I’m keeping things simple when it comes to monthly goals this year. Since my 2026 annual goals are quite ambitious (and I have developed a fun way to track them all, which I’ll talk about soon), I wanted to keep my monthly goals set at five simple tasks. Some of these will correlate to my annual goals, and some will not. It’s all about the things I want to accomplish in January, big and small!
Here are my goals for January:
1) Develop a list of 25 recipe ideas – I get stuck in food ruts all the damn time, and that’s because I a) hate meal planning and b) hate grocery shopping. Thank god I do not have a partner or children I’m trying to keep alive because it’s a struggle just to feed myself on a daily basis. I want to develop a list of 25 tried-and-true recipes that I can keep in one document and work from when I’m trying to come up with meal ideas every week.
2) Create snack kits for home, my car, and my purse – The car snack kit will be the toughest to create because I need something that can handle being in 100+ degrees come summertime. I’m thinking Fig Newtons, hard candy like Lifesavers, trail mix (minus any chocolate), and glucose tablets for those times when my blood sugar is dropping fast. I’ll also have to change out the purse I’m using since right now, I have a belt bag that doesn’t hold much. I’m excited to get these snack kits figured out so I can finally feel more prepared for hypoglycemia episodes.
3) Set up my new nightstand and find a place for the old one – The nightstand I originally bought during my move in October is quite small and barely holds my CPAP machine, a water bottle, and my phone. I needed an upgrade, so I have a new nightstand coming next week. My goal is to put it together in January and then find a place for my old nightstand. Maybe on the other side of my bed? In my walk-in closet? In my office? I’ll figure it out!
4) Keep a symptom log for my rheumatology appointment – I have a rheumatology appointment scheduled for January 27th (so far away, and yet, better than I expected for a specialist appointment!). Until then, I want to keep a symptom log, so I know exactly how to explain my symptoms and the pain I’ve been experiencing.
5) Play around with budgeting spreadsheets to find one I like – I still prefer to do all my budgeting myself, rather than relying on software. However, that means I need to track all transactions coming out of my bank account closely. I think I want to try to find a different budgeting spreadsheet for 2026 so I should probably start that search soon since we’re already five days into the new year!
Do you have any goals for January?
Oooh car snacks are tricky for you – I didn’t think about the heat of the car but of course.
I always meal plan and I have a bunch of recipes (“recipes” = things I made up) that I use each week. The thought of not knowing what’s for dinner every day makes me feel anxious! It’s just so much easier for me to set a plan and do it. Good luck with it!
I usually have a plan for the week, but it’s MAKING that plan that is so stressful. And I tend to just do the same stuff over and over again because I don’t want to have to search for recipes, sigh. Hopefully having this list will help!
I have a bag of peanuts in my work bag for emergencies. And trail mix. Costco sells individual bags of Power Up trail mix that I have everywhere. And, not to be too much of a child, but I have fruit snacks everywhere. Because, I, too, am a lady who gets hangry and has been known to pass out when food is not easily accessible. The fruit snacks will melt together in a big clump if it gets too hot (which is generally not a problem I have).
I’m also team meal plan for the week, but I think it’s easier for us because eating out is not an option, so if we don’t make what we planned, we don’t eat. LOL. I frequently wonder how often we’d order pizza if it were on the table for us and guess it would be a lot!
Fruit snacks! I picked up a box at the store thanks to your recommendation. I have so many snacks now! I am DROWNING in snacks! What a problem to have.
Sometimes *I* think what I would do if I didn’t have the ease of ordering takeout or just throwing a pizza in the oven when I don’t want to cook… it would be a lifestyle shift for sure!
I have a recipe binder where I keep recipes that are tried and true. I use it all the time because I am a tactile person and I LOATHE cooking off a recipe on my iphone. I have the recipes in plastic protectors. I need to go through and weed out things we haven’t made in the last 2 years. I also had a log of meals in an iPhone note but fell away from using that. Meal ideation is by far my least favorite part of meal planning!
It’s smart to prepare for that rheum appt! Hopefully they can see all of the injections you’ve had in the medical records as that info is often accessible even if you went to a different health care system.
We are once again in sync as I posted about my 25 in ’26 today! In January, I’d like to find a new PCP. I have a practice identified, I just need to call and see who is accepting new patients. I also need to plan/prepare for the puzzle party I want to have to celebrate my 45th birthday!
Ooh, now that I have a printer, I can finally print off recipes! I also hate using my phone when cooking a recipe. The screen always goes dark or there are ads or for some reason, it won’t stay on the actual recipe… gah! Once I have these meal ideas, a recipe binder might be step 2!
That is such a great idea with the 25 recipes! I hate both those things too and need to do something similar. Steven and I were actually just talking about this!
I am excited to see the new nightstand!
It’s going to be so handy to have a list of tried-and-true recipes. I am so tired of eating the same things every week because I just don’t feel like going hunting for other recipes!
I think you’re smart to track your symptoms before going to see the rheumy. Keep track of what joints hurt, and try to put it on a scale of 1-10 or 1-5 or something. Will they do blood work first so you can discuss it? Or after? It’s been a long time for me, I suspect my blood work was after my initial appt. Oh, I think if you can manage a pain/symptom journal after you start a treatment, that can be really helpful. It took me a while to get to remission, and now that it’s been so long, I kind of wish I had done that. Someone suggested it to me, but the idea of tracking my pain was too depressing to me. So feel free to reject that idea if you want!
25 meals sounds like a great number. That would be almost a month’s worth, so you likely wouldn’t get bored. Over a month’s worth if you go out sometimes, like many of us do. I think if I lived alone my dinners would be cheese and crackers and fruit; baked potatoes and a glass of wine; pasta with veg. Not great. I imagine it’s hard to muster up the motivation to cook when you’re tired at the end of the day, but it’s certainly healthier to do that.
That’s really smart to keep a symptom journal even after diagnosis/starting treatment! I am definitely going to do that. Thanks!
I have NO idea what’s going to happen at the rheum. I suspect it will be similar to my GI appointment – talking about my symptoms/treatments, and then doing a whole bunch of tests to confirm/rule out conditions. Probably bloodwork, an MRI/ultrasound, maybe X-rays (although I have very recent X-rays of my back and hips, sigh).
These are good goals! What about some kind of bar as a car snack? You could look for a healthier one, with higher protein and less sugar. They keep well in the car, as long as they don’t have chocolate.
I’m definitely in a food rut and I’ve pretty much given up. I’m cooking about once a week for my husband and daughter, and the rest of the time they can fend for themselves (cook, or make something from the freezer). I’m just having a salad most nights, which makes my stomach happy.
I don’t have any goals for January yet! I guess I should get moving before half the month is gone.
Yes, I was thinking something like Fig Newtons (or a healthier version of that). Those will keep well in the car!
I am proud of you for giving up cooking, ha! It’s so much work for one person. Let them fend for themselves! They’ll figure it out.
Yay love a good goals list!
25 meals sounds great, and you will have to share what you do with your finance template tracker!
Also – a detailed symptom log that is organized and readable will make your rheum very happy! (I have a few patients who always come in with really cool calendars or charts in apple notes or google sheets and I looooove it)
I had to figure out some snack for my walks because the migraine always hit hard. I made my own trail mix with nuts and dried fruits like sour cherries and blueberries. so good. And then I started preparing a protein shake for when I got back from exercising. This was so helpful. I love to eat cheese when I get blood sugar drops – like a piece of brie or a cheese I am pretty sure you dont know. Those are working for me.
My goal for January … honestly I had to check. So much for sticking to them. Ha, I realized I have already crossed 5 or more things of my goals list. I guess I am on a roll. But I just realized I need to tackle my health insurance and financial updates quickly before the month is over. Sigh.
All the best for your goals. You can do it. And I want a photo of the new night stand.