New Year, New You: How to Set Goals, Not Resolutions for the New Year

Every new year, we tell ourselves, “This is THE year I’m going to…..pay off my debt, lose weight, get a promotion, find the love of my life, manage my stress better, drink water more, break up with that toxic friend….”

You are HYPED up.

You are ready to GO.

And then the new year ends, and you realize that you didn’t keep one of your resolutions. Research shows that 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by the beginning of February. Why? Because New Year’s resolutions seldom have actionable steps. Most of the time, the resolution is just a grandiose idea of what you think you want but it doesn’t have an action plan attached to it.

I can bet that at one point in your life, you’ve had “eating better” and “exercising” at the top of your list of resolutions right? But what does either of those mean truly? Is eating better just adding in one serving of vegetables a day? Is it not drinking soda anymore? Is it drinking more water? What’s exercising? Does that mean taking a class? Joining a gym? Taking the stairs instead of the elevator? The problem is that a resolution isn’t a goal. Goals have action plans. Goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound.

Here’s how we are going to set some fun, unique, actionable, inspiring, and achievable GOALS this year:

Reflect on the past year

Consider your achievements, challenges, and lessons learned. This can help you understand where you’ve been and where you want to go. Once you understand where you want to go, write that down as a reference. Or consider creating a mood board for your goals for the year–I create one on Pinterest every year!

Set SMART goals

Here’s where the magic is going to happen. Make goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. SMART goals can help you understand your goal, how to approach new habits, and how to measure success.

Break down goals

If a goal seems too big, break it down into smaller, more manageable steps. Want to write a book in 2025? Ok that feels like an enormous task to undertake. But what if you commit to writing 1,000 a day? That’s definitely a more manageable thought that having to write an entire book.

Choose a mix of goals

Include some easier goals to motivate you to complete more difficult ones. I also love setting goals in a few different areas of your life such as self care, inner work, career, productivity, giving back, healthy eating, relationship building, and stress management. For example here’s a few of the goals I’ve picked out for 2025:

Professionally, I’ve set a goal to create a five year plan.
Self Care, I’ve set a goal to take one day a month for a digital detox. Between work, leisure, and social media, most of us get way more screen time than we’d like. I’m going to give my brain (and eyeballs) a rest by taking some analog time. I’m shooting for a whole day off-line, but for a smaller bite sized goal, I’m committing to short breaks throughout the day.
Productivity: I want to be a time blocking champ. Time blocking can reduce the cognitive load of switching from task to task — because, multitasking doesn’t really work and the older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve seen this play out in my very real life. I’m going to try shifting my most intensive or creative work to early in the day, and keep meetings to specific times or days of the week (where I can!).

Focus on what’s important

Consider which goals are most important to you and focus on those first. I like to focus on goals where I can get a quick win fast. By giving my brain the endorphin hit by accomplishing a task, I’m more inclined to go after the next goal, even if it’s a little harder. Start by stacking up an important (but achievable) goal at the beginning of the year.

Write down your goals

Science says that writing down your goals is key to making them happen — and for good reason. Not only are you more likely to remember them, but your brain is also more likely to flag the information as important. That’s key since it’s going to be a lot harder to accomplish (and celebrate) a milestone you don’t remember. Once it’s written down, you can check in on your progress (and, best of all, cross things off when they’re done!)

Track your goals

Tracking your goals can help you measure your success and see what areas might need improvement. But remember, perfection isn’t the goal. Nobody’s perfect, and when it comes to changes, progress is better than perfection. It’s hard to start doing something perfectly 100% of the time when you start something new. Aim for a gradual increase. For example, instead of deciding to meditate every day when you’ve never tried it, start with three days a week for ten minutes each time. That’s the achievable part of SMART goals!

Consider your personal life

Consider goals that improve your happiness, not just your career. I think it’s also important when you are ideating on your goals for the year to consider where you are at in life. Do you have a 3 month old baby? Maybe now’s not the time to try and devote a bunch of time to running a marathon. Are you moving to a new state, starting a new job, or making other huge life changes? Maybe one of your goals should be focused on self care or stress management to help you during this hectic period of time. Think of ways to set goals that are simply just for fun instead of in the constant pursuit of improvement.

Imagine your ideal lifestyle

Ask yourself questions like what your ideal day looks like, what you want to learn, and who you want to spend time with. Imagine what the version of future you looks like–what things does she need to learn, what things does she need to lean into, what things does she need to let go of to be that version of herself?