of the overall novel come from what I naturally gravitate toward writing instead of trying to write into a predefined thesis for each chapter.
2. Read 183 Books
Last year I read 163 books out of 183 so I did not meet my goal last year. This was one of the first times I didn’t meet my reading goal and I’m pretty happy about it. In the past, I would set goals and absolutely demolish them. It was fun to have a pretty crazy goal that I really had to put thought into reaching.
I’m excited to try again this year!
3. Write the 1st Draft of my Fantasy Book
My friend told me I don’t need to be working on multiple projects at once, but I love working on lots of things at once. I have an idea for a two book series and want to do some fun writing, hopefully a little less emotionally heavy than my memoir work.
4. Get Something Published
I want to get my writing published somewhere. The goal here is not to make money but to get my name out there. I want to set myself up for freelance writing and book marketing in the future. This will also give me an idea if it is something I want to do more. I want to explore my options and do the groundwork for whatever I may want in the future even if I’m not totally sure what that is now.
5. Learn a New Art Thing
I haven’t decided what the new art thing will be, hence the word “thing” being used here. I’ve thought about taking a portrait class or an architectural drawing class or a sewing class. The possibilities are endless! Granted my schedule and my bank account don’t totally agree.