New Year's Resolutions and Other Goals

Gentle Goal Setting for 2026: Simple Steps for a Calmer, More Meaningful Year

If the thought of setting goals for the new year makes your shoulders tense up a little… friend, you’re not alone. The world loves to shout about resolutions, reinventions, and “new year, new you” energy — but honestly? Most of us are just trying to breathe, enjoy the holidays, and enter January without feeling like we’re already behind.

That’s why this year, we’re doing something different.
We’re choosing gentle goal setting — goals that honor your current season, fit your emotional bandwidth, and let you start small without guilt or pressure.

No hustle energy. No rigid routines. No “musts” or “shoulds.”
Just clarity, calm, and rhythms that support how you want to feel in 2026.

Finding Your Word of the Year for 2026: A Complete Guide

Instead of a list, choose one word. A single word that captures who you want to become, how you want to feel, or what you want to focus on for the entire year.

This is the Word of the Year practice—and it's quietly become one of the most effective tools for personal change because it works with human psychology rather than against it.

This guide will help you find your word for 2026. Not a word that sounds impressive, but one that actually means something to you—one you'll remember in July when the new year enthusiasm has faded and real life has taken over.


For practical applications, see "How to make the most of your Word of the Year."

Most people who like New Year's resolutions or other year-beginning goals will be setting them on December 31 or January 1. This post provides a place to share yours. If you have a single goal or a small cluster that fit in a paragraph or few, you can put them in a comment below this post. Longer lists or discussions should go on your own blog, with a link to that post and maybe a summary of your approach in a comment below. Scroll down for resources on goals.

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There are all kinds of nature challenges and goals that people like to do. Some are individual, others are group events. Some are all year, others shorter. Some have activist themes, others are ordinary. They span a great many different formats including but not limited to art en plein air, birdwatching, environmental projects, gardening, nature writing, outdoor activities, and spending time in nature. Here are some for your inspiration. On Dreamwidth, see birdfeeding, common_nature, gardening, and other Nature communities.

You can pick whichever challenge(s) you want to set as a goal in 2026 and reply with a comment. Below the list of challenges is a short form for listing which you have chosen. Make a post in your blog like "I signed up for the Nature challenge in goals_on_dw" -- or list the specific challenge if you're doing an official one somewhere else instead of a personal one here. Then make a tag for it like "Nature Challenge" and put that on the post; it should stick that way. Check your Interests page to see if you have Birdwatching, Environment, Gardening, Nature, Outdoors, Wildlife, etc. listed there, which helps people find you. You don't have to sign up to participate, it just helps spread the word and attract more readers.

There is a Bingo Card Generator if you want to make your own using premade lists or whatever prompts you want to paste in. Various sizes and styles are available.

See also the Arts and Crafts, Community Thursdays, Fannish 50, Reading, and Writing challenges. If you want to write a naturalist's guide to an exoplanet, grow a Hobbit garden, paint the architecture of an alien arboretum, or review every nature book you read all year, go for it. You can even double-count anything that applies to two or more goals, e.g. inkingitout and 1000 Hours Outside.

Do you know of any other nature challenges in 2026? Share a link so they can be added to the list of options.

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There are all kinds of reading challenges and goals that people like to do. Some are individual, others are group events. Some are all year, others shorter. Some have speculative fiction themes, others are ordinary. They span a great many different formats including but not limited to fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and fanfic. Here are some for your inspiration. On Dreamwidth, see communities for books.

You can pick whichever challenge(s) you want to set as a goal in 2026 and reply with a comment. Below the list of challenges is a short form for listing which you have chosen. Make a post in your blog like "I signed up for the Reading challenge in goals_on_dw" -- or list the specific challenge if you're doing an official one somewhere else instead of a personal one here. Then make a tag for it like "Reading Challenge" and put that on the post; it should stick that way. Check your Interests page to see if you have Reading, Fiction, Meta, Science Fiction, Fanfic, etc. listed there, which helps people find you. You don't have to sign up to participate, it just helps spread the word and attract more readers.

For printables to track your progress, see Books & Reading in Thematic Trackers or Challenges by Numbers.

There is a Bingo Card Generator if you want to make your own using premade lists or whatever prompts you want to paste in. Various sizes and styles are available.

See also the Fannish 50 challenge, which simply aims to post fifty entries on any topic in fandom. If you want to review every book you read all year, or compile a list of favorite fanfics you've found, go for it. You can even double-count anything that applies to two or more goals, e.g. 50books_poc and Fannish 50.

Do you know of any other reading challenges in 2026? Share a link so they can be added to the list of options.

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Tracking your goals, schedule, and other things is much easier with a dedicated planner or other journal.  Here are some current options for those of you who prefer bound books to printables.


Theory

7 things to consider when choosing a new planner

How to Choose the Best Leather Notebook Journal -- SportSurge

How to choose the perfect bullet journal for you

How to choose a sketchbook

The Ultimate Guide to Blank Books: Embrace Creativity and Personalization

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Setting successful goals for yourself requires asking the right questions. Too often, we rush to create our list of goals without investing any time at all into thinking about where those answers should come from. I know this because I’ve been there and spent much of my life setting goals the wrong way, without any base or foundation.

Now is a good time to plan ahead for gardening. Order seeds and plants for the spring season. It doesn't matter whether you grow fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, or something else -- it's all good.

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