New Year’s Resolution Ideas
Small, specific resolutions with a number or a date on them, from ten ukulele songs by June to fifty-two granny squares by December.
- Time
- 10–20 min to choose
- Players
- One or more people
- Best for
- The last days of December and New Year’s Day
- Deck
- 72 resolutions in 6 categories
How to use these New Year’s resolution ideas
- Pick a category from the menu under the card, or keep “All categories”.
- Read the resolution on the top card. If it sounds like something you would enjoy keeping, make it one of yours for the year.
- Swipe the card away, or tap “Next resolution”, for another. Resolutions do not repeat until you have seen the whole category.
- Tap the heart to save a resolution on this device, or tap “Make a 10-resolution list” to copy your picks and keep them where you will see them.
When to choose New Year’s resolutions
Resolutions made in a rush at midnight tend to be vague. Choosing them over a slow coffee, with time to read a few cards and say them out loud, makes it easier to pick ones that fit the year ahead.
Coffee on January 1
Read cards aloud across the table and heart the ones that make you both smile, from a year list of birds to a first-Friday game night.
The quiet week after Christmas
Between the holidays, there is time to get ready: find the crochet hook, print the street map, look up the nearest state park trails.
Any first of the month
A resolution does not have to wait for January. Start one on your birthday or the first day of spring and count from there.
Ways to pick your resolutions
Three cards, three sizes
Heart one resolution you can do daily, one you do monthly and one with a single finish line, like a blanket in December. Three different rhythms are easier to keep than three of the same kind.
Resolutions around the table
On New Year’s Day, pass the phone around and let each person draw until a card fits. Read everyone’s choice aloud, write them on one sheet and pin it up somewhere the whole house will see it all year.
One for each of you, one for both
Couples can each pick a resolution from any category, then draw from For couples until you both like the same card. That gives you two of your own and one you keep together.
Tips for keeping a resolution past February
- Put the first step in your calendar before January 1 ends: buy the yarn, find the trail map, set the Sunday reminder. A resolution with a date on it gets started.
- Keep the count somewhere you can see it, like a map with streets colored in or a jar of finished granny squares. Watching it grow is half the fun.
- Missed a week? Pick it up the next day without starting over. Forty-eight granny squares out of fifty-two still make a blanket.
All 72 New Year’s resolution ideas by category
The complete list, grouped by category. The cards above draw from the same list, so you can read ahead here and pick there.
Learn something
Songs on the ukulele, a new alphabet, the trees on your street: one skill with a finish line.
- Learn ten songs on the ukulele by June, then play your favorite for friends at a summer get-together.
- Learn the names of twenty trees in your neighborhood by the time the leaves come back in spring.
- Read twelve books this year, each by an author from a country you have never read before.
- Learn to cook five dishes well enough to make them from memory, no recipe on the counter.
- Learn a new alphabet, like Greek or Korean, well enough to sound out a menu written in it.
- Learn the rules of a sport you have never followed and watch one full season of it.
- Learn to sew on a button, take up a hem and patch a hole, all by the end of spring.
- Learn to draw a recognizable portrait of everyone you live with by December.
Show all 12 in Learn somethingShow fewer
- Learn to fix a dripping tap and a running toilet yourself, before you ever need to call anyone.
- Finish one free online course all the way to the last lesson, final quiz included.
- Learn to shoot in manual mode on a camera, and leave it off auto for a whole month.
- Take one beginner class every season in something you have never tried: four seasons, four new skills.
Make something
Granny squares, a sourdough starter, a zine or a jacket covered in patches, made a little at a time.
- Keep a sourdough starter alive all year and bake a loaf from it every weekend.
- Draw one object from your day on a sticky note every evening for a month, and stick them all on one wall.
- Write twelve short stories this year, one a month, and share your favorite with a friend in December.
- Crochet one granny square a week and join all fifty-two into a blanket in December.
- Make a small zine every season about whatever you’re into, and mail copies to a few friends.
- Stitch one small embroidery hoop a month and hang all twelve together on one wall in December.
- Make every birthday card you give this year by hand, however simple.
- Fix one broken thing a month instead of replacing it, from a wobbly chair to a torn bag strap.
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- Practice hand lettering for ten minutes a day until even your grocery lists look fancy.
- Scan every old printed photo in the house by December and label each one with names and a year.
- Frame one picture a month, whether a print, a photo or your own drawing, until a bare wall is full.
- Keep a scrapbook all year and glue in every ticket, wrapper and note worth remembering.
Get outside
Sunrises, parks, trails and day trips: more of the year spent outdoors, counted as you go.
- Walk every street in your neighborhood by December and color each one in on a printed map.
- Watch the sun come up once a month, so you have seen twelve sunrises by the end of the year.
- Visit every public park within five miles of home and rank your top three at the end of the year.
- Spend at least twenty minutes outdoors every single day, whatever the weather is doing.
- Camp four times this year, once in every season, even if one of them is in the backyard.
- Hike every marked trail in your nearest state park, one weekend at a time, and tick them off a list.
- Swim in a lake, a river or the sea at least once a month from May to September.
- Ride a bike to every errand under two miles away from the first warm day until the first frost.
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- Keep a year list of every bird you see and aim for fifty different species by December.
- Keep one weekend day a month completely free of indoor plans, from breakfast to dark.
- Try twelve outdoor activities you have never done, one a month, from kayaking to archery.
- Visit every waterfall within a two-hour drive of home and keep a list of your favorites.
People and friendships
Dinners, postcards, birthday calls and standing plans that keep friends close all year.
- Write a thank-you note within a week of every kindness someone shows you this year.
- Host a simple dinner once a month, even if it’s only soup, bread and whoever is free.
- Put every friend’s birthday in your calendar and call each one on the day instead of texting.
- Say yes to one invitation a month that you would normally turn down.
- Join one club or class and keep going until you know everyone there by name.
- Call one older relative every Sunday for a chat about nothing in particular.
- Learn the names of ten neighbors by spring and use them every time you pass.
- Bake a cake for every close friend’s birthday this year, candles included.
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- Start a first-Friday game night with the same group of friends and keep it going all year.
- Plan one weekend away with friends this year, and put the date in everyone’s calendar before February.
- Volunteer once a month with a friend, so you keep each other showing up.
- Introduce two friends who should know each other, once every season.
Home and habits
Small daily habits for mornings, evenings and the rooms in between, easy to start on January 1.
- Open the windows for five minutes every morning to let fresh air in, whatever the season.
- Keep a one-line diary: one sentence before bed every night, all year.
- Read twenty pages of a book in bed every night before you look at your phone.
- Keep the first half hour of every morning phone-free, from waking up to breakfast.
- Lay out tomorrow’s clothes and bag every night, so mornings start without a hunt for keys.
- Plan the week’s dinners every Sunday and pin the menu to the fridge.
- Go to bed at the same time every night, with a reminder set for an hour before.
- Keep a fresh flower or a cut branch in a jar on the table every week of the year.
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- Do a ten-minute tidy every evening with a timer and one upbeat song.
- Block out one evening a week for a hobby and guard it like an appointment.
- Arrive five minutes early to everything this year, from work to coffee with a friend.
- Get a library card and check something out at least twice a month.
For couples
New Year’s resolutions for couples: shared habits and monthly plans for two people to keep together.
- Take turns planning a date every other Friday, all year, with no repeats allowed.
- Try a restaurant neither of you has been to once a month, taking turns choosing.
- Sit down for a fifteen-minute check-in every Sunday over coffee or tea, all year.
- Eat dinner together at the table without phones at least four nights a week.
- Plan one trip together to somewhere new to both of you, and book it before March.
- Keep a shared notebook and each write one line about the week every Sunday night.
- Have your first coffee or tea of the day together, before either of you opens a phone.
- Cook one meal a week together from start to finish, taking turns picking the recipe.
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- Each month, choose one small first for the two of you, like a new dish, a new trail or a new game.
- Take one photo of the two of you every month and print all twelve in December.
- Go to bed at the same time at least three nights a week.
- Turn Saturday chores into one fast hour together with music on, then keep the rest of the day free.
Frequently asked questions
How many New Year’s resolution ideas are there?
There are 72 resolutions, 12 in each of six categories: learn something, make something, get outside, people and friendships, home and habits, and resolutions for couples. The cards and the list on this page use the same set.
Are there New Year’s resolutions for couples?
Yes. The For couples category has 12 resolutions for two people to keep together, like a Sunday check-in or a monthly photo of the two of you. To plan the night before the year starts, see New Year’s Eve ideas for couples.
Why are these resolutions so specific?
A resolution like “read more” has no finish line, so it is hard to tell whether you are keeping it. Every card here comes with a number, a date or a season, which makes it easy to start and easy to see how far you have come.
What if I want bigger goals than these?
Try bucket list ideas for the once-in-a-lifetime kind, like a long trip or a flying lesson. A resolution from this page can be the first step toward one of them.