Happy New Year!
Hello and welcome back to the Vandemonian Homesteader, and welcome to 2026! I hope that you and your loved ones have had a fantastic festive season, and I wish you all the best for 2026. May it be a bright and prosperous year for you.
As for me, and the block. 2026 is going to be a big one. As I mentioned in my last post, I have a lot planned for this year. It will be a year when a lot of my pieces will fall into place, of course, some may require a little “encouragement” to fall, but I won’t let that stop me, as I have big plans and high hopes for the next twelve months.
My 2026 goals
In the closing weeks of 2025, I thought a lot about what I wanted from the upcoming year and what steps I would need to take to make them happen. I do this every year, like a lot of people. I get reflective in December, looking back at the goals I achieved and those I didn’t, and at what worked and what didn’t, all of which I write down and start thinking about what I want to work on for the coming year.
Then, one morning in the final week of December, after having spent some time thinking about what I’ve done, what I want, and more importantly, what steps I need to take to get it. I picked up my notepad and pen, made a fresh mug of coffee, and sat myself down one morning to write out my list of goals for 2026.
I have talked about goals in the past, probably a bit too much. And I’m pretty sure everyone knows how they work, after all, there are countless videos on YouTube explaining just as many different methods on how to set and achieve goals, so because of that, I’m not going to harp on about them too much.
However, there are just two things I will say before moving on. First, for me, goals and the systems they create are important. They help me keep everything in focus and stay on a productive path, rather than leaving everything to the last minute or missing out on something because I wasn’t prepared. I picture it like a ship just bobbing around aimlessly, but when you set yourself some goals, all of a sudden that ship has a course to follow and a purpose to its actions. Yes, it may be an overused or cliché comparison, but there is a reason for that.
Second, I probably don’t touch on it enough, and I know many of the goal-related creators on YouTube videos don’t either. And that is that just because you’ve set a goal, it doesn’t mean it’s concrete. Yes, it helps to be flexible, but ultimately, there are aspects of life beyond your control. And sometimes these elements may negatively affect your progress toward your goal, resulting in you not completing on time or, in the worst case, abandoning it altogether. This happens; it’s life. The critical thing to remember is that when this happens, don’t beat yourself up or wallow in self-pity. Instead, look at what progress you did make and try again, but this time tweak it a little using the knowledge you have gained from your experience.
This is something I have had to do a lot over the years, particularly at the end of 2025. Initially, I planned to move out to my shed and live on the block before October. Unfortunately, specific jobs took longer than I had expected, and other tasks were more complicated and required much more work than my inexperience had allowed. Ultimately, the goal of moving out hasn’t happened, and I’m not going to lie, when I realised it wasn’t going to happen, it had me a bit bummed out for a while there, but I did as Winston Churchill famously said, and that was to “keep buggering on”.
By learning from my experience, I have now allowed myself more time to complete the tasks I have set, and re-adjusted the move-in date to a more realistic one. With any luck, these changes will make it easier for me to make progress toward my goals.
Another area where I fell short last year was keeping track of my smaller goals. Looking back at the New Year’s post I wrote in early 2025, I realised some of them had completely slipped my mind, even while larger projects—like fitting out the shed to make it liveable—were moving along nicely.
The thing is, those smaller goals matter. They create momentum, build confidence, and help carry you toward the bigger wins. By letting them fade into the background, I may have unknowingly made it harder to reach some of my larger goals.
To fix this, I’ve added a goal tracker to my journal and plan to check in with myself every quarter. That way, I can stay aware of what’s working, what isn’t, and make changes before things drift off course.
What to expect over the next twelve months
As I’ve mentioned a few times now, there is plenty I hope to achieve over the next year. A lot of it has to do with making the shed and the surrounding land livable for both my partner and I.
To achieve this, I have settled on the following four main goals, the steps to undertake them, and the deadlines I have set for myself.
1. Make the move permanently out to Forcett.
To achieve this, I will need to have completed the bathroom and kitchen work on the shed at Forcett and build a wall to cover the roller door. Once those three tasks are complete, I can begin to move. As for a deadline, I have given myself until March 16th to complete this.
2. Establish a garden and start growing food again.
Ideally, I would like to have the garden up before winter so I can use it for winter crops and basic herbs before spring hits. To achieve this, I will need at least two raised garden beds protected from the local wildlife. My deadline will be the same as the above, the 16th of March.
3. Collect and store firewood for winter.
Sunday, the 1st of June, is the first day of winter for Tasmania. This means by this date at the latest, I would like to have somewhere between 8 and 10 cubic metres of firewood. As well as means to store it. Now this is well and truly more wood than I need, but I would prefer to have leftovers for next season rather than running short in the tail end of winter.
4. Build a coop and get some chickens.
What homestead would be complete without chickens? Add to that the fact that Natasha and I love having an omelette now and then. So, chickens have been added to the list. Obviously, I will need somewhere safe to keep them. So, I will need to address that first. My deadline for this will be the first of November.
My Minor goals for 2026
As for my minor or short-term goals, I decided to focus on the following three. Although they may not be as crucial as the others, their completion will help out in the grand scheme of things, so I will try to tick them off the list as well.
- Establish a workshop.
I want a place to keep all my tools and various bits of machinery. Somewhere where I can plan work and potter about when I’m not focused on a new task. To achieve this, instead of having another shed built, I will get another 20-foot shipping container and convert it to suit my needs. My deadline is the first of December. And while it’s not at the top of the priority list, as I can make do as I have been, it would make life a lot easier if it were completed earlier rather than later.
- Erect a pet compound for Natasha.
I want to give her an enclosure where she can move about as she pleases, with both an open grassy area and a covered shelter. This way, she has somewhere she can be safely kept if my partner and I go out for the day. It will need strong, high fencing and a secure gate. She is an escape artist and can be clever when she wants to, so it will require a bit of work. It can be store-bought or homemade; I haven’t decided yet, as it depends on cost. Either way, my deadline for this is the first of July.
- Connect a wind turbine to my electrical system.
For as long as I have wanted a solar system to produce my own power, I have also wanted to pair it with a wind turbine. Relying on just one source of power isn’t a brilliant idea if we have a week of dark, overcast, wintry weather and, all of a sudden, we’re struggling to keep the lights on or the fridge running. And with me staying out there as often as I have been recently, I have had the opportunity several times to see how windy it can get; for this reason, I have decided to connect a wind turbine to my grid to help generate power. As this will require some research, I decided to give myself some time to complete it; my deadline will be the first of December.
And there we have it. My main goals and objectives I would like to have ticked off before the end of this year. When listed like this, it may not sound or look like much, but as I learnt last year, many small jobs contribute to these larger tasks that all take time. But as I mentioned earlier, I will be checking in on my progress every quarter to ensure I don’t forget anything.
I can’t wait to see how I get on.
Thanks for dropping in today. In my next post, I will start my veggie garden and put together a few raised beds made from reclaimed timber. That’s right, I’m planning to set up a garden on the cheap. So, stay tuned for that coming up next fortnight.
Until then, thanks again. I hope you’ve gotten something out of this. Have yourself and good one and I will catch you next time.
Vandemonian Homesteader 
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