Happy New Year! Although not much has changed between December 31 and January 1, it always feels like a fresh start to me. I stopped making resolutions, because they feel so rigid to me. As soon as I’ve ‘messed up,’ it’s like I lose all momentum and can’t keep working towards that goal. I’m aware that this is a mindset issue, but instead of changing how my brain thinks, I decided to change how I approach my goals and intentions for the year.
Today is my father’s birthday, so we are planning a family lunch and then a visit to the cemetery. My sister came from out of state for this, and it has been nice to get a chance to finally bond with my older siblings now that the age gap between them and I doesn’t feel so significant. We have been worked together to coordinate caring for our mom, who has been needing more help.
It’s been a little while since I did one of these discussion posts, but it is one of the things that I’d like to focus my attention and energy on this year. Last year there were some really great discussions in response to these topics and I would like to continue doing that. Virtual socialization is my lifeline right now since I have only been leaving the house to attend appointments, and even that is a longer period than either my mother or I am comfortable leaving her alone for. Sometimes it feels like my brain is saying this to me:
Now that the update is out of the way, today I want to discuss how we approach a new year or even a new month. Do you make resolutions? It’s a popular idea, but I don’t see a lot of people sticking to them. Maybe there are people that can make resolutions and stick to it for the entire year, but it’s easy to see how a resolution can capitalize on a new beginning. If you’re comfortable, feel free to share them.
On the other hand, if you don’t do resolutions, how do you take on a new year? I like to have something to focus on, but I leave them as more flexible intentions that I can create monthly. This way I am able to customize my focus on whatever areas I need to work on. For this year, I am going to focus on reading my way around the world to get a peek into each country. It also pushes me to read more translated fiction and world literature, which I think is a good thing. I also like to make my intentions clear for the month and then be able to follow up
Do you have any special routines or approaches to a new year or month or just a clean start? Let’s chat!
Categories: Sunday Bookish Discussion
Leah's Books 
I no longer do New Year resolutions either. However, for the past few years I have loosely joined in with the WOTY challenge (Word Of The Year). Where you choose a single word or phrase and keep it focus for the year minding how your life links to that word or phrase. This year I have chosen ‘Go, go, go’ because things have got a bit stagnant around here, and I want to improve our forward motion as a family.
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Oooooh, I really like that idea! Changing patterns of thought is a goal that I’ve been slowly working on, but those tiny steps really add up. I think you picked a great word of the year, and I hope things move forward for you in 2026!
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Normally I make resolutions, but I haven’t really been sticking with them at all. I’m hoping this year I can kind of work on my mindset about it. I had my daughter two years ago now and I’ve heard that postpartum depression can last up to three years or longer so I’m hoping this year I can get out of trenches of that and actually work on my goals!
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Fingers crossed for you that the PPD lifts sooner rather than later. I haven’t exactly worked on my goals in past years because life stuff shows up when it’s least convenient, but it does feel like playing whack-a-mole.
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I had to deal with grief and lost. My condolences to you and your family on yours.
As for my reading, I try to include it within my “overall goal” for the year. For 2026, I want to be more productive. This means I’ll be working more on my reading and my reviewing while achieving my “productive” goals for my career and my health. For me, a simple, yet collective goal has worked for me on-and-off for the last few years (I skipped a couple years between 2020 and 2023).
I’ll be taking everything one month at a time.
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I’m sorry for your loss as well.
I like the idea of an overall goal with smaller steps breaking it down. Taking things a month at a time also lets us adjust those goals based on what changes or has been working.
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I think it’s better to not use the word resolutions! I think goals is so much better- less intimidating and seems easier to accomplish. Some of my goals are ones that I have every year (some of those you already know)
1. Seeing at least one musical—that usually ends up being an average of 2-4 (right now, the first one set is Spamalot)
2. Reading and Finishing a New Classic
3. The Holiday Tradition Book- better to start it early December (think it is easier to finish “A Christmas Carol” when I first start it then)
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I feel the same way. Goals is a more flexible term to me, so even if I don’t reach all the goals, I can still see the progress.
I’m pretty confident that you can accomplish these goals, based on your posts and comments. Happy 2026!
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Goals even make it easier to not finish early
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You got that right.
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I don’t make New Year’s resolutions anymore because I’m terrible at keeping them. But I do try to make tiny changes that lead to bigger results over time whenever I have the energy to tweak things.
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Yes! I love this – those small changes really do add up!
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I like to do a year in review post, but no new year’s resolutions exactly.
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I love seeing wrap up posts. I’ve found so many new books that way!
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