New Year Playbook 2026 — Updated Free PDF Template
It’s about that time again.
The time where we convince ourselves that everything is going to change in about ten days because, well, January.
A couple of years ago, heading into 2024, I released a New Year Playbook — a downloadable template for setting some new year goals for inside and outside the practice room.
What’s funny is that people still download it year-round. I’m never quite sure how they find it in July or October, but it makes me happy. The urge to reset, re-calibrate, and take stock isn’t actually limited to January 1.
Still, there is something about the New Year that invites reflection, so let’s do it.
What’s new in the New Year Playbook?
First, the playbook that people are still downloading says 2023 all over it. So, I fixed that.
Second, I added an additional page related to how I’ve been thinking about my own goals lately. That new page focuses less on rigid outcomes and more on intentions, mindset, or, as the kids say, vibes.
This year was a little challenging for me. Not a bad year, but a challenge. I feel a little like I’m sliding into home plate of 2025 with scrapes and bruises, ready for a clean slate. Moving into 2026, the word that keeps filling my brain is “Nurturing.” Everything I want to do moving into the new year is related to nurturing my mind, body, spirit. That seems to matter more to me right now than very specific goals.
A suggestion for when “goals” feel like too much
Some years, I’m energized by specific, measurable goals:
Practice X minutes a day
Go to the gym X times per week
And sometimes… specificity just makes me shut down.
Focusing on that big picture idea of Nurturing doesn’t mean I’m abandoning tangible goals or benchmarks. It means those goals live inside a larger intention. The intention is the anchor and the goals are simply expressions of it.
The new page at the end of the playbook is a place to name that anchor, if you so choose.
Buckets & Containers
There’s one idea I didn’t formally change in the playbook, but I want to offer it here because it’s been genuinely helpful for me: thinking in containers instead of checklists.
Is this trap familiar?
“If I don’t do this X times per week, like I told myself I would, I’ve failed.”
“If I miss a few days, what’s the point?”
That all-or-nothing thinking is usually what makes me abandon goals entirely. Instead, this year, I’ve been using the concept of “buckets” or “containers” of supportive actions.
Instead of: “I must do this exact habit this many times per week” … I think: “What kinds of actions live in the container that supports this goal?” I select something each day from the bucket of that goal. That might include:
Low-pressure long tones sessions
Listening and score study sessions
Forms of body care or recovery
Administrative tasks that reduce stress
Creative play with no output expectation
You can still be intentional and structured without turning the structure into a trap.
If you use the playbook this way, one simple tweak is to mentally rename the “Habits & Actions” column as “Buckets” or “Containers.” Same space, different energy.
Don’t “Set It and Forget It”
One new experiment I’m trying this year is quarterly check-ins. I wrote myself a short reflection email that includes:
A reminder of my big-picture goals and intentions
A few reflective questions about what’s working, what isn’t, and what’s shifted
I’ve scheduled those emails to send to myself on April 1, July 1, and Oct 1.
It’s not about rewriting the entire playbook each time. It’s just a pause and reflect session. A chance to notice how far I’ve drifted and what that drift is telling me. Sometimes drift means life happened. Sometimes it means the goals were unrealistic. Sometimes it means I’ve grown into something new.
Ok, let me download it already.
The updated New Year Playbook is available here. It’s free (in exchange for your email address), and as past subscribers know, I’m extremely sparing with emails. Some years you’ll get a few, some years none at all. I don’t sell your information or use it for anything weird.
Happy Holidays — and New Year — everyone!
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