2025 was something. Between major household upheavals and everything else in life, sticking to my goals has take a backseat.
With 2026 on the horizon, it’s as good a time as any to set my goals for 2026.
So, without further ado, here are 26 things I want to do in 2026.
1. Rebuild my savings
The 2 biggest expenses in 2025 were my aunt’s funeral and the decluttering that happened in the months immediately after. Skips aren’t cheap to hire, even the smaller models. Add the costs of bringing in a professional cleaner and buying new furniture and, yeah, the ole savings did take a decent hit.
So the goal for 2026 is to a) save up 2 months of expenses and b) get my “deposit” to at least $2k. Even though moving isn’t part of my life plan for the next decade or so, I still want to have something ready and waiting in case I ever do get that itch.
Bonus: I end 2026 with each sinking fund having about 50% more (rounded up to the nearest. $1k) than their respective targets.
2. Really jog for 1/2 of the marathon route (or walk for 1 hr straight each day during my staycation)
The 2025 marathon was a wee let down in the sense that I only managed to walk for most of the route, owing to the fact that my feet were still aggrieved from all of the walking that I did the previous day.
While aiming to job for 1/2 the marathon route is simple enough, the real challenge will be making sure that my feet are marathon ready by the time I get to the assembly area on marathon morning. This very much includes limiting the amount of walking that I do the day before.
Important Note: At the time of posting, the official Sydney Marathon website is yet to publish details for the 2026 Mini Marathon event. In the event that the organisers do decide not to run the Mini Marathon event in 2026, the goal will be to go for a 1hr walk every day during my staycation around the same time.
3. Learn 8 new recipes
One of the major changes to my life in 2025 is that I am learning to properly cook for myself. Prior to her passing, the kitchen was very much “auntie’s kitchen”.
My approach to cooking so far has been to try a recipe for a few times until I get it right, then find a new recipe to try.
By the time NYE 2026 rolls around, I want to have 8 new recipes to choose from for my weekly meal plans.
4. Bake a batch of cupcakes with frosting
I started baking later in the year and I really enjoyed it, despite not having too much time in my schedule to do so.
In 2026, the goal is to bake at least 1 batch of cupcakes. And they must be frosted.
5. Complete 1 sewing project
I still have mum’s old Singer sewing machine and, in 2026, I have every intention of cleaning it up so I can finish a sewing project that is neither a cushion nor a cushion cover.
6. Keep a travel journal that includes prompts
I’ve been keeping travel journals pretty consistently for several years now. For my next travel journal, which I will be keeping for my coming birthday trip, I plan on adding some photography prompts. Like a photography scavenger hunt, if you will.
7. Do 2 no spend days every week
As part of my broader goal to rebuild my savings, I want to have 2 days a week designated as my no-spend days. Monday and Friday. 2 days where I am slightly more inclined to buy random crap.
Exceptions will be made during my birthday trip and the marathon staycation.
8. Check the fridge/cabinets/etc before going grocery shopping. And stick to a shopping list.
One of my biggest budget blackholes in 2025 has been the amount of food I’ve allowed to go to waste. Regardless of whether it was due to me forgetting that I had purchased it at all or if it was a case of me forgetting that I had already bought it, it did nothing to help the fact that the money aint finding its way back into my bank account.
In my defense, a good part of this was me figuring out what kinds of foods I really enjoyed eating.
So, in 2026, we will be entering our ‘slightly more responsible adult’ era and doing the following:
- limiting the main grocery shop to once a week
- checking the fridge and pantry to see what needs restocking before going shopping
- writing up a shopping list of what needs purchasing before setting foot into Woolies or the fruit and veg shop
- sticking to the damn shopping list once I get to the shops
9. Purge the house of stuff that doesn’t “spark joy”
In the months immediately following auntie’s passing, a good portion of my free time was spent clearing out her old room, with a view to turn it into my home office. We ended up letting go of a lot of stuff that she would’ve held on to for dear life.
In 2026, I want to continue the broader project to truly make this house my home sweet home. A key component of that will be clearing out everything, and I mean everything, that I don’t want. At the same time, I will be doing my best to not bring home too many new things long term.
10. Establish routines for my days at home
This includes both work-from-home days and at-home days off. Without any semblence of a routine, I could easier waste entire mornings or afternoons binge watching YouTube or playing Diablo III.
11. Get in 12K steps every day of my birthday trip
Melbourne’s CBD is very walkable. Even though I will be getting a myki card for this trip, I do have plans to walk for as much of day as I possibly can.
12. Have the most expensive glass of champagne that I can get during my birthday trip
Nuff said.
13. Have 1 healthy side with my main meals during my birthday trip
In keeping with my health goals, the plan is to have some kind of healthy side with each of my main meals (lunch & dinner) while I’m on my birthday trip.
14. Start my birthday trip travel journal over breakfast at the airport
Based on my current plans, I should be at the airport around 1.5 hrs before boarding starts (2hrs if I’m lucky), which should leave me with enough time to start filling out my travel journal over brekkie.
15. Carry a small water bottle with me when I head out for the day during my birthday trip and finish it
Something I really love about the hotels that I’ve been staying at is that I’ve been able to get the staff to fill up my water bottle for me without extra charge.
It is something I have every intention of doing during every single trip that I go on.
16. Establish a maintainable blogging/content routine and stick to it
Even though I didn’t get hit any of my content goals in 2025, I still want to try again in 2026. I believe that part of this entails coming up with a content routine that I can actually stick with.
17. Try 1 new restaurant during my summer break
Apart from being a place I haven’t been to before, it also should be a place that I wouldn’t normally be able to get a reservation at during the working year.
This can happen during the January part of the 2025-2026 summer break or during the December part of the 2026-2027 summer break.
18. Legpress my own body weight
Despite working out from home for most of the year, I still want to be able to be able to legpress my own body weight the next time I’m in the gym.
19. Pack my “might need it during the flight” items in my larger Longchamp tote before heading to the airport
This applies to both the trip to Melbourne, as well as the trip going home.
Something that I’ve been doing, but I probably shouldn’t be doing, was spend the first few minutes at my seat faffing around with my stuff trying to decide what I want to have to hand during the flight. It’s not against the rules per se, but it does cause a wee bit of inconvenience for my fellow travellers, especially because my usual seat is towards the nose of the plane.
So, for my birthday trip, I will be making sure that all of the things that I might want to reach for during the flight are packed into my medium Longchamp tote before I leave the house/the hotel. Everything else that I plan on taking in my carry on can stay in my little carry on case.
20. Do some inflight pampering
Even though it’s technically 1.5 hours (and roughly the same amount of time that my home-Sydney commute takes), it’s a lot of time to spend doing “nothing”.
For the flight to Melbourne, the plan is to get some undereye patches, as well as some travel size skincare bits so I can set myself up for a mini pamper session.
21. Have a pre-dinner cocktail during my birthday trip
Melbourne, being the foodie capital and all, has a decent selection of bars to choose from. So the plan is to do what I couldn’t do during the 2025 Marathon Staycation: get in a pre-dinner cocktail.
And it can’t be a garden-variety cocktail either. It’s gotta be the prettiest, or else the most creative cocktail that Melbourne has to offer.
22. Fill up a sketchbook
As part of my mid-term goal to re-establish my art practice, I will try and have 1 of my art journals filled up by the year’s end. This includes both the front and back of each page.
23. Walk the 2025 Mini Marathon route at least once a month
Even though the Mini Marathon event hasn’t officially been confirmed for the 2026 Sydney Marathon, I still want to get my body (specifically my legs) used to the distance. Just so that I’m ready for the event if it does run. (Pun not intended)
It doesn’t have to be the exact route itself. It just needs to be the same distance without pausing.
Bonus: I finish the the distance within an hour, including traffice light stops.
24. Explore the Airport terminal before boarding
Getting to Sydney Domestic Airport at least 1 hr before boarding means that I will have a fair amount of time to kill. Even after finishing my breakfast (I am a speedy eater). So I will be taking the time to explore the Domestic Airport terminal while I wait for boarding to officially start. And hopefully pick up a thing or 2 to snack on mid flight.
25. Have brekkie/tea/cocktail and sketch/paint
I really liked being able to get in some crocheting time during my pre-dinner cocktail during my 2025 birthday trip. So, for the 2026 trip, I plan on bringing out the art kit either during brekkie, morning tea or my pre-dinner drink.
26. Explore Sydney during my Saturdays out and during the Marathon Staycation
In the spirit of being a better tourist in my home state, I want to take spend a couple of Saturdays each month during the working year and a day or 2 during the Marathon Staycation to explore the parts of Sydney that I wouldn’t normally venture into.
