Skip to Content

26 Goals I Want To Accomplish While I’m 26

Do you ever feel like time is just passing you by but you don’t know what to do about it? If so, you are not alone. 

I turned 26 this year, which means I’m over half-way through my twenties. While I wish I could slow down time, or go back a few years, that just isn’t going to happen. I haven’t made the most out of my twenties and that is on me.

Luckily there is still time, so I made a list of what I want to accomplish this year.  If you want some ideas on how to start taking control of your life, and have some fun along the way, keep reading.

26 Goals I Want To Accomplish While I’m 26

While writing out my list everything came down to four categories, Career, Health, Finances, and Miscellaneous. I’ll be grouping them together so you can jump straight to what you need/want.

Career/Personal Development

If you are wanting to improve your skills, advance in your career, or maybe launch that side-hustle you’ve been dreaming about, this section is for you. How are you planning on improving yourself and advancing in your career in the coming year?

Start my career: It’s way overdue at this point. While I am grateful to have had a job these few years post-grad, I want to know the feeling of loving your job and the work you do.

Develop a side hustle: I’ve been playing around with the idea of starting freelance work, but I haven’t made the commitment to go after it yet. Are you thinking of developing a side hustle? Find tips on how to get started even if you have no experience here.

Invest in a professional development opportunity (coaching, conferences, etc.): As my interest in personal development increases I am seeing more social media posts and emails about things like coaching, conferences, classes, etc. I would love to save up and participate in one of them.

Grow my blog: I’ve been blogging for a year now. I have loved the experience but in this next year I want to up-level and focus on growing and possible making that my side hustle.

Develop a public speaking skill: I don’t necessarily get nervous when talking in front of people, but I do say a lot of “ums” and “likes.” I believe that is a crucial skill to have in life so I’m excited to improve in this area.

Be more comfortable in front of the camera: Along with my blog, I’d like to have a YouTube channel and start vlogging someday. I know that isn’t going to happen overnight, but my first action step is to start getting comfortable in front of the camera. I plan on challenging myself to post more videos and start doing lives on social media.


Health

If you want to set some goals to live a healthier lifestyle, both physically and mentally, these goals are for you. These goals come from a place of what I want to accomplish in my weight loss journey. Most of them can apply to your life whether you are trying to lose weight or just live a healthier life overall.

Make more progress towards my goal weight: This will be my fourth year in my mission to live a healthy lifestyle and get to a healthy weight. I have a little over 100 pounds to lose. This year I want to start hitting those big goal marks and buying smaller sizes in clothes.

Try four new workout classes: Until recently, dancing was the only workout class I would go to. When I went to a CrossFit class with a friend, my eyes were opened. I’ve got to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to find other exercise classes I like. If you have any recommendations let me know!

Fully stick to a meal plan: If you are a picky eater you know the struggle of following meal plans. I’ve downloaded and started so many, but I’ve never stuck to them. I want to challenge myself to find a meal plan that is doable for me and follow through with it.

Try Whole30: Out of all the special diets out there, I keep coming back to Whole30. I’m not sure why, but I have known for a couple years now that I want to try it. I always back out when I start seriously considering it. Once I conquer a seven-day meal plan this will be my next step.

Win a DietBet or other fitness challenge: I’m not extremely competitive, but I do like a little friendly competition. Fitness challenges are a great way to mix things up. I’ve never done a DietBet, so I think it will be a fun experience.

Journal every day: There are other ways to work on your health other than physically. One example would be your mental health.  I started journaling somewhat regularly this past year. I want to continue this on a more consistent basis in this next year of my life. There are many benefits that journaling does for your mental health. This article from PositivePsychology.com goes into great detail about how to journal effectively and why it is important.


Finances

It is beyond the time for me to start getting serious about my money. This year I want to focus on saving money and tackling my debt. The finance section on GenTwenty is where I’m going to start to get insight on how to accomplish these goals.

Create and stick to a budget: I’m going to be transparent here and tell you something I’m embarrassed to admit. I am not good at budgeting. I’m great at writing out a detailed plan of where my money will go when my paycheck arrives, but sticking to it is a different story. This year I want to be more intentional about finding a budget that works for me, then sticking to it.

Save $1,000: After reading the goal prior to this, you may be able to tell that I’m a spender, which means my savings account is basically non-existent. I’m aware of how much of a problem this is and I want to fix that this year. Saving $1,000 is a great place to start. If I can save $100 each month I’ll reach my goal shortly after my birthday next year.

Finally get control of my debt and create a plan to get debt-free: I haven’t been tackling my debt like I should have been doing. Moving forward I want to take the last few weeks of 2019 to create a solid plan of how to start working my way towards being debt-free. 


Miscellaneous

The goals in this section don’t fit in a certain category so they are all together. You’ll find everything from traveling to self-love in this list. Read on to see what else is there.

Get a car: It’s a long story but I would like to finally get my license and a car of my own this year.

Read 20 books: I love reading. Recently I’ve only been reading personal development books. This year I’d like to add a mix of books to my list this year, not just self-help. If you have any book recommendations let me know.

Unplug more often: I’d like to say that social media isn’t a problem for me, but I would be wrong. Lately, I have noticed how dependent I am on my phone and how much time I waste. This year I think it would be healthy for me to take at least a day or two each month away from social media.

Go see more concerts: I’m a huge music lover but I’ve only been to a few concerts. I want that to change this year.

Spend more time with friends: I have a bad habit of disconnecting with people when I’m going through hard times. My goal for this year is to plan more outings with friends and check-in more often.

Take more photos: Photography has always interested me. I even almost got a minor for it in college. In the past few years after college I have stopped taking many pictures and even sold my camera. I now realize how much I miss it. Photography isn’t just a great way to capture memories. I also think it will be a huge improvement with my blog.

Travel to Nashville, TN: This has been a dream of mine since I was little. I want to experience all the music and fun this city has to offer.

Travel to Charlotte, NC: There is a church that I listen to and watch that is based in Charlotte. I would love to have the opportunity to visit in person.

Travel to New York City, NY: Christmas in NYC, need I say more? It looks so magical and festive in all the movies and photos I see. However, I have no plans to go this year, and by the time Christmas comes around next year, I’ll be 27. That being said I would also love to go to NYC before Christmas as well to see all the sights.

Become REFIT certified: REFIT Revolution is a dance fitness business based out of Waco, Texas. I found them on YouTube three years ago and I’ve been dancing ever since. They go around the country to train new instructors. After going back and forth I finally decided I wanted to go to an instructor training.

Love and accept myself: We’ve made it to the end of the list! If you are still reading thank you for staying with me. I left the most important goal for last. I want to continue to work on loving myself. This is a major struggle for me. Learning to accept myself for everything I am, and not hate myself for everything I’m not is a lot easier said than done.. It’s been a long, hard journey going through this but I have made strides in improving in this area. I’m hoping by the time I turn 27 I’ll be able to say confidently that I love and accept myself.


I’ve got a busy year ahead of me! I fully believe that by checking off these tasks, experiences, etc. I will live a more full life this year. These are memories I will be able to look back on with a smile when I think about my twenties. Some are personal for me, and many others are what I believe every twenty-something could benefit from.

What about you? Do you have a twenties bucket-list? What are some things you have on it?  

About the Author

Kelly Clark

Kelly graduated from Liberty University with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations and a minor in Journalism. Even though it took her a little while to find her career path, she was always meant to be in Communications. She remembers writing poems and songs when she was a little girl and pitching to my parents the reasons why I should have a cell phone when I was a teenager. She currently has a blog (budding-joy.com) where she talks about her weight-loss journey, mental health and personal development. Her hope is to encourage and inspire readers and let them know they are not alone. Reading blog posts like that are what helped her in tough times and she wants to pay it forward. She loves dance fitness, listening to music, and creating layouts in her bullet journal. She's a big fan of planning, especially when cute notebooks and pens are involved. Her dream job has changed so much over the years; right now she'd love to co-own a dance studio.

Website: budding-joy.com