At the start of every new year, I come up with a list of resolutions and every year, I give up on them within the week. This year, Iām trying to be more organised in how I approach the changes I want to enact within my life. Iāve started this off by making a visual representation of my goals via Pinterest, as opposed to a never-ending to-do list. This has resulted in a social media platform whose algorithm is set to suggest things that are advantageous to me achieving my goals. The above image is such a suggestion and Iām going to share how I ticked off these little goals for starting my year off right.
Choose one word as your 2026 theme
I will preface this by saying that I didnāt stick to these prompts completely. I adapted them to my own season of life. To that end, Iāve chosen two words for 2026: Discipline and Consistency. Two things Iāve sorely lacked in my day to day life.
Do a spending review of the last 3 months
I used a Google sheet to review how much I spent each day of Oct-Dec 2025, as well as what type of expense it was and where I spent my money. My biggest takeaway was how much money went to dining out and how little went to my groceries. Returning to meal planning now that my morning sickness has eased and figuring out how to avoid buying food when Iām out will be two big goals Iām working on this year.
Create a stop doing list for 2026
As mentioned above, my biggest stop doing is eating out, my second being impulse buying. Most others are related to not neglecting my duties.
Book twelve monthly personal days
Iāve decided to book these on the twelve major feast days of the Byzantine church. I can spend my morning in church and then relax/feast the remainder of the day, growing in my relationship to God.
List top 5 contacts and plan a touchpoint
Now I didnāt manage to do this before the yearās end but Iāve booked in 4 friends to meet up with this year, with a fifth that Iām still sorting out plans with. Itās a little challenging as Iāve started back at work and am already losing the energy to put towards this but I neglected a lot of my relationships due to burnout and sickness last year. Thatās not a mistake I want to repeat.
Draft a done in 2025 brag sheet
Iāve had a lot of major wins in 2025: I got married, Iāve gotten pregnant, Iāve moved apartments, Iāve bought a car, and Iāve completed my traineeship! Lots of major milestones were achieved last year. My one regret is that I donāt believe I had much personal growth in this past year. I had started meal planning and eating better but my severe morning sickness put a stop to that. Itās still present but not anywhere near as bad so Iām hoping to regain that habit this year.
Clean up your phone Home Screen
This one was easy. All social media apps were removed from the Home Screen. Iāve replaced them with my podcast and library apps. Iāve also created a folder containing all the apps I use to track habits and goals. I also went through all my apps and deleted any unnecessary ones.
Create a simple weekly reset ritual
My weekly reset ritual (which Iāve not tested yet oops) will take place on a Saturday. It will consist of: washing my hair, washing my face, doing my nails, doing a deep clean of my teeth and retainer, and trying a new outfit. Just some simple self care.
Unsubscribe from ten email lists
Alright so I have completed this one. However, Iām going to take it a step further and empty out all my email inboxes of unnecessary emails and old bills. My Google storage is just about used up.
Identify one skill that would raise your value
To be clear, I donāt believe skills raise your value as a human. Our dignity is inherent and given to us by God. But learning new skills is always a good thing. This year, Iām going to once again try and learn to sew. There is certainly a financial value to it: Iād be able to sew us some simple clothes and cloths which would save us money.
Practice saying no kindly
Wonāt provide details on this but my no consisted of refusing to enable a family memberās destructive tendencies. I definitely struggled with a lot of guilt saying no but ultimately, Iād just be hurting them if I said yes.
Decide on one habit you will track all year
Okay, so I have chosen four. But I believe this a very worthwhile four. They are: praying, cooking, reading, and exercising. Iām still building the habit for them but they are the four things that will most benefit my family and I this year.
