It’s that time of the year. Time to set some new goals to plan where I will spend my time. A lot of people do a whole year at once. I prefer to look at it in quarters and adjust as needed. Though I always have a too large list of things I want to get done, I have been overly ambitious in the past and that has left me feeling like a failure when I don’t complete everything on my fantastically unrealistic list.

This year, I will do quarterly goal setting and be smarter about it. Primary goals with secondary and tertiary. I want to spend time on the most important things in each section and have items I can work on if and when I complete the other goals. It’s something to try anyway. We’ll see if it helps me achieve more or not.

I also want to be better at using a milestone method. It’s true that I didn’t manage to finish the kitchen in 2025, but there were some massive problem areas and I can celebrate the milestones I achieved. The one side is nearly complete. It had rot and complex tasks that involved learning and adapting. That’s worth celebrating.

Choir helped my mental health so much and let me continue to work on a musical goal even if I couldn’t manage to do the others while living in a construction zone.

I also took a really hard look at my book and realized some massive changes are needed to make the story the best it can be. I began outlining how I want it to be rather than staying in the weeds of the editing without a plan.

And I’ve taken a hard look at my life and am taking steps to change things. I’m keeping a lot of that to myself for now, but there will come a time when I can speak more openly about it all.

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2026 Q1 GOALS LIST

ARTS & CRAFTS

Primary

• Knit Vest
• Goth Snow Globe Repair

Secondary

• Embroidery Stitches Kit
• Fairy Cross-Stitch

Tertiary

• Entrance Table Runner
• Goth Quilt
• Kiki’s Magic Emporium Miniature Kit
• Procreate course
• Summer Quilt
• Wolf Cross-Stitch

DECLUTTERING AND MINIMALISM

Primary

• Complete the reading and music area
• Clean the fridge

Secondary

• Living room
• Fitness area

Tertiary

• Clean the stove

DIY AND PROJECTS

Primary

• Kitchen Renovation
  • Milestone: Sink side upper doors
  • Milestone: Demolish old lower cabinet on stove side
  • Milestone: Complete repairs on stove side cabinet area
  • Milestone: Complete painting on stove side
  • Milestone: Complete backsplash on stove side cabinet area
  • Milestone: Install lower cabinet on stove side
  • Milestone: Complete flooring install in cabinet quarter
  • Milestone: Stove area planning

Secondary

• Paint Doors

Tertiary

• Entranceway Refresh
• Bedroom Closet Opening

EDUCATION AND SPIRITUALITY

Primary

• Learn French
• Science of Exercise Course

Secondary

• Learn Japanese [ON HOLD]

HEALTH AND FITNESS

Primary

• Physiotherapy
• Softball Registration [DONE]
• Walking

Secondary

• Create a Fitness Plan

MUSIC AND SONG-WRITING

Primary

• Choir
• Bass guitar course

Secondary

• Learn Ableton
• Music theory course

READING AND WRITING

Primary

• Blog once weekly
• Read 6 Books
• Sparker: Complete Outline

Secondary

• Sparker: Reorganize based on the outline

Tertiary

• Cyberfunk 3000
• Sparker: Revision 7, Target 10 chapters edited

TRAVEL

• Plan a small trip for 2026

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Of course, this list is unlikely to get fully completed in Q1, but there is enough on here that is achievable and there are stretch goals in case things go better than planned.