New Year's Resolutions 2027: 60 Ideas and How to Actually Keep Them

By The Chief · 2026-11-03 · 8 min read · sources checked

Every year, millions of people make a promise to themselves on 1 January. By February, most of the gyms are quieter again, and the jokes about failed resolutions begin.

But here is what the jokes miss: resolutions work better than doing nothing, and a few simple choices make them far more likely to last. This guide is for anyone who wants 2027 to be different, gently and for real.

Do New Year's resolutions work?

Better than their reputation.

• In a study that followed people for six months, 46% of resolvers were still succeeding, compared with only 4% of people who wanted the same change but made no resolution (Norcross, Mrykalo & Blagys, 2002).
• In a large Swedish experiment with more than 1,000 people, 55% of those who reported back considered themselves successful after a full year (Oscarsson et al., 2020).

So the problem is not resolutions. The problem is the kind of resolution, and what happens on the first bad day.

What the research says makes a resolution stick

1. Make it an approach goal, not an avoidance goal

The same 2020 experiment found that approach-oriented goals succeeded 58.9% of the time, against 47.1% for avoidance-oriented goals. "Stop eating sugar" is avoidance. "Eat a piece of fruit with lunch every day" is approach. You move towards something instead of fighting something.

2. Use the fresh start, then make it small

Researchers call it the fresh start effect: new beginnings like a new year, a new month, a Monday or a birthday make people more likely to start aspirational behaviour (Dai, Milkman & Riis, 2014). 1 January is a powerful door. Walk through it with a step small enough to repeat on a tired Tuesday in February.

3. Decide when and where: "If it is X, I will do Y"

Plans of the form "When it is 7am and I have made coffee, I will write one page" are called implementation intentions. A meta-analysis of 94 studies found they had a medium-to-large effect on reaching goals (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006). Vague resolutions float. Specific ones land.

4. Expect it to take more than 21 days

In the best-known study of real-world habit formation, a new daily behaviour took a median of 66 days to become automatic, with a range from 18 to 254 days (Lally et al., 2010). That means early February is not the finish line. It is roughly halfway. Plan for that. More in how long it takes to form a habit.

5. Track it where you can see it

Monitoring your progress helps you reach goals, and the effect is stronger when progress is written down or shared (Harkin et al., 2016). A paper calendar on the fridge with a tick for each day is still one of the best tools ever invented.

Resolutions are easier with company. If you want daily tasks and a tribe that keeps you honest in 2027: request to join.

60 New Year's resolution ideas for 2027

Pick one to three. Rewrite each one as an approach goal with a time and a place.

Body

1. Walk 20 minutes after lunch, five days a week.
2. Drink a glass of water before every coffee.
3. Do 10 squats while the kettle boils.
4. Go to bed 30 minutes earlier on weeknights.
5. Stretch for five minutes before sleep.
6. Take the stairs whenever it is three floors or fewer.
7. Learn to swim, or swim once a week.
8. Try one beginner's class you have always been curious about.
9. Book the health check-up you keep postponing.
10. Get outside in daylight within an hour of waking.

Food

11. Add one vegetable to every dinner.
12. Cook a new recipe every Sunday.
13. Bring lunch from home three days a week.
14. Eat breakfast at a table, not at a screen.
15. Keep a bowl of fruit where the snacks used to be.
16. Learn five simple meals by heart.
17. Eat dinner with someone at least twice a week.
18. Read the label before you buy anything new.

Mind

19. Read 10 pages a day (about 12 books a year).
20. Write one line in a journal every night.
21. Keep your phone outside the bedroom.
22. Take one screen-free hour every evening.
23. Learn 10 words of a new language each week.
24. Sit in silence for five minutes every morning.
25. Finish one online course.
26. Write down three things that went well each Sunday.
27. Visit a museum or gallery once a month.
28. Try a dopamine detox one weekend a month.

Money

29. Save a fixed amount the day you are paid, before you spend.
30. Check your accounts every Friday for 10 minutes.
31. Cancel one subscription you no longer use each month.
32. Build an emergency fund, one small transfer at a time.
33. Wait 48 hours before any non-essential purchase.
34. Learn the basics of how your pension or retirement savings work.
35. Cook at home instead of ordering on weeknights.
36. Pay off the smallest debt first, then the next.

People

37. Call one friend or relative each week, just to talk.
38. Invite someone for a meal once a month.
39. Say yes to the next invitation you would normally decline.
40. Join a club, a class, a team or a volunteer group.
41. Write a thank-you note once a month.
42. Put the phone away during every conversation.
43. Plan one trip with someone you love.
44. Repair one relationship that matters to you.

Kindness

45. Do one random act of kindness every week.
46. Volunteer once a month.
47. Give blood, if you are able (check eligibility where you live).
48. Leave a kind review for a small business every month.
49. Check on an older neighbour each week.
50. Be as kind to yourself as you are to a friend (see self-compassion).

Purpose and growth

51. Try one new thing every month and write down what it taught you.
52. Spend one hour a week on a project that is only yours.
53. Ask for feedback at work once a quarter.
54. Learn a skill that could earn or save you money.
55. Answer one of these journal prompts for self-discovery each week.
56. Take the find your purpose quiz and run its three experiments.
57. Spend a weekend in "monk mode" on one meaningful project (see monk mode).
58. Say no to one obligation that drains you.
59. Write a letter to yourself to open on 31 December 2027.
60. Choose a word for the year and put it where you will see it.

A one-page plan for your 2027 resolution

Copy this onto paper:

1. My resolution (approach version): "I will..."
2. When and where: "When it is ___ and I am ___, I will ___."
3. The smallest version: what I will do on my worst day (two minutes counts).
4. The obstacle I expect: and what I will do when it shows up.
5. How I will track it: a calendar on the wall, a note on the phone, a friend.
6. The 66-day check: a date in early March to review and adjust.

Step 4 is borrowed from a method called mental contrasting: picture what you want, then the obstacle inside you, then your plan for it. Research by Gabriele Oettingen suggests this combination helps people act more than positive dreaming alone (Oettingen, 2012). For a full method, read how to set goals you actually keep.

Start before January

You do not need to wait for 1 January. Try your resolution for the last two weeks of December in its smallest version. When the new year arrives, you will not be starting. You will be continuing. That feels different.

If you want a structure, our free 30-day challenge generator builds a plan in one tap, or pick a ready plan such as the 30-day discipline challenge.

When you slip

You will slip. Everyone does. The research on habits found that missing one day did not stop a habit from forming (Lally et al., 2010). What ends resolutions is the story we tell ourselves after the slip: "I have failed, so why bother."

Our rule is simple: never miss twice. Miss Monday, show up on Tuesday. No restart, no guilt, no new year needed.

If you want a daily task and people beside you all year, not just in January: request to join.

Walking beside you,

The Chief

Sources

• Norcross, J. C., Mrykalo, M. S., & Blagys, M. D. (2002). Auld lang syne: Success predictors, change processes, and self-reported outcomes of New Year's resolvers and nonresolvers. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(4), 397-405. doi.org/10.1002/jclp.1151
• Oscarsson, M., Carlbring, P., Andersson, G., & Rozental, A. (2020). A large-scale experiment on New Year's resolutions: Approach-oriented goals are more successful than avoidance-oriented goals. PLOS ONE, 15(12), e0234097. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234097
• Dai, H., Milkman, K. L., & Riis, J. (2014). The fresh start effect: Temporal landmarks motivate aspirational behavior. Management Science, 60(10), 2563-2582. doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1901
• Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69-119. doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-1
• Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998-1009. doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674
• Harkin, B., Webb, T. L., Chang, B. P. I., et al. (2016). Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 142(2), 198-229. doi.org/10.1037/bul0000025
• Oettingen, G. (2012). Future thought and behaviour change. European Review of Social Psychology, 23(1), 1-63. doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2011.643698

Related reading: How to set goals you actually keep · How to be more disciplined · How long does it take to form a habit?

General information for wellbeing, not medical, psychological or financial advice. If you are struggling, see crisis help.