If you haven’t already done so. Please go check out my blog post from last year talking about this journal and why it has been one of my staples for the last 5 years, yes, you read that right. 5 YEARS.
This year, I want you to walk through on some of my favorite pages and the way that I use them. I will be working on these pages with you and showing you how I set up my goals.
Mantra
I like to use the first page as a place to write my mantra for the year. This year, it’s “We live on a floating rock, don’t over think it” Just a reminder to not over think life and have fun. This is a great place for people to write down their affirmation or their one word of the year, which a lot of people tend to do.
Reflection of the last 12 months
This section is perfect because before you start thinking about your goals for the new year it’s important to reflect on the past year. It has a section for your biggest memories, your achieved goals, challenges you faced along the way and how you overcame them or lessons that you learned. You have an area to rate different parts of your life on a scale of 1-10. What can you do to improve in those areas of life next time?
Affirmations
I started doing more affirmations this year and journaling and going to therapy made me realize that I struggle with a lot of self-doubt and a lot of feeling like I am not qualified enough, etc. and working on affirmations and reading them every morning has started to shift my mindset. Like instead of saying I’m going to go to the gym more, my affirmation is “I take care of my body and energy” and it’s an intention that I have or my reason for working out. It’s because I love taking care of my body and I love feeling energized and ready to take on the day.
Setting Goals
It has a great reminder to set SMART goals (Specific – be specific about what you want, Measurable – This is how you know when the goal has been achieved or you are making steps getting closer to that goal, Achieve – set challenging but realistic goals that spark your motivation, Relevant – this is where your why comes into play, why do you want that?Time bound – specific deadline). Sometimes goals might even take more than 1 year, be mindful of that, but at the end of 2026 how much closer are you to that goal?
It has different life sections where you can write down your goals. From relationships, heald, career, and a breakdown of action steps to take.
Self Care
I love this quote, “You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first “. It’s a great reminder of making time for the things that bring you joy. From Daily routines to creating a bucket list of things to do. If you don’t know what to do to fill up your cup this is a great place to come to get ideas and inspiration from a bucket list of places to travel, things to buy, books and movies you want to watch or read.
Many of us (Including myself) are being mindful of and trying to do more side quests this year and this is a great place to write those down.
Creating action steps to achieve those goals
This is where the “juicy meat” of the agenda lies in my opinion. It has a yearly overview to plan out your goals, side quests, travel, and a breakdown of each day so you can get closer to that goal. I have been using it as a habit tracker.
It has a place for your goals. And a breakdown of action steps to take. It has a four week breakdown. You can use it to see how your weekly actions align with achieving your goals. It has a monthly review of wins and challenges. It asks you what are the highlights of the month? What did you do that helped you get closer to your goals? It has a check in to how you manage your time, how you are feeling emotionally, spiritually, and physically. After, it has two dot grid pages to use as you want and I love this because I can take notes here.
Finally, we have the Project Plan pages – which are pages to break down big plans into smaller plans. At the very end we have blank pages. I have in precious years created plans like different sections for my life and added goals there.
Small Favorites That Don’t Go Unnoticed:
Table of context – It’s so useful to have easy access to all the pages and refer back to the one you specifically need.
Quotes to keep you motivated – These are intentional quotes that tell you the why of this agenda.
Guide on how to use the next pages – The breakdown on each page is amazing to help guide you on the pages ahead.
What are your 2026 goals? I love to hear them in the comments.
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