February is here, so it’s time for my January 2026 goals update. I can’t say I was sorry to say goodbye to what was a bitter cold and snowy month. Over Christmas, I made the mistake of saying out loud that I don’t mind winter as much as I used to. Someone was listening!

Read on to find out how January 2026 went, and what goals I’m setting for February.

January goals update

With the enthusiasm of a new year, it can be tempting to go overboard with goal setting in January. When I chose my goals for the month, I largely stayed the course while increasing focus on my 2026 theme of health.

Let’s look at how the month went.

Fitness goals

Fitness continue to be a priority for me. I increased my goal to 300 minutes of physical activity a week, including walks. And I kept my goal of 2 strength training and 3 balance/flexibility sessions each week.

For some reason, I had it in my head that my goal was 350 minutes so the month got off to a terrific start. I ended the month with an average of 328 minutes a week, and an average of 3 weekly strength training and 3.5 balance/flexibility sessions.

The polar vortex and snow got in the way of my goal to get outside for 20 walks in January. I’m usually okay to bundle up and get outside but when the temperature dips below -10C as it did for much of January, that’s too cold even for me. I ended the month with a total of 14 outdoor walks.

Health goals

Nutrition goals will be a priority for me in 2026. For January, my goal was to eat 6 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. I ended the month with an average of 5.5 servings a day.

Reading

My reading goal for January was to read 5 books, including a non-fiction title. This is an area where I think the cold weather helped. I exceeded my goal with a total of 7 books read, including 2 non-fiction titles.

Here’s what I read in January:

• Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
• Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
• All Around the Town by Mary Higgins Clark
• 101 Retirement Lifestyle Questions by Retirement Coaches Association
• Less is Liberation by Christine Platt
• The Black Wolf by Louise Penny
• Beyond That, The Sea by Laura Spence-Ash

Writing

I met my goal of finishing my chapter for the upcoming Retirement Coaches Association book. I submitted my first draft by the middle of January.

Intentional living

Recognizing the need to get back into decluttering, I set a goal to do a weekly 15-minute decluttering blitz. Again, being stuck inside thanks to the cold weather helped me kick this one into high gear. As I shared in my recent post on tackling out-of-sight clutter, I decided to do a 10-day decluttering blitz. In total, I managed to do 12 decluttering blitzes in January.

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My February goals

February is a short month. The Winter Olympics will be on, and I’ll be visiting my daughter Colleen in Charlottetown for 8 days, so I’ve adjusted my goals accordingly.

Here are my goals for February:

• Fitness:
  • For fitness, I’m keeping my goals of 300 minutes of physical activity a week, including walks, along with 2 strength training and 3 balance/flexibility sessions each week.
  • I’m hopeful—or maybe delusional is a better word—that the weather will improve in February, so I’m again planning to get outside for 20 walks.
• Health:
  • 6 servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
  • No candy before 5 p.m.
• Reading: 4 books.
• Writing: Complete the first round of edits for my chapter for the Retirement Coaches Association book.
• Intentional living: Four 15-minute decluttering blitzes.

Thanks for dropping by to check out my January 2025 goals recap. What are your goals for February? Drop me a comment below to let me know.