8 Alternatives to New Year’s Resolutions

I’ve never been great at New Year’s resolutions. Adding things to my to-do list seems counterproductive, and by mid-March, my well-intended resolutions have gone down the drain. The good news is that there are so many other options! So, if you don’t feel like making New Year’s resolutions this year, here are 8 alternatives to New Years resolutions to challenge yourself differently!

Take a life audit.

Grade yourself in each area of your life; relationships, work, health, and finances, and determine what you need to do to raise your grade. Make those things a focus for the year.

Create a bucket list for the new year.

Pick one thing that you’d like to do, see, or be every month of the year. Try a new food, make a snowman, get up early to watch the sunrise, connect with an old friend, attend a murder mystery dinner, have family portraits taken…

Create a monthly 30-day challenge.

Pick small goals that can be achieved in 30 days. Kick off with decluttering by throwing out/donating/giving away or selling one thing every day, track your spending for 30 days to see where your money is really going, take a 30-day 10,0000 steps challenge, do a 30-day random act of kindness challenge…

Create a yearly challenge.

Do you want to read a specific amount of books by the end of the year or save a particular amount of money? Learn a new language? Journal every day for the year? Talk to someone new every day for a year, watch 52 films in 52 weeks, try a new recipe every week for a year…

Choose one word to focus on.

Choose one word for the year that encompasses how you want to approach the new year, who you want to be, or how you want to live. If your word is Relax, you’ll focus on finding balance and taking care of yourself. Other ideas could be Mindfulness, Strength, Balance, Joy, Brave, Create, Discover, Connect…

Wipe the slate clean and start over.

Pick an area in your life that you want a redo on. Your wardrobe, eating habits, your sleep schedule, your finances, your calendar/commitments…

Use prompts.

One person you’ll spend more time with, one habit you want to break, one thing you want to create, one person you want to forgive, one unhealthy food you want to stop eating, one fear you will overcome, one way you’re going to relax, one thing you will no longer tolerate…

Create a list.

Write down a list of things you’re looking forward to this year. This starts the new year on the right foot, and you’ll feel more hopeful.

I hope 8 Alternatives to New Year’s resolutions was helpful and gave you some ideas to kick off the new year. Which one are you going to try? Let me know in the comments!