New Year's Resolution Ideas You'll Keep Past January

A note before the list: we make Tribute, the group video maker, and it's one of the 15 ideas.

How do you choose New Year's resolution ideas you'll keep?

Frame it as something to start, not something to stop. In a study of 1,066 people published in PLOS ONE, 55% considered themselves successful a year later, and those with approach goals ("walk more") succeeded more often than those with avoidance goals ("stop snacking"): 58.9% against 47.1%.

Make it small and specific enough that you'd know on any given day whether you did it. "Get healthy" fails that test; "walk 20 minutes after dinner" passes. Then tell one person, because goal setting with a witness is harder to drop without anyone noticing.

You'd be in good company. A Pew Research Center survey found that 30% of Americans made at least one resolution for 2024, including 49% of adults under 30. Of those, 87% said a few weeks in that they had kept at least some of them.

What are good health resolution ideas?

Health is the most common area for resolutions, which is also why these goals get vague. Pick one of these three and write down when it happens.

1. Walk 20 minutes after dinner

A walk after dinner needs no gym, no gear and no new schedule; it slots into the time you'd spend scrolling. Bring a partner, a dog or a podcast. On rainy nights, walk the hallway or do laps of the house during the dishes.

• First step: Map a 20-minute loop from your front door
• Cost: Nothing

Best for: Anyone who sits at a desk all day.

Why it works: It hangs on a habit you already have, eating dinner.

2. Add one vegetable to lunch

Instead of cutting foods, add one. Carrots with a sandwich, a side salad with leftovers, frozen peas in the noodles. Adding is easier to keep than cutting because there's nothing to miss.

• First step: Buy a bag of baby carrots or snap peas on your next shop
• Cost: A few dollars a week

Best for: Busy weekday eaters.

Why it works: It's an approach goal, the kind the PLOS ONE study found people keep more often.

3. Lights out by 11

Pick a bedtime and set a phone alarm for 30 minutes before it, the signal to start winding down. Charge the phone outside the bedroom if you can. Give it two weeks before you judge it.

• First step: Set a recurring alarm for 10:30 p.m.
• Cost: Nothing, or a cheap alarm clock

Best for: Night owls who feel it at 3 p.m.

Why it works: The alarm does the remembering for you.

What are good resolutions about the people in your life?

Relationship goals are easy to make and easy to forget, because nothing reminds you. Tie each one to a date or a day of the week.

4. Make one person's big day this year (a Tribute group video)

Write down the milestones coming up in your circle: a parent's 70th, a friend's retirement, a cousin's graduation, a grandparent's anniversary. Pick one and resolve to make it count by gathering everyone who loves that person into one video. Tribute is a group video maker that turns messages from friends and family into one surprise video. It works by inviting everyone to record a short clip from their phone; Tribute compiles the clips, music and photos into a finished video you share or play together.

Unlike a group card that gets signed in a rush, a Tribute carries everyone's face and voice, and the people who live far away can record whenever it suits them. Over 8 million videos have been sent on Tribute, and it holds 4.9 stars from 7,000+ reviews.

• First step: Put the date in your calendar and open the Tribute 2 to 3 weeks before it
• Cost: Free to start a draft; you pay from $35 when you publish and start collecting videos

Best for: The person in the family who always organizes the gift.

Why it works: It's one clear action with a deadline, and someone you love gets the payoff.

👉 Start a Tribute

5. Call one person every Sunday

Make a list of 12 people you miss, from your college roommate to your great-aunt, and call one each Sunday. When you reach the end of the list, start again. Twenty minutes on the phone beats a year of "we should catch up" texts.

• First step: Write the list and put a Sunday reminder in your phone
• Cost: Nothing

Best for: Anyone whose friends scattered after school or a move.

Why it works: A fixed day turns good intentions into a habit.

6. Host a monthly dinner

Pick a standing date, such as the first Friday, and invite a few people over for soup, pasta or tacos. Keep the menu the same if that helps; the point is the table, not the food. Say your neighbors on the left never come, then turn up in March with a pie and stay until eleven.

• First step: Choose the date and text three people
• Cost: $30 to $60 a month

Best for: New neighbors and friends with busy calendars.

Why it works: A recurring date means nobody has to plan from scratch.

What are good money resolutions?

Money goals stick when the hard part happens without you. Set them up once in January.

7. Pay yourself first

Set up an automatic transfer to savings the day after each paycheck, even $25. You won't miss money you never see in your checking account. Raise the amount by $10 every three months.

• First step: Set the transfer in your bank's app
• Cost: Whatever you choose to save

Best for: Savers who mean to, then forget.

Why it works: The default does the work, not your willpower.

8. One no-spend weekend a month

Circle one weekend a month where you spend nothing beyond groceries and gas. Fill it with a hike, a library trip, a board game night or a movie you already own. Compared to a strict budget, it's one weekend of rules instead of thirty days.

• First step: Mark four weekends on the calendar before February
• Cost: Negative, which is the point

Best for: Couples and families who want to save together.

Why it works: It's short enough to feel like a game.

What resolutions help you grow?

These four are about learning and attention. Pick one; doing all four at once is how resolutions die in February.

9. Read a book a month

Twelve books a year is a goal you can track and finish. Mix one long book with eleven short ones, and keep the next book on your nightstand before you finish the current one. Library apps make it cheap.

• First step: Get a library card and borrow one book this week
• Cost: Nothing with a library card

Best for: Lapsed readers who miss it.

Why it works: A monthly target gives you room for a slow week.

10. Cook five new dinners

Learn five dinners well enough to make them without the recipe. That's one new dish every ten weeks. By December, you have a rotation that beats takeout on taste and price.

• First step: Choose dinner number one and buy the ingredients
• Cost: Your regular grocery bill

Best for: Takeout regulars.

Why it works: Five is a number you can finish.

11. Pick a word of the year

Choose one word that sums up how you want the year to feel, such as "steady", "brave", "outside" or "enough". Write it on a sticky note on the bathroom mirror. When a choice comes up, ask which option fits the word.

• First step: Write down five candidates and sleep on them
• Cost: A sticky note

Best for: People who hate lists and still want direction.

Why it works: One word is easy to remember on a hard day.

12. Make a vision board

Cut images and words from old magazines, print a few photos and glue them to a poster board that hangs where you'll see it. Include one picture for each goal. Make it a group activity on New Year's Day with snacks and a pile of scissors.

• First step: Collect magazines from friends in December
• Cost: $10 for a board and glue

Best for: Visual planners and crafty friend groups.

Why it works: You see your goals every day without opening an app.

What are good family goals for the new year?

Family resolutions work when kids help pick them. Keep them few and visible.

13. A family goals jar

On New Year's Eve, each person writes one goal for the family on a slip of paper: a camping trip, Friday pizza night, learning to swim. Put the slips in a jar and pull one each month to plan. Older kids can run the planning; younger ones pick the slip.

• First step: Find a jar and some paper
• Cost: Nothing

Best for: Households with kids of any age.

Why it works: Every month has something to look forward to.

14. A habit tracker for kids

Give each child a sticker chart with one habit: reading 15 minutes, making the bed, feeding the dog. Ten stickers earn a small reward they chose in advance. Teens can use a habit tracker app instead, and if you're still shopping for one, our guide to Christmas gifts for teens has ideas that suit a fresh start.

• First step: Print a chart and buy a sheet of stickers
• Cost: A few dollars

Best for: Kids ages 5 to 12.

Why it works: Kids can see their progress grow on the fridge.

15. Phones-down dinners

Put a basket by the table and every phone goes in it at dinner, parents first. Start with three nights a week and add more if it sticks. Use the time for one question each: best part of the day, worst part, something funny.

• First step: Buy or find a basket
• Cost: Nothing

Best for: Families with teens.

Why it works: The basket makes the rule visible, so nobody has to nag.

How do you stick with resolutions after January?

Write the resolution down, track it on a calendar or habit tracker and check in on the first of each month. If you miss a week, restart the next day instead of waiting for next year. Small wins add up faster than big plans.

Making resolutions together makes them easier to keep. Turn it into part of the night with our New Year's Eve activities, or hand out pocket planners as New Year's party favors so guests leave with a place to write their goals.

Still wrapping up December? Our holiday season guide covers the weeks before the new year.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most common New Year's resolutions?

Health tops the list. In Pew's survey of resolutions for 2024, 79% of people who made one had a health goal, followed by money (61%), relationships (57%), hobbies (55%) and work (49%).

How many people keep their New Year's resolutions?

In a one-year study published in PLOS ONE, 55% of participants considered themselves successful. People with approach goals, such as starting a habit, did better than those trying to avoid or quit something.

What is a good first New Year's resolution for kids?

One small daily habit with a sticker chart, such as reading 15 minutes or making the bed. Let the child choose the reward in advance. Keep it to one habit so they can see the chart fill up.

What is a word of the year?

A single word that sums up how you want the year to feel, used in place of or alongside resolutions. You keep it somewhere visible and use it to guide choices. Examples include "steady", "brave" and "outside".

What are New Year's resolution ideas that aren't about weight?

Call one person every Sunday, read a book a month, cook five new dinners, host a monthly dinner or make someone's big day with a group video. Each has a clear action and a way to know you did it.

When should you start a New Year's resolution?

Start with one small step in the first week of January, then build. You can also start any Monday; the calendar matters less than a specific first action.

👉 Start a Tribute and make this the year someone you love hears what they mean to everyone.