I love New Year’s resolutions, and I’ve been setting them every year for as long as I can remember. Some definitely fall through the cracks, but overall, my resolutions have always been relatively achievable. Life is chaotic, so setting resolutions can help bring some spotlight back on your dreams and goals; to me, that’s reason enough to set new ones each year.
When inspiration strikes, and you want to set some resolutions to kick off your fresh calendar year, taking the first step can be tricky, especially when you want your resolutions to be intentional and meaningful. You may want to pick up reading, move your body, eat more veggies, etc, but how do you turn these wishes into practice?
There is a difference between a resolution list and a bucket list. A resolution is something you want to change, while a goal or a bucket list item is something you want to achieve or experience. Resolutions can help you reach your goals, but they aren’t the same. You may find yourself writing down bucket list items amidst an inspiration burst you get from the new year, but these activities belong on a separate list. If skydiving or swimming with whale sharks ends up on your resolution list (speaking from experience), move them to your bucket list and make a resolution to cross a number of new things off your bucket list this year. Having an ongoing bucket list is another fruitful straw to stick into life and chug:)
This two-part resolution guide will help you formulate your thoughts into resolutions and manifest your resolutions into reality. You already have everything you need to be your best self and live your dream life; it’s bubbling inside you, and now’s the time to unleash it. All those thoughts, dreams, and pulls you have circling your brain? They’re in your head for a reason, and it’s because you’re meant to achieve them. Energy goes where intention flows.
How to Set New Year’s Resolutions
A solid New Year’s Resolutions list spans all areas of your life. After all, growth never comes from a comfort zone.
Below, I’ve laid out different categories for your resolutions, with some questions to get your wheels turning, and your task is to reflect on what each category means to you. Grab your journal or a piece of paper, and take each category one at a time. Get deep with yourself, and find what you truly want from life and what you want to work towards. Remember: resolutions are things you want to change/improve/implement. Shoot for the moon!
Mental Health
Kicking off the categories is arguably the most important of all: your mental health. How do you check in with yourself? Do you prioritize things that make you happy in your schedule? Do you want to start a therapy journey? Who can you spend more time with to boost your mood? Where do you find your inspiration, and how can you get more of it? Do you have a daily practice, like journaling, that grounds you? Are you getting enough sunlight? Want to try dry January? Are there people you can unfollow on social media that make you feel bad? Do you move your body often to release endorphins? Are you getting enough sleep? Do you want to spend more time in nature? Can you take more breaks throughout the day to give your brain a break?
Hobbies
Hobbies are essential for a meaningful and thriving life. Hobbies are a two-part deal: 1. knowing what activities make you happy and 2. making time to do those things regularly. What do you like to do in your free time? If time were to freeze suddenly, and you could spend an endless amount of time pursuing something that wasn’t related to your career or technology, what would you do? How do you make time for your hobbies in your schedule? Do you want to take a pottery class? What are your favorite things to do in nature? How can you share your hobbies with other people? Are you okay with having fun with something while being bad at it or not focusing on improving at it? What were your favorite hobbies as a kid? When was the last time you felt most alive, what were you doing?
I have some of my hobbies scheduled into my morning and night routines; the ones I am hoping to do daily, like stretching, language practice, and reading. On the other hand, when I have random free time and want to spend it doing something that makes me happy, I have a hobby list that I can turn to and pick something that sounds fun in the moment. This is a great tool to keep on hand to keep you off your phone in your downtime.
Screen Time
This is becoming a crucial category for countless people. Get real with yourself and change the narrative. No one can make these changes for you but yourself and this new year is an opportunity to implement new habits. Do you want 2025 to be another year with hours wasted to the demon that is modern technology? Or would you rather take that time back and spend it learning Italian?
What screen boundaries do you want to set? What apps have you outgrown that you can delete? How does time spent on social media make you feel? What can you replace scrolling through Instagram with? How can you create a life that doesn’t revolve around your phone? When do you typically find yourself glued to your phone, and how can you prevent that from happening? Do you leave your phone in a different room when you go to bed? What activities make you forget to check your phone? Do you actually need to bring your phone with you everywhere you go? Have fun with this. If you need more inspiration on how to ditch your phone addiction, read my blog post: Instagram Gives Me the Ick.
Relationships
Our environment is a summation of our relationships: the one we have with ourselves, family, coworkers, friends, partners, neighbors, society, pets, nature, etc. How do you show up in your relationships? Do you want to learn your love languages? Do you know your partner’s love language? Do you have an attachment type? How often do you call home? Do you make time for family? Are your friendships a two-way street, or is someone pulling all the weight? Are you giving your pet the attention and TLC it deserves? Do you know your neighbors? Do you smile at people you walk past? Do you prioritize self-care? What communication styles work for you? What are your boundaries? What language do you use when you talk to yourself? Do you give others the benefit of the doubt?
Think of the eight most important relationships in your life, write them down, and for each, write one area in which you’d like to see growth.
Fitness
What does your movement routine look like? How often are you moving your body? Do you like to workout alone or with a group? How do you feel after finishing a workout? Do you want to stretch more? Train for a race? Join a run club? Try out a gym? Get a standing desk at work? Start lifting weights? Take a yoga class? What helps motivate you on days you “don’t feel like it”? What’s your “why”?
Regarding fitness, variability and enjoyment are the cures for burnout. It is vital that you enjoy your movement, so find some things that work for you. For the girls, cycle-syncing your workouts is a great way to balance your hormones and feel your best when moving.
Another key factor to reflect on is the time of day that works best for you to get your movement in if you haven’t figured that out for yourself already; this can also change in different waves of your life. I used to be a second-half-of-the-day workout girl because I was always used to having my sports practices after school, but I’ve now realized I love the feeling of a first-half-of-the-day workout. Movement in the morning also helps my ADHD brain stay motivated throughout the day.
Spirituality
If you are spiritual in any way, this can be a good time to reflect on your spiritual health.
Fruits & Vegetables
This category could more easily be called diet or food, but at the end of the day, eating more fruits & veggies is the ultimate goal. If you have goals to cook more, buy produce from farmers’ markets, limit alcohol consumption, swap out toxic culinary utensils, etc, this is the section to reflect on the foods you eat and the things you drink, if you so choose.
How many fruits & veggies are you getting in a week? Do you drink enough water every day? Does meal prepping help you eat more foods that make you feel good? Are you setting enough time aside to eat breakfast in the morning (starting your day or working out on an empty stomach can lead to hormone imbalances in women)? What are your favorite fruits & veggies? Do you know how to properly cook produce? Do you know how to shop for which foods are in season to increase nutrient content?
I already buy the majority of my produce from the farmers’ market and eat a vegetarian diet, but in 2025, I want to limit all fake foods that are linked to poor brain health/disease/fatigue/etc. For the girls, if you haven’t learned about cycle syncing your foods to your seasons, try it and watch it uplevel your year.
Professional Development
What’s your dream job? What are you doing to achieve it? How is your current work-life balance? Do you want to reinvent your workspace? How can you make your time at the office more enjoyable? How can you improve your time management? Are you learning new skills? How can you connect with and expand your network? Do you want to take a risk and go to graduate school or follow a dream career path this year? Is there a promotion you’ve been wanting to self-advocate for? Do you have a mentor at your company from whom you can start asking more questions? How can you incorporate self-care into your work day?
Community
Creating a sense of belonging beyond your home’s walls can completely change how you see the world. Giving to something greater than yourself, especially in your community, will change your perspective and possibly your life. Do you feel like you have a sense of community where you live? Do you want to start volunteering at a dog shelter or community kitchen? Do you say “hi” to your neighbors? How do you make your house feel like a home? Can you do more of your shopping at local businesses? Do you have a farmers market near you? What kind of energy do you put out into the world when you leave and come home? Do you pick up trash when you’re out and about? Have you been eyeing your neighborhood’s run club? Do you want to start your own neighborhood club? Could you buy/sell things on your local marketplace?
Money
The new year is a great time to reflect on money. There is a lot of encouraged spending in the holidays, and some resolutions flirt with the idea of more spending in the new year. Reflecting on what you value spending money on and how you view money will set you up for monetary empowerment in 2025.
Do you want to learn about investing? Start tracking your spending? Set up a travel fund? Make more money? Start budgeting? Take on a low-spend year? Commit to shopping second-hand for a month? Start making your coffee at home? This is the section to reflect on your monetary goals for the new year, and start implementing the habits to reach them.
Sustainability
If you’re into the Earth thing, set resolutions to meet your sustainable goals. There are two environmental pillars that I live by: 1. what’s best for the environment is best for your health, and 2. the most sustainable option is the cheapest. There is a lot of greenwashing and healthwashing out there, making decision-making hard to navigate. Don’t be so hard on yourself as a consumer because, ultimately, the state of biodiversity and our environment is on the shoulders of big corporations and governments, not the person. Do what you can and do what makes you happy:)
Where can you put your reusable bags to remember them for the grocery store? Do you bring a reusable cup to the coffee shop? Do you fall victim to fast-fashion trends and buy unnecessary things you don’t even want? Can you meal prep meatless meals to make it easier on you when it’s time to cook? Bring your reusable water bottle when you leave the house? How can you swap walking or biking for driving in your routine? Put on more clothes instead of turning up the heat? Is there a beach cleanup near you that you want to participate in? Can you rethink your consumption habits and start enjoying the clothes you already have? Can you try living without Amazon for a month? Turn the shower off while you scrub and the tap while you brush? Can you buy produce from a farmers market once a week? … If it’s yellow let it mellow if it’s brown flush it down? Want to check out some thrift shops with a friend and make a day out of it? Turn off the overhead lights when you leave a room? Limit single-use plastics?
Minimalism
Have you been wanting to purge your closet? Rethink your consumption habits? Set intentions that help you resist online shopping? See your space declutter and your brain clear up? Figure out where you want to start on your minimalism journey and where you want to feel a weight off of your shoulders by the end of the new year.
I hope these categories help you create a meaningful list of resolutions!
This upcoming year already feels unprecedented for me. I’ve jumped into a new era of challenging myself and pushing my limits, and I feel like I’m going into 2025 with an already rigorous foundation for my goals and aspirations. I couldn’t be more stoked to see where this journey heads. I’ve always been driven, but now I’m ascending to the next level. It’s time to switch the narrative and see what doing more hard things produces.
I started 2024 with a craving for adventure and an urge to wander, and I’m ending 2024 with a new desire to seek the depths of my fears and the heights of my limits. 2025 will be a year of discipline, challenge, patience, growth, and discovery.
Cheers to the new year! Thanks for reading.
Xx
