It was back to work to me today, back to routine. With that, 2026 begins in earnest, so it’s time to list out a few goals for this new year. Most of these are building upon either what I did or what I wanted to do in 2025.

• Steps: 2,250,000 (6,165 per day)

Last year’s goal was an even 2 million, and I reached it—on New Year’s Eve. No room to spare. I definitely want to be more active, and walking/treadmill/elliptical is my preferred method. I’d love to be able to revise this number upward, but this is a realistic target for me.

• Gym visits: 52

This one is a little tentative. Once a week seems easy enough, but last year it didn’t happen. My current membership is set to expire soon; I’m hoping to improve my track record at a different location with a set of equipment and amenities that’s more amenable to what I’m looking for.

• Library visits: 70

I made 54 last year; I think I can do better.

• Books read: 45

The number for 2025 was 40; like my steps goal, I got there on New Year’s Eve. To be frank, my reading habits have been fucked ever since COVID. I really thought I had come out the other side of it—I read 31 books through the first six months of last year. Then I cratered out. Still, 40 books was a win, and this year I’m determined to do even better. One key? Reach for a book instead of my phone whenever I have a spare few minutes.

• Short stories read: 60

Last year I planned for 52, one per week, and beat it by six. So let’s go further. This is another number I’d really like to bump at at some point.

• Blog posts: 20

Like reading, writing (outside of work) is a pleasurable habit I’m determined to get back to. Twenty should be easy, right? I mean, if I can just bring back my “Month in Review” posts, that’s 12 right there. I also have a goal of making sure WordPress and Microsoft Word are open on my desktop at pretty much all times so it’s easy to pop in at any point to jot down some notes or craft a sentence or two.

• Albums heard: 365

This is a new one, and I’m not 100% sure exactly why I’m doing it. Probably because so much of my listening is done on shuffle, and I want to break out of that at least a little bit. 365 is a lot, but we’ll give it a shot.