The 25 for 2025 List

A new year is upon us which means a whole new list of goals! Since 2019, the bestie and I have an annual goal-setting ritual as part of the Design Your Year challenge hosted by our favorite podcast, Happier. At a minimum, we create a list and choose a one-word theme, though I usually make the yearly podcast challenge one of my list items as well.

Over the years, we’ve really fine-tuned our lists and have discovered what works for us and what doesn’t. Obviously, we take away new insights every year, but this is a hidden treat in doing this type of work. The amount of self-discovery you gain is unparalleled.

With pen in hand and a hot coffee by my side, I started to brainstorm my one-word theme for the year. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I have a little anxiety about what’s to come in 2025. This is a PCS year for us, meaning that this summer we’ll be packing up all of our belongings and saying Auf Wiedersehen to our little apartment in Stuttgart that we’ve come to love over our four years in Germany. While I’m excited to see friends again and make our way back to the place that has most felt like home since we started this crazy ride, I know in the back of my mind it’ll be chaotic to get there. Despite this being our eighth move (and our second return from an overseas assignment), I don’t show up to these moments in a way that makes me proud. I get frazzled at the disruption to the routine, grow irritable with Mark, and panic about the logistics.

In brainstorming my one-word theme for the year, I knew I wanted to pick something that spoke to how I would like to handle this year of transition. How an ideal version of myself would show up. I kicked around ideas of flow and balance, but it wasn’t until I listened to the Happier episode where the hosts revealed their words that I found the perfect choice for me. This word speaks to what I want to be for my family during our move, while also lending to some of the many health goals I have this year: ROCK.

I feel so solid about my word… like a rock (haha). I’m not usually one to get tokens or representations of my word, but this may be the year that I do so. Once I had my word in place, it was easy to get the list finalized. Something I’ve started doing over the past couple of years is keeping a note open on my phone and adding potential list times for the following year as they come to me. This makes it so much easier when I sit down to design my year in mid-December as I usually have a decent amount of goals to select from. Let’s get into the goals for this year!

The Annual Goals

Run the Lines

Last year, while I was scrolling Instagram one night, I saw a girl post that she challenged herself to run every single U-Bahn route in either Munich or Berlin (I can’t remember which city) in a month. What a fantastic way to change up our running routine! I often find myself running the same handful of routes over and over again because I know the exact mileage and how long it will take. So, I mapped out all of the Stuttgart U-Bahn routes and my goal is to run all of them before we move. There are 14 routes total and range from around 5 to 19.5 miles in length. Given that we don’t have a full year in Stuttgart, planning is crucial for this doable yet challenging goal. I’m hoping to do a bulk of these runs on the weekends, but I’m already looking at how I can shift my schedule if there’s bad weather or travel weekends.

Morning Pages, Five Days Per Week

A few years ago, one of my dear friends gifted me his trial of the Headspace app. I enjoyed the clarity that meditation provided so much that once the trial expired, I purchased the annual membership. A year later, I layered in journaling as a paired activity after reading Good Morning, I Love You which showed the studies of how much journaling even just a little bit every day can improve your mental health. Unfortunately, both of these practices seem to wax and wane as my schedule fills or the routine is disrupted. I think by connecting to my inner world and resting in the present, I‘ll be able to navigate this year of change better. Why five days? Because I‘ve noticed that sometimes when the bar is just a little lower, I end up going above and beyond and get more completions.

Read 5 Classics

I was in a book club of two with a friend in Germany where we were tackling a classic every month. We would break the novels up by a few chapters a week and discuss our thoughts. As with all things, we chose a book neither of us were overly motivated to read, life got busy, and our little club ended. I still want to work my way through the classics so here‘s to getting back into the flow. Ideas on what to add to my list? Leave a comment, please!

Prep For Our PCS

Pretty straightforward on this one. There are a million little things that need to get done before we move (think: canceling our phone plans, getting our dogs ready to fly, etc.) and they all need to happen at specific times. This item is for Mark and I to sit down, draw up a list of all the items and research all the deadlines on our outstanding contracts. Nothing sucks more than missing a bill and then having to dispute payments after you‘ve moved (trust me, we‘ve done it before).

Pare Down Stuff Before Moving

Coming to Germany, we were pretty lean in our household goods, mainly because we moved every year for three years in a row. Now that we‘ve been stationary for the past four, I know that we probably have some items that need to be re-homed. Plus, nothing calms my anxiety quite like shedding physical objects no longer needed. It sparks great joy.

Buy A House

This is major! As our time in this constant state of „home is now here“ is winding down and coming to an end, we‘re ready to look into something even scarier… where do we want to live? As it so happens, our upcoming assignment looks like that might be it, so we‘re looking at entering the home ownership market for the first time in our lives.

Create a House Wish List

Now that we‘re thinking about a more settled life, there are some bigger purchases we want to make to fill our new space. I want to be smart about it, budget for it, and see what gets bought now and what waits until later.

Stay On Top Of My Health: Establish Care In New City

For much of my twenties, I didn’t do an annual wellness exam. I let my fear of the dentist knock down my biannual cleanings. Once we moved to Germany, I really took control of my health. For the first time in my life, I established a connection with my health care providers and stopped trying to fix things on my own. As a result, I am in a great place health-wise. I’m due for all my bloodwork and exams this summer, so if I can’t get one last visit with my care team here, I’ll need to do it immediately once we arrive back stateside.

Update My Resume

I spent much of our time in Germany enjoying the lightly employed life, freelancing when we first arrived to now working extremely part-time. Alas, all good things must come to an end and it’s time for me to re-enter the job market in something closer to full-time, especially if we’re aiming to buy a house. My resume hasn’t been touched in years, so it needs a solid revisit and revise. Also, if anyone is hiring in the marketing or media realm, feel free to connect me!

Create A Living Will

After reading Stiff last year, I realized the importance of having a living will. I believe this service is offered on base, so I think it’s just a matter of scheduling an appointment and making it happen. Also, I swear this is one of the last serious items on the list this year.

Make A Literary Recipe

I love when books tap into all your senses and some of my favorite scenes are when authors describe the food the characters are making. I want to try my hand at something from a book I read. For example, if you’ve read Yellowface you know one of the characters dies while choking on a Pandan pancake (if you haven’t read this yet, this isn’t a spoiler; it happens in the very beginning of the book). I think this will help a book come to life. Also, if you have any book recommendations where food is front and center, please leave a comment! Ideally, I would like to make the food while reading the book instead of doing so after the fact.

Get A Girls Trip On The Books

The last time we all got together was for a long weekend in Chicago in 2019. Obviously it has been difficult to meet up as a whole group since my friends have been spread across the country and I was living abroad. But since I’m coming back this summer, it will be much easier for us to find a place to meet up, even if we’re residing on different coasts. Planning and finding the time for the trips between everyone’s schedules isn’t always the easiest task, but it’s always worth it.

Do Something Special For Our Milestone Birthdays

Mark turns the big 4-0 this year and I follow not too far behind in the early weeks of 2026. I do not want this event to slip by without making it special in some way or another, so I am putting into my calendar time to plan something far in advance so we can truly celebrate the transition into our 40s. Did you do something big for a milestone event? Please help me with ideas in the comments!

Work On the Blog For 5 Days A Week For 25 Minutes

I think I’ve had some kind of writing-related goal for the past couple of years now. If you recall, I was excited last year when it was unveiled that the yearly Happier challenge was to write 24 minutes a day, and then I ended up not doing too well with the goal. After looking through my things, I think the issue I’ve been running into is that I need to actually restrict the time I spend on this aim. Last year, I would get into writing and wouldn’t stop when the 24 minutes was up. Instead, I would go on for another hour or so, which would throw off the rest of my day. Then, I wouldn’t return to writing in the subsequent days because I had already done the time. So this year, I’m trying a different approach. Once I’ve reached the 25 minutes, I’m done for the day. Period. I’m also loosening the goal to five days a week, so I have more flexibility when a busy day or weekend happens.

Learn To Use The Tripod For Photoshoots

As promised, this is my carryover item from last year. It seriously is something that will take all of 15 minutes, so there’s no reason to not knock it out in the first part of the year. Fingers crossed.

Create A Social Strategy For Instagram Accounts

If you were unaware, I have two additional Instagram accounts separate from what I consider my “personal” one. The first account, sharperknits, is solely dedicated to my life in craft, which for right now is exclusively knitting. The other account I have is homeisnowhereblog, which as you can guess, lines up with the blog. Last year, I went through a spell of not engaging much on social media, but this year I would really like to get more consistent in posting to these accounts, especially my blogging account since that is the one I struggle with most. Friends, I do social media strategy all day, every day for the numerous companies I’ve worked for. I just haven’t set aside the time to do it for myself. Also, please consider giving these accounts a follow! I post completely different content than what I post on my personal.

The Happier Annual Challenge: Read 25 in ‘25

Frequent visitors of the blog know that I’m an avid reader, and like to track what I read every month with a roundup style blog. I’ll admit, when the challenge was announced, I was tempted to make it “harder” on myself by putting stricter rules into place like I had to physically read daily in addition to audiobooks, but no. If I’ve learned anything from the past, it’s that it’s okay for certain goals to be “easier” and enjoyable. Let’s crack pages (or slip on some headphones) together!

Overall Strength Goals

When I was talking about my list with my mother, she mentioned that I always have a decent amount of health goals on my list. To which I responded, well yes, because if I don’t have my health, then I don’t have anything else. Without a strong mind and body, I can’t accomplish all the “nice to haves” on my list. Towards the end of 2024, I found my way back to strength training and have already started seeing the fruit of those efforts. As I enter middle age, strength becomes even more important as women lose as much as 3-5% of their muscle mass per decade starting at the age of 30 [source]. Therefore, I have set up a series of strength goals in some major compound lifts: barbell squat, barbell bench press, farmer’s carry and pull-up. My goal for the squat is to be able to do my bodyweight, which right now is 165 pounds. Obviously, with fat loss this number may change, but probably not by a significant amount. For the bench press, my goal is 110 pounds, which is 70% of my bodyweight, or roughly the amount of strength needed to do pushups. My goal for farmer’s carries is 120 pounds (60 in each hand) for one minute, as inspired by this video from a Peter Attia (author of Outlive) interview. For pull-up, my goal is to get one strict pull-up. Out of all the goals, I think the pull-up will be the most challenging. I’m not too far off from the farmer’s carries or the bench currently. Also, to clarify, I want all of these lifts to be my working set amounts (between 8-10 reps) and not a 1 rep maximum.

Monitor Progress: Monthly Pictures And Measurements

Now that I’m inching closer and closer to goal, my weight is even more of an unreliable tool in assessing whether or not I’m meeting my body composition goals. The past couple of years, I’ve done progress photos and measurements sporadically, so I would like to be more consistent to truly see how things are going in between my Bod Pod body composition measurements.

Find An In-Person Group For A Hobby

Back in 2023, I was a part of a monthly craft get together. During the winter months, we met at a nearby pub and in the summer, when the weather allowed, we packed our WIPs and snacks and knit in the park. It was fun to spend a few hours each month with people who intimately understood what I was knitting. Alas, the group slowly unraveled as people moved away. After we’re settled in our new home, I would love to find another in-person meetup for any of my hobbies, be it reading, crafting, or fitness-related. Do you have any helpful tips for how to connect with local hobby groups or meetups (especially as an introvert)? Please share below!

Send Holiday Cards

As I touched on in the 24 for 2024 update, this was a conscious remove last year. Now that I’ll have access to a more reliable post office, I want to send cards this year. I love receiving them in the mail and I want to be a part of the holiday greetings. I was smart this year and started collecting addresses as we received cards, but with our friend group, someone is always on the move.

Hit The Daily Dozen 25 Times

One of the best books I read regarding health last year was How Not To Die by Dr. Greger. Food has the power to heal us and keep us healthy, and that’s how he developed the Daily Dozen. Basically it’s Dr. Greger’s prescription for optimal health based on science. It’s not a meal plan, but rather some of the healthiest foods on the planet to incorporate into your diet. As a pescatarian, most days I’m already hitting many of the dozen (think: leafy green veggies, fruit and exercise), but the categories I’m weakest in are the three servings of beans per day and whole grains per day. I’ve downloaded the free app to keep track of my servings and to help me think of creative ways to add the dozen to my meals.

Go On 25 Outdoor Adventures

This one is inspired by the bestie. I love hiking and being outdoors, and with our move back to the West Coast near all the national parks, I’m itching to hit the trails again. Obviously, we still have some time for outdoor adventures in Germany too, but honestly the scenery is a little sad during the winter months.

Be A Tourist In Our Own City: 25 Events Or Activities

There are so many weird little things to do in Stuttgart (like going to the pig museum) and we’ll be landing in the entertainment capital when we arrive in Las Vegas this summer. This is my reminder to be on the lookout for fun events and activities we can do wherever we are.

Free Space!

As usual, I’m giving myself a free space to highlight something that may not be on the list that unfolds in 2025.

Immediate Plans & Next Steps

Before the end of the month, I’m working toward:

• Setting up all of the recurring items in my Streaks app to keep me on track.

• Creating courses for all the U-Bahn Run the Lines routes in Garmin so they’re available and ready on my watch.

• Making Excel grids for my social accounts and mapping out February posts.

So there you have it—my 25 for 2025, complete with a one-word theme that I hope will keep me grounded and strong this year. As always, there will be a recap at the end of the year so you can see how things played out. In the meantime, I’d love to know about your approach: Do you make a list of goals each year, or do you choose a theme? What’s worked for you, and what hasn’t? Drop a comment and let’s swap inspiration—I’m all ears for new ideas!

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