Prior installments of the 2026 Goals Series:
WORK for me encompasses both parts of my career: medicine (primarily clinical practice — I don’t have any formal leadership roles anymore, though I still get to work with/teach residents) and writing/creating (everything from this blog to book writing to podcasts to courses to speaking).
Overall I feel like I am in a good place with my work life, with the exception of feeling too time crunched for my creative work projects fairly often. I want to move forward on various initiatives, but I also know I need to pace myself and take things on when they make sense, not just when they sound enticing.
That said, I do have some goals for 2026 — here they are!
GOAL #1: Launch BLPA 2.0!
Best Laid Plans Academy was my first course, ~6 weeks of live meetups to help participants set up their own effective systems at every level. I learned SOOO much from doing it and was so grateful to those that took the plunge on my initial offering!
A lot of the content I taught in that course ended up in the book! SO, material-wise, it’s already done and out there! But some people really crave the interactivity and accountability that a course offers, and I really want to create a 2.0 version that’s even better (and further refined by the lessons I fleshed out in the book).
I am playing with different structures, more asynchronous options, etc as well as timing, but I’m thinking of a fall launch. I’ve gotten a lot of requests to bring this course back and I really want to but I want it to be awesome! (I am not a perfectionist, truly, but also don’t want to rush out a product that I’m not truly proud of and excited about!)
GOAL #2: Figure out my next big writing project.
It might be a book or it might even be a workbook or planner. I need to really think about what I’m most excited to do next. I hope to have opportunities to traditionally publish again, though I am not in a hurry — I want lots of time to think and create my next work even if it means more years between publications.
GOAL #3: Try to trade at least 3 call weekends to break up the 7 days in a row!
So far, I’ve already traded away my April call weekend for one in January, because one of the doctors had something come up! So, that’s 1 for 3 already.
People are loathe to change their schedule proactively BUT things definitely do come up and as long as I’m willing to raise my had and volunteer on relatively short notice, I think I have a decent chance of finding 2 more weekends to swap!
(Bonus to agreeing to swap on shorter notice: less time to worry about it. Honestly, that’s kind of a plus in my book! Obviously this can’t always work, such as if we’re traveling, but often it can.)
GOAL #4: GO TO ANNUAL ENDO CONFERENCE
The last time I completed any formal endocrinology CME was in 2023! I REALLY need to go, both in terms of staying up to date AND for the networking/fun aspect. I always feel more energized about all things clinical after attending these conferences!
The ONNNNNLY hiccup is that the one I plan to go to this year is at the same time as Xcel Gold Regionals in gymnastics. I honestly don’t think it will be an issue (it’s A’s first year in Gold and therefore her chances of making regionals aren’t super high) but she did REALLY well at the last meet, so who knows.
(SO: I am going to identify a backup meeting just in case. If I can’t go to PES, I believe I can make ENDO happen!)
GOAL #5: Pitch to 20 bigger podcasts and see what happens.
(Side note: SOOOOO many AI generated pitches these days, and I can’t stand how they all sound exactly the same and are so fake! I will not be doing this.)
As someone who has opted out of social media, I still need some way of helping people find my stuff (esp the book!) and podcasts I think are my best bet. I think I’m a good speaker and add value to the podcasts I go on — I just need to convince others of that 🙂 But one thing I am not very good about is putting myself out there. I think pitching 20 podcasts in an entire year is doable. If even one ‘bigger’ show says yes, it would be super helpful for the book.
I do think perhaps it’s now the wrong time of year — I should have pitched for January! But the back to school season will be a great window for me to suggest a planning episode, so maybe timing the pitches for May/June would work out. If you can think of a great fit for my work (ie, a show I should approach) feel free to let me know!
All right – there you have it, my big work goals for 2026!
1 Comment
big goals! I love the new writing project.
when and where will be this year’s in person BLP?