So I follow this amazing behavior change doctor on Instagram and she made out her 26 by 26 list—a list of things that would give her an amazing start to the new year. She has some rules around them: they have to be one and done things… something that wouldn’t show back on the list the next day. For instance, an exercise program or meditation practice. And she was really clear about what happens if she doesn’t finish them.
Nothing. Nothing would happen.
I LOVE that. It takes the 26 by 26 from a to do list, (like I need more of those!) to something fun. A slap, a tickle, a lark. So being someone who loves lists and goals (blame the cap sun/virgo rising in me), I was in! I included fun stuff and stuff that, if completed, would actually CHANGE how I felt going into 2026. I wrote up this list back in November and have been steadily crossing stuff off as the weeks roll by. What is very telling is the stuff I have done and the stuff that is still lingering on the list. Without further ado, I give you my 26 by 26 list!
1. Organize bathroom drawer
2. Wash blinds
3. Ride on the Sumpter Christmas train through the Blue Mountains
4. Clean oven
5. Finish Studio Ceiling
6. Wash kitchen ceiling
7. Make comprehensive business plan for Powder House Publishing
8. Have a winter picnic
9. Hold a Teri birthday party/bonfire
10. Graduate (conferral day is 1/1/26, but I am counting the last day of term as the day cause I
will be done!)
11. Finish putting garden to bed
12. Clean out and wash fridge
13. Organize dresser drawers
14. Take two boxes to Goodwill
15. Purchase exercise bike
16. Write eight blogs (this one is number seven!)
17. Wash bathroom walls
18. Read 1 nonfiction book
19. Read 1 fiction book
20. Wash inside of car window
21. Wash car
22. Wash kitchen walls
23. Make doctor appointment
24. Make appointment with lawyer to talk about Living trust/will
25. Go to a sound bath
26. Clean out desk
I am on track to finish the majority of them. Some have been waiting for YEARS to get done, like wash the blinds. And oddly, enough, washing the inside of the window is almost an impossible task for me to do. I HATES it, precious, yes I do. Some take the cooperation of others, like finish the studio ceiling, but I WASHED THE KITCHEN WALLS!
So yes, I will be going into 2026 feeling much lighter and more spacious. Some of those things had been weighing on me for years and now I simply don’t have to think about them. Others, like having a winter’s picnic and riding on the Christmas train have been on my bucket list.
And that is the magic of making a list like this without expectations. Next year, you can bet I’ll be making a 27 by 27 list!
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