3 Questions You HAVE TO Ask Before Setting your 2026 Goals
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Want to hit your 2026 goals without burning out? Here's the system audit every ambitious entrepreneur needs.
Every January, you do the same thing.
You set big revenue goals. Launch goals. Growth goals. You get fired up, motivated, ready to crush it.
And by March? You're exhausted.
By June? Burned out.
By December? You're wondering why success has to feel this hard.
Here's the truth most burnout coaches won't tell you: The problem isn't your ambition. It's that your systems weren't built to handle your goals.
If your business broke at your current level, it will absolutely shatter when you try to scale.
So before you write down a single goal for 2026, I need you to run a system audit. Because goals without systems equal hustle and burnout. Goals WITH systems? That's sustainable scaling.
Let's break down the three questions every solopreneur needs to ask before setting 2026 goals.
Question #1: What Broke This Year?
This is where we get brutally honest.
I want you to think back over 2025 and ask yourself:
What tasks did you constantly forget?
What processes felt chaotic every single time you did them?
What client issues kept repeating?
What areas of your business left you feeling perpetually behind?
These are your system gaps. And here's what you need to understand: If it broke at your current level, it will definitely break when you start to scale.
Common System Gaps That Break Businesses
Client onboarding was always rushed. You were scrambling to send contracts, get payments, schedule the first call. It was stressful every single time—and it's not going to get better as you get more clients.
Invoicing was always late. You'd realize two weeks after a project ended that you forgot to send the invoice. That's only going to get worse as you start getting more projects in.
Content creation felt chaotic. You were constantly scrambling to figure out what to post, what to write, what to record, when to record. That's just going to get more challenging as you get busier.
Your calendar was a mess. Double bookings, forgotten meetings, no buffer time between calls. If your calendar was a disaster when your business was small, it's going to be exponentially worse as you scale.
Whatever it is for you—maybe one of those things resonated, maybe it's something completely different—don't judge it. Don't fix it yet. Just acknowledge it.
Because if it broke this year, it's going to break harder next year unless you fix it now.
Your Action Step
List 3-5 things that broke this year. These are your system gaps, and they're telling you exactly where you need to build better infrastructure before you can scale sustainably.
If you're a Notion user (or thinking about becoming one), this is where Notion for solopreneurs becomes your secret weapon. Building systems in Notion lets you create automated workflows, centralized dashboards, and scalable processes that actually support your growth.
Question #2: What Would Need to Change to Support Your 2026 Goals?
Now let's talk about your actual goals.
Think about what you want to achieve in 2026. Then ask yourself:
If your revenue doubles, what's the first thing that's going to break?
If you add a new offer, what systems do you need to have in place?
If you hire someone, what needs to be documented so you can actually delegate?
Here's why this matters: Your current systems are built for your current level. They're not built for where you're trying to go.
Scaling isn't just about working harder (despite what hustle culture tells you). Scaling requires intentional system upgrades.
System Upgrades Based on Your Goals
Goal: Double your revenue
System upgrades needed: Better project management, client tracking system, financial dashboard, maybe a CRM
Goal: Launch a group program
System upgrades needed: Onboarding workflow, community management system, curriculum structure, email sequences
Goal: Hire a VA
System upgrades needed: SOPs for every task you want to delegate, task management system, communication protocols
See how this works? The goal tells you what systems you need.
Real Talk from a Burnout Coach
I created a finance hub in my own Notion workspace this fall—automated the finance tracking, set up income projections, built a pipeline tracker. And immediately had my two best months of the year.
Why? Because clarity gives you data. And data supports better decision-making. What gets measured can improve. What doesn't get measured just stays chaotic.
So if you want to scale your business sustainably (without the burnout), you need to build the infrastructure BEFORE you hit the gas pedal.
Your Action Step
Write down your top 2-3 goals for 2026. For each goal, ask yourself: "What system needs to exist for this to actually work?"
Create a System Upgrade List. Add it to your Notion workspace, your project management tool, wherever you track your business priorities. This list will guide your Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 planning.
Question #3: What Should You STOP Doing in 2026?
This one stings. But it's the most important question.
You cannot scale by just adding more. You have to stop doing the things that don't work.
So let's get real. What are you currently doing that:
Drains your time but doesn't move the needle?
Isn't profitable?
Doesn't convert?
Doesn't align with where you're trying to go?
You scale by doing LESS of the wrong things, not by adding more of everything.
What High Achievers Need to Stop Doing
Stop offering low-ticket services that require high-touch support. One-on-one calls under $500 that drain your energy? They're not sustainable as you scale.
Stop daily social media posts that don't actually drive results. If you're posting every day out of obligation but seeing zero ROI, it's time to pivot to long-form content like podcasts, YouTube videos, and blogs that actually convert.
Stop saying yes to every meeting request. Most meetings could be an email. Protect your time like the valuable resource it is.
Stop recurring commitments that don't serve your 2026 vision. Networking calls you feel obligated to attend? Committees that drain your energy? It's time to audit what actually deserves your presence.
Here's the truth every burnout prevention coach needs you to hear: Every "yes" to something that doesn't serve you is a "no" to something that does.
Your Action Step
List 3 things you were doing in 2025 that you will NOT do in 2026. Then decide: Are you going to delete it, delegate it, or automate it?
This is where building systems in Notion becomes crucial. Automation removes the manual work. Delegation requires documented processes. And deletion? That just requires courage.
How to Put This All Together: The 4-Step Audit Process
You've answered the three questions. Now what?
Here's how to actually USE this information to plan for sustainable success in 2026:
Step 1: Reflect on 2025
Grab your answers from the three questions:
What broke? (Your system gaps)
What worked? (Keep doing this—maybe optimize it)
What drained you? (Stop doing this)
This is your foundation. You're not moving forward until you understand what got you here.
Step 2: Map Your 2026 Goals to System Needs
For each goal you have for 2026, identify the systems you need to support it.
Don't just list the goal—list the infrastructure needed to support that goal.
This might include:
A client onboarding workflow
A content batching system in Notion
Automated invoicing
A CRM
Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for repetitive tasks
A project management dashboard
Step 3: Prioritize System Builds
Not everything needs to be built right now.
Ask yourself:
What needs to be built BEFORE you scale? (These are your non-negotiables—the systems that will break if you don't fix them first)
What can you build as you grow? (These are nice-to-haves that you can layer in later)
Prioritize the systems that will have the biggest impact on your ability to scale without burning out.
Step 4: Schedule System Build Time
Here's where most entrepreneurs fail: They know what systems they need, but they never actually BLOCK THE TIME to build them.
I want you to block December and January for system work:
December: Build your highest-priority systems (onboarding, invoicing, whatever broke the most this year)
January: Create your content systems, document your SOPs, finalize your infrastructure
February: Launch with your new systems in place
Don't just set goals. Build the infrastructure to support them. This is how you scale sustainably.
The Truth About Goals and Systems
Here's what every ambitious entrepreneur needs to hear:
Goals without systems = hustle and burnout.
Goals WITH systems = sustainable scaling.
You can have the biggest, boldest, most ambitious goals in the world. But if your systems can't support them, you're just going to burn out trying to hit them.
So before you set your 2026 goals, audit your systems. Otherwise, you're just setting yourself up to work twice as hard for the same result.
And honestly? You deserve better than that.
Your Next Steps
Before December 31st, run this audit:
What broke in 2025? (List 3-5 system gaps)
What systems do your 2026 goals require? (Map your goals to the infrastructure you need)
What will you STOP doing in 2026? (Delete, delegate, or automate)
And if you want help actually BUILDING those systems—if you're tired of winging it and ready to create the infrastructure that lets you scale without burning out—I can help.
Join the Skool community where we're building burnout-proof businesses together. Or grab my Solopreneur Life & Business OS to set up your Notion workspace for sustainable success.
Because the truth is: You don't need to burn out to build the business of your dreams. You just need better systems.
Ready to scale sustainably? Let's build your burnout-proof business together.
