New Year's Resolution Ideas: 40 You Can Actually Keep
Most resolutions aren't bad ideas. They're just not written as anything you can do. "Get healthy" and "be better with money" sound fine on January 1, but on a wet Tuesday in February they give you nothing to act on.
So every idea below is written as an action, with a frequency attached. Skim the list, pick one or two, and use the short guide at the end to make them hold.
Do resolutions actually work?
Better than their reputation suggests. In a 2020 study in PLOS ONE that followed more than 1,000 people, 55% of those who responded at the one-year mark considered themselves successful at sustaining their resolution.
The same study found a useful detail: people with goals framed as something to do succeeded more often than people with goals framed as something to stop (58.9% vs 47.1%). So "walk after dinner" tends to beat "stop sitting on the sofa all evening." Most of the ideas below are framed that way on purpose.
Health and energy
- Walk for 20 minutes after lunch or dinner, five days a week.
- Strength train twice a week, even for 20 minutes.
- Go to bed at the same time on weeknights.
- Eat a vegetable at lunch and dinner.
- Drink a glass of water before your morning coffee.
Mind and mood
- Write three lines in a journal each night.
- Spend your first 15 minutes awake away from your phone.
- Do five minutes of quiet breathing or meditation each morning.
- Rate your mood once a day and look back at it monthly.
- Spend time outside every day, even if it's ten minutes.
Money
- Log your spending every evening, while you still remember it.
- Move a set amount to savings the day you get paid.
- Review your subscriptions on the first of each month.
- Wait 48 hours before any non-essential purchase over a limit you choose.
- Check your budget for ten minutes every Sunday.
Work and focus
- Write your top three tasks before you open your email.
- Protect one 90-minute block for deep work each weekday.
- Shut down at a set time and write tomorrow's first task.
- Check messages at set times rather than all day.
- Do a 20-minute weekly review every Friday.
Learning
- Read ten pages a day.
- Practise a language for ten minutes a day.
- Take one course and do one lesson a week.
- Practise an instrument for 15 minutes, four days a week.
- Write one short summary of something you learned each week.
Relationships
- Call a family member or old friend once a week.
- Have one phone-away meal with the people you live with each day.
- Plan one proper catch-up with a friend each month.
- Send one message of thanks a week.
- Keep one evening a week for your partner, family or friends.
Home and life admin
- Do a five-minute tidy every evening.
- Clear one drawer, shelf or folder each weekend.
- Plan the week's meals on Sunday.
- Put every appointment and deadline in one calendar.
- Deal with one piece of annoying admin each week.
Screens and digital life
- Charge your phone outside the bedroom.
- Set a daily limit on your most-used app.
- Unsubscribe from five emails a week until your inbox calms down.
- Keep one screen-off evening a week.
- Delete one app you open out of boredom each month.
How to choose a resolution you'll keep
Pick one or two, not six
Each new habit takes attention while it's forming. Starting two gives each of them a fair chance. You can add another in March, when the first ones need less effort.
Ask why it matters to you
If the honest answer is "I feel like I should," choose something else. A resolution connected to something you want, like more energy for your kids or less stress about rent, survives a bad week far better than one borrowed from social media.
Make the first version almost too small
"Read ten pages" can start as "read one page in bed." The point of January is to become someone who shows up. You can make it bigger once showing up is normal. Our guide to building good habits goes deeper on this.
Tie it to a moment that already happens
"After I pour my coffee, I'll write my top three tasks." An existing routine reminds you for you. That's habit stacking, and it solves the most common problem of all, which is simply forgetting.
Plan for the first missed day
You will miss a day. Decide now what happens next: you do the small version tomorrow, and that's it. If you've already slipped, here's how to get back on track without restarting from zero.
Tell someone, and check in sometimes
In that same study, the group given some support, including monthly follow-ups, did better than the groups with no support or with a lot of it. A friend who asks how it's going once a month may be all you need.
Turn your resolution into a daily check-in
Add your resolution to Trace as a habit, link it to a goal with a deadline, and watch the year fill in. Your spending lives in the same app, so money resolutions get tracked too.
Open Trace Works in any browser · your data stays yours · syncs across devicesFrequently asked questions
What is a good New Year's resolution?
A good resolution is specific, small enough to do on your worst day, and connected to something you care about. Reading ten pages a day is a better resolution than reading more, because you always know whether you did it.
How many New Year's resolutions should I make?
One or two is usually enough. New habits need attention while they form, so starting several at once often means losing all of them. Add another once the first feels routine.
What are the most common New Year's resolutions?
Common themes are exercising more, eating better, saving money, spending less time on screens and learning something new. Popular themes are fine to choose, as long as you turn them into a specific action.
How do I keep my New Year's resolution past January?
Attach it to a routine you already have, start small, track it somewhere you can see it, and decide in advance what you'll do after a missed day. Missing a day rarely ends a resolution, but treating it as failure often does.