I could probably write a full post on every goal I put on my 2026 list, but in the interest of getting through them before the year is half over, I’ve decided to go domain by domain!
Domain #1 is PERSONAL. I have 6 goals (and fine, some subgoals too). Here we go!
1- Lean into hobbies! Specifically, the three hobbies I am thinking about are:
a) playing piano regularly (master the TLOAS songbook which I am working on now, but also play other things and just do a little bit of playing most days after practicing with G)
b) play with fountain pens and more creative journaling. Allow myself to get a little more playful with my stationary and have fun with it. Maybe try some YouTube drawing tutorials. Use my sticker printer. Just have fun with it.
c) cross stitch SOMETHING! I think it would be fun to get a pattern for my podcast cover or book cover. That could become some quirky wall art. BUT, I’m fine starting with a much smaller project and just diving in.
2- Successfully test into level 2 at Club Pilates. Club Pilates has at least 4 level: 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5. I’m currently taking primarily 1.5 level classes. The jury is out on how many classes one needs in order to be qualified for this milestone, but it’s definitely more than than the number I have taken! However, I’m hoping that by the end of the year I’ll be well over 100 classes and ready to test into level 2.
Example of a skill I will need is rolling up into teaser. Right now I cannot successfully get into position without kind of cheating and using my hands to stabilize myself. Once I’m there, I can hold teaser pretty well, but getting there is messy. Something to work on! (Among many other things.)
3- Keep nails presentable. I’m not going to be OVERLY persnickety about this — if I have a tiny chip, so be it. But I want my nails to look decent on a daily basis (not under scrutiny, but at a glance). I am committed to monthly salon manicures but want to do most of the rest on my own.
(I think I have moved on from home gel; I’ve tried two home systems and in the end have decided I prefer regular polish; the gel I’ve used tends to come off and take some of my nail with it, leaving me with thin and brittle nails. Not what I was aiming for!)
4- Wardrobe refresh. I’ve been gradually doing this, but there are certain areas where I’m overdue. Here comes another sublist!
a) Jewelry. I want a new ‘everyday necklace’ and some earrings. (I usually buy earrings here because I am super super sensitive to basically everything else!)
b) Date night. I want to feel like I have a couple of decent choices for date nights. (Right now I have one go-top top, and that’s about it)
c) Get dresses altered. I have two Marine Layer dresses that sort of fit. One is just a little too big overall and the other fits well but the neckline is just too low for me. I feel like these are things that are fixable?! I am going to go to a tailor and find out.
d) Speaking outfit. Truthfully this can probably remain on hold for now — I don’t actually have any speaking engagements on the calendar at this moment! But hopefully by the end of the year, I will need something!
e) Lougewear. I need to audit my ‘wear around the house’ clothes and possibly add a few pieces. I want my ‘change into after work’ clothes to meet a reasonable standard of put-togetherness. (IE, no more t-shirts with holes or stretched out leggings from 2005)
f) 2 more pairs of scrubs. I primarily wear FIGS scrubs to work (since the pandemic) and love it. They feel like a reasonably professional uniform, are flattering, and are dazzlingly comfortable! I walk a lot at work and my feet are so happy to be in sneakers for those hours. Currently, I have scrubs (in decent condition) in navy, dusty pink, and dark purple. I want two more colors so that I have a full week’s worth whenever I’m on call!
5- Get/stay in good shape and ‘train’ for the rest of life. I no longer have races to train for so I have to remember that I am training for the rest of life! This involves continuing with consistent strength training, and eating to support my health goals most of the time. This is a bit vague, but I would say the two elements I want to focus on most in 2026 are eating adequate protein (I feel better when my meals have 20g+) and strength training consistently with the aim of continuing to increase my strength and improve body composition.
If I can feel generally proud of making some progress in this area over the course of the year (lifting heavier weights, feeling like muscle mass has increased) then I will consider this one a success.
(ARVC Note: This is a bit of a delicate balance because I cannot go too crazy and stress my heart too much. But in general strength training is thought to be okay for people with ARVC (vs higher intensity endurance training which is not), and obviously I am continuing with regular monitoring and keeping my cardiologists in the loop.)
6- Eliminate ‘checking’ and ‘scrolling’ behaviors to the extent possible. Honestly, scrolling has been at an all time low! I really haven’t done much of it over the past year (rare PMS-fueled exceptions). Checking (quickly whipping out phone to seek inputs from apps like gmail and WhatsApp) still feels problematic to me.
(Note: If you do this and it doesn’t bother you, I am not judging! I just want to stop doing it personally.)
The Opal app has definitely been helping. I will continue to track my Focus Score and continue to carefully monitor “Pickups” in addition to other metrics, as they are a helpful measure of checking-type behaviors.
The hard part will be knowing what success looks like with this goal, but I feel like it would be being able to say I am no longer in the habit of checking my phone (or even laptop) randomly to interrupt myself during periods of deeper focus.
OTHER RANDOM SIDE NOTE: Best Laid Plans is out on audio today! “Read by the author” 🙂
It should be available on all the usual audio outlets (Audible, Libro.fm, etc)!
19 Comments
I am here for any and all goal content. It looks like the teaser link links to your audiobook, though! I will have to do some googling to figure out what that is!
I am trying to learn some of the LOASG songs as well. I am not as good about practicing after Paul finishes his practice, though, so I need to work on doing that at least on the weekends. I really wish our piano was not in our living room but it’s the only place it fits. My childhood piano was also in the living room and there was so much complaining from others about me practicing when they wanted to watch tv. I vowed I would NEVER have a piano in my living room – and well, that’s the only place it fits in our urban home. If I could add a room to our house, it would be a study/office/toy room. But that will never happen on our small urban lot. So people will have to put up with someone playing the piano in the middle of the house.
ha! Promise that was not a subtle attempt to sell the audiobook. Just fixed it!! Ours is also next to the TV but there is a hard and fast rule that if someone is playing piano the TV watcher can use headphones or stop watching. Haha. (no one plays for hours or anything, so this works.)
Just checked on Libby (my local system is San Diego County Library) to see if they had your auidobook yet (I already have the paperback!) and noticed there are 16 people waiting in the hold line for the Ebook of it!
well that is AWESOME 🙂 so glad to hear it!! though I hope they all get to read it soon!!
Ha, I also looked at this yesterday and the library system that includes Cambridge, Mass., and a bunch of other neighboring municipalities (not Boston) has 18 people waiting for one copy — which I suspect will trigger the purchase of a second copy if it keeps going up.
Hooray 🙂 Yes, all the copies! Ha!!! That is so great to hear.
I love all of these goals posts! You are the GOAT of GOALs, Sarah!
Ditto Lisa, the teaser link (I had no idea what it was), goes to Audible!
fixed 🙂 🙂 and awwww. GOAT of goals. Making them, not necessarily completing them. (But I maintain that getting a good chunk of them done is still awesome!)
These goals are great! I divided my domains into personal, work, relationships, and home for 2026 (home is new for me). My personal goals for this year are to read 90 books, run 100 times (I am mostly focused on strength training with running as my secondary workout, and I decided this year I needed to kick my running up a notch), wash my face and moisturize every night (I do basically zero skin care other than washing my face in the shower each morning and I’m getting too old to completely ignore it, ha!), and track my food one week per month (I started tracking my food for the first time in 10 years last year and then fell back off the wagon but I can definitely see a difference in how healthy I eat when I’m having to enter everything into MFP! It felt too onerous to track every day so I like the idea of doing it one week a month). I’m excited about these and think I can actually stick with them or at least see marked improvement. For instance, maybe I won’t hit 100 runs but even if I get, say, 75, that would be a big improvement.
I wonder if treating yourself to two Dexa scans a year apart would help to make the strength and long life health goal more attractive to you. You like data and tracking and this might make the health aspect of strength training (bone density and muscle growth) more tangible.
Ooh yes! Hopefully I could do this with my defibrillator (google seems to thinks so, ha) . . . I would love bone density and body composition info!
Hi Sarah,
Do you have a referral code for Opal? When you tell it that you were referred by a friend it asks for your code and then you can get benefits and the person signing up can get an extra 30 days of the pro version. Just checking. I’m in no rush but thought I would try the 30-day trial for 4.99. Thanks! I loved your book. Very clear and you gave some good examples. I’m looking forward to your next publication!
Apparently I do! use the link or use your referral code “CPNZM” for a free 30-day Opal Pro pass.
https://applink.opal.so/invite-friend?rc=CPNZM&rId=doR13xjMfZReRDh8XLyGa7RYrQG3&rGmstnId=WinterSolstice2025Gem&rNme=SarahH-U
(Anyone can use this I think!)
San Francisco Library 9 holds on 3 copies currently being read through LIBBY. Hoopla copy seems available…….. No hard-copy of book available.
This has been one of my favorite tools for keeping my nails nice. I feel like I don’t have time for polish much but this keeps them nice and shiny! https://tweezerman.com/products/smooth-nail-buffer-blocks
ORDERING!!!!
I’m very persnickety about chips and stuff for my nails to the point I don’t paint them. Does that make me unprofessional? I am truly shocked by some very busy women I know who always have a professional perfect manicure. It’s not a priority for me!
I am with you on training for life. I feel like I am in the phase of life where everything is use it or lose it and I refuse to completely lose my ability to be active and physical! I am (always) trying to lose weight which mostly comes down to diet of course but I did get stronger in 2025 and it’s a major goal for 2026 too.
They should set up a nail salon in the hospital with before-work and after-work hours. I bet they would do AMAZING! HA!