March Ins an Outs and February Goal Post Mortem

 

I mean, as long as there's snow on the ground, Uggs are probably going to be a person in, but a girl can dream, right??

March Goals:

 Finish watching Oscar movies! (I have 2 best pictures and 2 best actress flicks to go)

Query blog designers and research DIY options

Watch the Oscars with the fam and do a betting pool of some kind

Celebrate Dorothy!! And buy her some gifts!

Celebrate Ben!!

Visit Harry at UWEC

Shop for Easter

Plan Jack's bday

Decide where and when we are hosting Jack's grad party

Consider my writing process and outline it; see where it might fit into my life

Buy new lamps for the kitchen/living room

Do yoga every day this month

Run at least 2 practice 8K's (slightly longer than my usual morning runs, though I have worked up to at least 3 miles)

Be a better blog friend and leave comments for 10 minutes every day (I've been doing lots of reading w/o commenting)

Notice when I rest before all my work is done, something The Lazy Genius was talking about this week and that I want to do more often (I usually do it NEVER right now, so anything is more often than that)

February Goal Check-in:

✅Schedule at least one fun thing every week.

✅Get my hair trimmed, and get Dorothy and Minnie's hair trimmed, too. 

✅Finish prepping CA260 for the semester. 

🟡See all of the Best Picture Oscar movies, plus the Kate Hudson and Rose Byrne movies so I can see everything in all the major categories before the Oscars. 

❌Buy Dorothy's bday presents

❌Start buying Easter basket stuff. 

✅Make sure every kid hosts at least one hang at our house.  (Technically Jack did not but he tried-- everyone is so busy and they do stuff other places)

✅Sign up for Crazylegs and start an 8K training plan. 

✅Buy pillows before they are gone from Costco's seasonal offerings!! 

❌Decide when and where we are celebrating Jack's high school graduation

I have moved all of the x's and the Oscar movies to March-- gotta lock in!

26 for 2026/a look back at 2025/January Ins and Outs

 I did... ok on my annual goals last year. I abandoned the baking goal and did not write or do pomodoros, and I only recently got back into my regular yoga practice. I did have fun listening to new music. The key for me is to expose myself deliberately to music reviews and news about music-- this reminds me that I want to listen to it.

The best thing about 2025 was also the most surprising: running-- I loved it so much. Ben and I kept talking about that on vacation as we ran a 5K on the beach and returned to the beach to run every morning but one when we ran through Harbour Town. On that run, we discovered a tiny little cemetery we've never seen before with graves dating back to the early 1800s, and we even ran on a golf course for a bit. It was so fun to see our favorite place in a whole new way. I am grateful for every mile I logged and sad it took me 47 years to become a runner.

For this year's list, I thought about 3 domains with 8 goals (2+6) in each area. This only gave me 24, so I also want to think about 2 HUGE areas and how to develop SMART goals for them each season

BIG GOALS:

creative writing

professional development

Hobbies and Home

1. Re-design my blog

2. Keep track of blog content

3. Use IG to promote blog posts

4. Read a book a week on my Kindle

5. Meet up with 2 new blog friends and keep current connections

6. Buy: lamps, pillows, duvet covers, seasonal candles

7. Buy a house in Peoria?

8. Perfect toll house cookies

Fitness:

1. Increase run to 40 minutes/day

2. Run just about every day in 2026 (think about what to do if I can't)

3. Run 3 races including a 10K

4. Hit protein and fiber macros MOST day (how many is most? 90%?)

5. Take a barre class

6. Ingest less sugar 

7. Get a new friend for Annabel (that'll make me walk more)

8. Join a gym with Cooper

Celebrations:

1. Make a big deal about milestones:

2. Make sure to book Xmas pop up restaurant and outdoor globe

3. Buy flying wish paper for NYE 2026

4. Bake a variety of cookies for Christmas 2026

5. Stuff my own stocking

6. Shop early for holidays

7. Make Hanukkah special (December 4-December 12)

8. Visit BU and UW-EC once each semester

Something I am thinking about still is how to track these goals. I made a google sheet for 2025 and was never motivated to open it, so I stopped tracking (after setting up a really complex tracking system), which led to abandoning many of the goals themselves. I think checking in seasonally will be really helpful because it will impose structure on the whole process, so I plan to do my seasonal panning in the same google doc I used to write the list (as well as in my google calendar). Monthly, weekly, and daily planning all happen on paper with the calendar as a guide, and I will open my 26 list then, too. I will also print a few hard copies (for my office, to tuck in my monthly planner, etc) to have it handy.

Finally, because I always like to hop on a trend the second it's stale, I am also going to keep a note on my phone with ins and outs every month. Here's January:

I want to hear about your plans for 2026--  tell me what 2026 is going to look like for you!!