I have set goals and resolutions at the beginning of the year since 2019. To track them, I record them in a spreadsheet and update my progress throughout the year. To keep myself accountable, I publish these goals and resolutions and provide quarterly updates here.
This annual ritual has worked extremely well for me and has kept me motivated.
After three months in 2026, it’s time to provide a quarterly update for my 2026 goals and resolutions.
Let’s find out how I did in Q1.
2026 Goals and Resolutions – Q1 Update
As mentioned, I use a spreadsheet to track all my goals and resolutions. Here’s what the spreadsheet looked like at the end of Q1:
Financial Goals
Dividend income over $72,000 – WIP $19,100.55
After three months, we received $19,100.55 in dividend income. This puts us slightly ahead of the $72,000 dividend income target.
We should be able to exceed this dividend income goal comfortably due to the following reasons:
- It’s still early in the year
- We plan to purchase more shares with fresh capital
- We anticipate seeing more dividend hikes
Max out RESP $14k non-government matching portion for both kids – Done. A+.
We maxed out the $14k non-government matching portion for both kids in January instead of April. As a result, I’m giving us an A+ grade.
In addition to the $14k matching portion, we have completely maxed out Kid 1.0’s $50,000 RESP contribution room. It’s nice to see that his RESP value, at the time of writing, is in the six-figure range. The power of compounding is amazing!
$35k in LTSS/cash wedge – WIP
This goal is very much a WIP. Right now, we are not even close to the $35k target in our LTSS/cash wedge.
Blog/Podcast Goals
Publish blog post every Monday – WIP
So far in 2026, I have published a blog post every Monday. Having this goal really helps me to keep up the regular weekly publication schedule.
Let me know if you enjoy the regular publication schedule.
Find podcast sponsorship – WIP
Nelson and I do not make any money with our DIY Wealth Canada podcast currently. This is very much a passion project for us. However, it costs us to produce the podcast. Nelson and I have been hiring someone to edit the podcast episodes. The edits are very basic, but not something Nelson and I could do ourselves. Unfortunately, we can’t utilize AI tools to edit podcast episodes, so the editing is a necessary expense.
Although the editing expense is not high (~$30 CAD per episode), it’s still an expense. We are looking at ways to reduce the edit cost. Regardless, it would be nice to find a sponsor to cover the editing expense so we are not net negative.
Nelson and I don’t have any experience with finding a podcast sponsor, so it’s something we need to work on. If any readers have experience or suggestions, I’d love to hear.
Personal Goals
Read 15 books – WIP 4 books read.
In case you’re wondering, I read the following books in Q1:
- Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari
- Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by John Gottman & Julie Schwartz Gottman
- Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Thief by Maurice Leblanc
- Arsene Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes by Maurice Leblanc
I’ll be honest, I didn’t really read before bedtime consistently in Q1, hence the low number of books read. I need to get my butt in gear in Q2 so I can finish reading more books.
Replace 2013 iMac – Not started
We haven’t replaced our 2013 iMac yet. I was rather disappointed with Apple’s new Studio Display announcement. Apple didn’t really update the Studio Display other than adding Thunderbolt 5 support.
The 2026 Studio Display has the exact same specs as the 2022 Studio Display in terms of resolution and refresh rate. Sure, the Studio Display XDR looks amazing but at $4,499, the price simply doesn’t make sense for us.
In separate news, we received a MacBook Air M4 from Wealthsimple for free in early January and we have been using this new laptop more and more. Maybe the MacBook Air can replace our iMac?
Body fat <=15.5% – WIP 15.8%
Before our trip to Japan, I got down to a body fat of 15.6%. While in Japan, I wasn’t paying too close attention to my calorie intake and I wasn’t doing intermittent fasting at all (I wanted to enjoy the amazing food in Japan).
So it wasn’t a surprise that I increased my weight slightly after the trip and sat at 15.8% at the end of March. I need to put some emphasis in Q2 to get my body fat closer to 15.5%.
Rowing machine 2k under 8 mins – WIP. 8:13.
In Q1, I didn’t consistently get on the rowing machine. I was rowing maybe every two or three weeks. The best time I got for 2 km was 8 minutes 13 seconds.
So I wasn’t able to get under the 8-minute mark I wanted to achieve. I did try different damper settings on the rowing machine and found the 5 damper setting was the best for me. Oddly enough, if I set the damper setting at 1, the resistance was too low and I ended up with a slower time.
In Q2, I plan to continue rowing and improve my techniques.
Ski Erg 1k under 4 mins – WIP. 4:02.
I used the ski erg machine quite a bit throughout Q1. I found that I tended to set a fast pace (i.e. below 2 mins per 500 metres) for the first two minutes, then slowed down significantly. I tried to increase my pace around the 900 metre mark but couldn’t due to tiredness and spiked heart rate.
I need to practice ski erg more and set a consistent pace to get under the 4-minute mark.
Sleep quality score >=81 – WIP. A.
I wear a Fitbit watch to track my sleep quality and received an average sleep score of 81 after three months!
Since I frequently wake up around 5:30 AM so I can hit the gym at 6 AM, getting a good sleep score takes quite a bit of planning (i.e. not going to bed too late). I’m quite proud of being able to hit an average score of 81 in Q1.
Fun Goals
Learn how to make beef Wellington – Not started
I haven’t tried to make beef Wellington yet. That’s something I’ll need to work on in Q2.
Try a new restaurant with Mrs. T – Done. A.
We spent 19 days in Japan in March, which gave us many opportunities to try different new restaurants.
While walking around in Ginza and exploring the amazing Itoya store (a 10-floor stationery store), I found a tempura restaurant called Tempura Abe Honten. We had amazing tempura and tendon lunch sets. While waiting for a table, we learned this restaurant was on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list in the past.
Another amazing restaurant we tried was Pizza Marumo. I made a reservation two months before our trip. Pizza Marumo is a very famous pizzeria in Japan. Although not a Michelin-starred restaurant, Pizza Marumo was ranked as the #3 best pizzeria in the world by Time Out 2026 World’s Best Pizza list. The chef, Yuki Motokura, was ranked the #14 best pizza chef in the world by The Best Pizza Awards.
We sat at the counter at Pizza Marumo and saw Chef Motokura making pizza right in front of us. We also interacted with Chef Motokura and his team.
How were the pizzas?
Delicious!
Experiment w/long exposure photography on beach – Not started
I didn’t do any long exposure photography in Q1. However, while in Japan, I played with long exposure at Lake Yamanaka one night. It was a bit challenging to do long exposure photography without a tripod but I think I did OK.
Both kids thought this meant I accomplished this goal but I think to mark this goal as complete, I need to do long exposure with a tripod and a manual timer.
So I plan to practice long exposure photography more this quarter.
Summary – 2026 Goals and Resolutions Q1 Update
Overall, I think I made good progress in Q1 on my goals and resolutions. Finishing one goal per planned and one goal ahead of target is quite good.
For Q2, I need to focus on reading more consistently and really work on the rowing machine, ski erg, sleep score, and beef Wellington goals.
