New Year Intentions 2026

Happy 2026! If you read this post, then you know that my 2025 was a tough but fulfilling year for me. I spent quite a bit of time traveling for work and really found myself through conducting independent research. 2025 felt like the year that I started to find my way back to myself. The goal for 2026 is to keep up that momentum and make sure that I am being as true to myself and my community as I can be.

Like many others, I don't love new year resolutions. Instead, I try to think through my intentions for the year. What do I want my days, weeks and months to look like and what do I want them to add up to at the end of the year? Who do I want to be on Jan. 1, 2027?

The intentions for 2026 fall into two main categories—intentionality and engagement—and I want to be very transparent in how I'm accomplishing these things. This all probably sounds a bit woo woo or buzz word-y. However, as you read a long you will see that there are actionable items and steps to follow for me to really accomplish this. There are three main aspects to my life—work life, personal life and public life—these intentions are about creating a harmony within and amongst all three.

Intentionality

I want to be more intentional about my spending, my relationships, my health and day-to-day existence. I read this article on being the creative director of my own life and I can't wait to use this year to really own my life in this way.

1. I intend on conducting a no/low buy year. I have a set of goals for myself and will post monthly on how I'm doing with this.
2. Taking part in the Pause Strong Challenge. This is a 30 day challenge that focuses on improving your health so that you have long-lasting vitality as you age. I'm a bit fascinated about long term health outcomes and will likely be talking about this more frequently this year.
3. Eating dinner at our dinner table most nights and sticking to a weekly meal plan. This supports my health as well as my spending goals. Less money on take out is imperative.
4. Less scrolling, more research, reading and writing. I am re-downloading JOMO which went a long way toward helping me cut down my screen time. My goal is that when I want to mindlessly scroll I set my phone, go into the library and do something that makes me feel more settled.
5. Restarting my morning start-up and evening shutdown, conducting my weekly and monthly reviews and resets and focusing on the routines and rituals that leave me feeling grounded and myself. This includes morning pages, daily tarot pulls, and generally checking in on myself and my goals.

Engagement

The past couple of years, I have become insular and haven't been engaged with my community meaningfully. Sure, I am on a couple of boards and I have some friends, but I haven't been spending meaningful time with people. This year that changes.

1. Build my literary community. I really want to build the community of people that I can talk about reading and books with. I will be attending monthly bookclubs at the library, the bookshop I love and with friends. I may even start my own book club.
2. Rebuild my relationships—host dinner parties, go out to eat with friends and grab coffee with others who I've lost touch with.
3. Find my third place. I want to find the place where I am a regular. The workers know me, I start chatting with others who I frequently see there and it feels like my second home.
4. Be with my internet people too. I am so happy to be a part of Accepted Society, a community of lifelong learners. I will be posting there more, joining more events and really engaging with them and their work.
5. Post regularly on Instagram, Substack and my blog. If I want to build my own community, this little place on the internet is a great place to start. I intend to be a lot more intentional here and you can expect to see transparency in how these intentions for the year are going.

I am sure things will adapt as the year goes on. In fact, a lot of what those weekly and monthly review are about will be evaluating how my intentions are going and what needs to change in order to keep my work life, my personal life and my public life in harmony. I look forward to spending more time with you over the next twelve months!