2026 is full of promise. A new country, a new lifestyle, a new outlook... I am hopeful. As 2025 was a bit of a disaster for setting new habits, I'm reworking my expectations.
Goals for 2026
This year, I plan to make some pretty big changes to how I spend my time. None of these goals are new, but some of them are significantly different from previous attempts. I have a set of new habits to form, and a couple of static goals to achieve. To keep track of my progress, I plan on journaling about all of these throughout the year.
New Habit #1: Weekly Art
Painting is increasingly part of my life, and so in 2026 I'm making it a focus. Every week, I will spend time working on either a painting or a drawing.
New Habit #2: Daily Walks
For fitness and exploration, I will expand my walking to be a daily activity. No set duration, just getting out and walking outside.
New Habit #3: Mindful Study
Both as part of my academic studies and as part of an effort to expand my knowledge outside of work or school, I will be spending time every day reading and taking notes on some subject of interest. This will initially be in support of my university work but I expect it to include other subjects too.
Goal #1: Graduate University
By the end of this year, I want to either have graduated university with my master's or at least applied to graduate. This is partially dependent on external factors, though, like whether the classes I need will be offered on a schedule that supports this.
Goal #2: Stop Drinking Alcohol
In several previous years I've attempted to reduce my alcohol consumption. This year, I plan to give it up entirely. This one will be easy to track.
Thoughts for 2026
This year I will be keeping an eye on the political situation in the United States, but my focus will be on our new lives in Canada. Also, I intend to build on my tech migration of last year by continuing to replace US-based tech services with either services based in other countries or analog equivalents. A blog post might result from this effort in the near future.
In addition to my stated goals above, I also plan on expanding the amount of time I spend writing and coding. Making new friends and joining local communities are also important. However, those are not going to be formal goals this year.
This year is not one of reinvention so much as development of existing trends.