2026 New Year Goals

Personally, I love a fresh new start. There were some times when I did not make goals when I was working because I just too overwhelmed and stimulated to do so. And to make them and not have time or resources or will power because of being overbooked, then there was no sense in it. So I get those that don’t want to do it, for whatever their reason. But since retirement, I love making some goals and plans and seeing if we can hit the target. After all, these are things that I WANT to do.

But before making my 2026 goals, I sat down and asked myself what I needed FOR MYSELF for this year. The answer was a slower pace and living more simply. I want to have fun, travel, do YouTube, and of course serve God and meet my responsibilities in my roles in life – but I want it to be easier. The term “blur the lines” kept popping in my head, so as to not be so rigid with my time and my schedule, and to allow myself to be more free for things like working puzzles, reading, and yes- even playing Farmville2, apparently.

So here goes. These things are also going to be on a vlog but the vlog will not be nearly as detailed.

KEYWORD

Simplicity.

It’s not only my keyword but the foundation of my 2026!

MISSION

My overriding goals that need to thread throughout the year include the following:

• A healthier version of me
• Maintaining a fun, simple, less rigid schedule while still being productive and relaxed
• Enjoy life, have fun, include some travel
• Meet responsibilities in my roles (Wife, Mom, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Family Member, Pet Owner, House Owner, and Christ Follower/Believer)

MOTTO PARAGRAPH or PHRASE of the YEAR

Live Simple. Live Slow. Blur the Lines as You Go. We might add in there to stop and smell the coffee! 😉

Categories of my Goals

These are not in order of importance

• Self Care and Personal Needs
• Mom
• Creative Time
• Travel
• Relax Time
• Spiritual
• YouTube
• Writing Projects
• Financial Goals

Self Care and Personal Needs

• A healthier me
• A few clothing Items – mainly sweat pants
• New exercise routines that I actually want to do
• More stretching and strength training
• Nutrition Overhaul/Training
• Office Painted
• New Password Program

Mom

• Clean out her fridge. I don’t think the cleaning woman does this but somebody needs to do it, lol,
• Continue monitoring her bank accounts
• Continue paying her bills
• Do my part in collecting info for her taxes
• Paying her property taxes and getting the refunds
• Continue to do her grocery shopping
• Continue to be her taxi to appointments and shopping
• Get her on the elderly shut in list at church

I’m putting these things here because these are things I sometimes have to work at, they consume time on my schedule, and I don’t want to forget to do anything! lol

Creative Time

• YouTube Content and Creativity
• Writing Goals
• Making jewelry – specifically earrings
• Cooking continued – expand into bread making, and baking – but in a healthy way. The idea is not to eat more bread but better bread.

Travel

• Book a cruise for 2027. I am praying for this. I prayed this morning. I really would like to go on an Alaskan cruise. Anyone wanna go? I’m not sure George wants to.
• Weekend Gettaways. Chicago, Phoenix, Maine for example.
• Texas at Thanksgiving, if they will have us, lol
• Visit with the Irelands and/or trip with the Irelands
• See the Carnes

Relax Time

• Reading
• Working Puzzles
• Being Creative
• Being Inspired
• Make jewelry (earrings)
• Travel
• Plan
• Excursions with George
• Seeing Family
• Scrap Booking
• Playing Computer games

Spiritual

• Chronological Bible Study
• Deep Study/Journaling my Bible Study
• Periodic study of interests – like “dreams in the Bible” (for example) and then write about it
• Continue WBS (World Bible School Student Helper)
• Continue with Magi Box packing at church
• Continue with my little Card Ministry
• Continue sharing and encouraging others in their walk

YouTube

• Allow Sponsorships
• Allow Affiliates
• More Learning/Growing (Training List and Schedule Time Out for it)
• Start an analytic process from my Dashboard for improvement ideas
• Get a PO Box
• Work with Accountant on the financial parts
• More engaged in planning process
• More like a business – but keep it fun and simple
• Step back when it overwhelms
• Enjoy the creativity
• Define new Metrics to watch (part of Analytic process)
• Keep it Happy and Fun for me and the Viewers
• Seek financial rewards to compensate and reimburse for expenses and time (and pay for my health insurance, :-O)
• Not use the number of subscribers as the sole definition of success
• Begin paying and/or reimbursing expenses from my YouTube bank account and not personal.

Writing Projects

Personal Writing.

There are several books that I want to write personally, fictionally, and spiritually. I have begun the outlines and while it would be cool to write a book or several books, I don’t want the process to overwhelm me or consume me as I have a lot of irons in the fire already. However, I wanted to encourage myself to dabble in the writing of the things that are in my head and to put them on paper (ok digital paper, lol).

Whenever I’m called to do it I’ll grab the iPad and pencil pen and start writing and we will see where it goes. This is for me and if it should develop into something I think others might be interesting in at some point, I’d pursue it harder and further. Right now it’s just “write now” and see what happens. What a play on words, lol. This pursuit must be God led. But I’m feeling a calling or a nudge to start the process.

Book Journals to Complete.

There’s a meditation – kind of an “in touch with yourself” book in which I want to complete the workbook section.

There’s a Grandma’s book I need to complete for the grandkids – a 2nd one that asks different questions for the most part.

Devotional Devo and Journal book to complete.

I think there is one more personal development journaling work book that I bought. I think. lol. I have them stacked up and waiting on me. And honestly since I’ve put it off til the first of the year, I’ve not looked in a while.

Journaling in my Blog.

I enjoy this and think that it does something for me that even I cannot comprehend nor explain. My best shot at trying to explain it is that 1) It lets me see what I did in a day so I know that my time was well spent and frankly- worth something. 2) It keeps me grounded, is cathartic, and lets me work through things at times that I don’t see unless I write my feelings. I think it’s worthwhile to continue. 3) I can go back later and reread it and see things if needed, or remember it or share it.

Financial Goals

More frugal. In various ways. Grow the YouTube Channel to help with some of our expenses. And as mentioned…. pay for YouTube expenses with YouTube earnings instead of personal.

Notes:

I didn’t really include household projects in this. But yeah, I’ll be maintaining the household and I have a list of things that need to be done, but it’s just going to be pretty basic and just a maintenance upkeep at this point. But I will be going through the house and creating a “list” of projects that need attention so I can schedule them in. And I want my office to be repainted as I have a new pretty print to hang on the wall and just want something other than the drab grey going forward. I might even play around with the furniture and see if I would like a different way of arranging it.

I would love to rearrange the bedroom but I think that might be too much to ask as it involves moving the Sleep number bed around, and moving George’s desk around and I’m not sure how it will all work if we did move it and might have to move it back. lol I don’t want to stress him out. So in taking up my motto, we are just gonna blur the lines and see what happens.

Review of it All

Well, maybe you can tell that things are a little more simple this year or maybe to you it still sounds like so much? To me, my most daunting task is furthering the YouTube channel to allow for affiliates and sponsorships. To be honest it scares the bejeebies out of me. This will be my biggest challenge. But if I am doing YouTube already and already sharing things with you that I like, that I use. I may as well allow myself to be paid for it. So yes, I have rules about this, this year. It has to be right for me, for the channel, and it has to be legit. And I can allow or turn down what I want. I do understand this will be less than simple, but I also understand that it is within my power to say yes or no or maybe and so….. I may never say yes to anything and I may say no to everything but I might allow a few things, or even chicken out totally. No pressure. I get to decide. And it may take a while before it happens and will be a learning process. But it would be nice to be reimbursed for the expenses and effort that I put in. Because YouTube can be a lot of work and I have been viewing it as a job to be able to be consistent at it. I love it but at times it is hard when I want to be doing something else, get burned out, or life gets overwhelming when all parts of my life try to happen at once.

But hopefully in all the other areas of my goals you will see that it’s light hearted, fun, relaxing, and living life in a more simple and enjoyable way during retirement. I want to embrace the slow living and take care of myself physically, mentally, and spiritually. And I want to do it all with Grace and Ease. ;-). So I hope the goals look to you, like they do me, as goals that are mostly simple, more fun, less rigid, and blur the lines a bit more.

These are all marks to shoot for. I shall not try them all at once, and certainly not in the same day, as I’ve tried to do in the past. lol.

I’m curious, have you set goals or improvements for the New Year? Do you still believe in trying to do better each year? Or do you like to just live and let live and come what may? Life can be fine either way. No judgment here.

Happy New Year!