Happy weekend, y’all! I know I’m a little late sharing my 2026 journal set-up. Life has a way of getting in the way. My journal this year is for more than just my reading. I set some personal goals back in December, and I want a way to hold myself accountable. So, a couple of these goals have made it into my journal. The same can be said for some blogging goals.
Personal goals I hope to work on in 2026 include focusing on my health, having a healthier lifestyle, and saving for a big trip in the next year or two. Blogging goals I hope to work on in 2026 include being more consistent in my posting and writing a variety of posts. My reading goals include reading more books I own than the new and shiny ones. As I’ve set goals I want to hold myself accountable for, I’ve included them in my journal to track my progress visually.
So, who wants to see my 2026 journal set-up?
This is the cover page for my journal this year. I kind of like it. I used the same font throughout the journal for the cover pages. In case you haven’t noticed, blue is my favorite color. LOL!
Personal Goals
As I said above, two of my goals this year are to focus on my health and to save money. A couple of these trackers are holdovers from last year, and a couple are new.
The board game on the left is something I’ve given a shot at to help save some money. Last year, I put around $700 into my high-interest savings account. I love board games; we try to play a couple each weekend. Ironically, the game I used in my journal is a game I despise playing. LOL! The dollar amounts on each space are roughly based on the game. The amounts on the properties are the actual base rent from the game itself.
The page on the left in the image is a checklist of my goals for 2026 and the steps (pun intended) to achieve them. My two biggest goals are improving my financial and physical health. Besides using the savings game above, I have a few other ideas for improving my finances.
As for my physical health, my main goal is to lose weight. I know, I know, weight is not a perfect measure of health. BUT, some of my health concerns are related to my weight. Last year, I mentioned this, but I was a bit vague about how I wanted to achieve my goals. This year, I decided to set a goal to help me improve.
And that’s where my step tracker comes in. My work life is relatively sedentary, and when I get home, I don’t have the time or energy for intense workouts. But I have decided to set a goal of taking at least 2000 steps a day. I decided to treat this tracker much like my daily reading count. I know some days will be easier to blow my step count out of the water, but other days it’s a struggle. One thing I’ve started doing, and got my husband into, is walking videos on YouTube. There are so many to choose from! Some help you get 1000 steps in 10 minutes, and if you have the time and energy, you can do videos that are around 30 minutes. Perfect for days when the weather is gross!
What’s the point of wanting to lose weight without tracking it every month? I have decided to weigh myself on the first of the month before I head to bed. I know a lot of people say you should do it in the morning, but I don’t have time then. But I always have a couple of minutes in the evening.
Below is a chart I added to help almost gamify my weight loss. Look at me sharing my starting weight! I’ve always felt awkward about my weight, but I am hoping to lose 60 pounds this year. But if I can’t, I won’t be upset, especially if I’m feeling better about myself.
Blog Goals and Trackers
Do you see the similarity in the font to the cover page above?
The image on the left allows me to track my monthly stats. I could add specific labels for each square to indicate what I want to track, but I’m unsure if that’s what I want to do. Does that make sense? I wasn’t great at keeping track of my blog stats in 2025, but I did go back to fill in the tracker. It’s always interesting to see how traffic ebbs and flows throughout the year.
The images below are pages I included for brain dumps. These pages should help me come up with blog post ideas. We shall see if it works for me.
Reading Goals and Trackers
This is the cover page for my reading goals and trackers. I really like this font, and may try using it again on some other hand-lettering projects. Funny story, my husband thought I drew the book in the top corner. Even though I told him a couple of different times that it is a sticker.
I’ve been using the same Reading Log set-up for years. It works for me. I like seeing it fill in as the year goes on and looking for any patterns. I typically set a goal of reading 30 pages a day, butit’ss a great feeling when I see the blues and purples appear in the log.
The next page is my monthly reading stats. You know all those numbers I share at the midpoint and end of the year? This is where I keep track of those.
The next page is my monthly reading stats. You know all those numbers I share at the midpoint and end of the year? This is where I keep track of those.
The other page is to track the books I own and have read this year. My goal is 26, butI’mm hoping for a lot more. The blank space is for tracking titles.
The rest of my journal is for the monthly spreads. Each month has the same layout, though the colors and stickers vary. The page on the left is for me to track ARCs or other ebooks. The page on the right is where I log the titles, pages, date started, and date finished. In the pages column, I’ll write ‘audio’ if it’s an audiobook. How do I track my DNFs? Easy, in the finish column, I write DNF in a bright red pen. At the end of the month, I write down the total number of books I’ve finished and add up the pagesI’veeI’vee read.
That’s my 2026 journal set-up. I would love it if it were more decorative and colorful, butthat’ss what I get for waiting until the last moment. Do you have a 2026 journal? What does it look like?
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Wow! Your journal is impressive! 🙌 I decided to work on my weight in 2025 and lost 25 pounds from April-Dec. I’ve been having trouble with my hip (probably need a hip replacement)…..I hoped that losing weight would help it feel better! Because of hip pain I can’t exercise as much as I used to, so my only option was calorie restriction. I allow 300 c for breakfast….. I’m retired so I try to eat later in the morning! Then I brainstormed several options for 100 calorie (healthy) snacks. I allow myself 3 100 C snacks spread throughout the afternoon. Then I allow 400c for dinner. And one 100c snack in the evening if I need it. I tried to stay between 900-1200 c per day. It was SLOW weight loss but I never felt deprived or excessively hungry. At this pace I have currently lost 28 lbs. Today I went to a birthday party and had a cupcake and a brownie. I didn’t eat dinner tonight to make up for it! I might have a few almonds before bed. If I have more than my target calories occasionally I don’t stress about it. I just get back on track the next day. I feel so much better and enjoy the way my clothes fit now! I think I want to lose about 10 more lbs. Good luck! 🥂