ResoluteMake my plan
"Get fit." "Save more." "Read more." "Be happier."
Those aren't bad resolutions. They're just unfinished. None of them has a finish line, so none of them can ever be done. And a goal that can never be done is very easy to drop on a cold Tuesday in February.
So here's a list of New Year's resolution ideas for 2027 that does something different: every idea comes with a rewritten version you can actually measure.
How to use this list
Don't pick ten. Pick one idea per area of your life, at most four in total:
- Career – work, business, income
- Health & Fitness – body, energy, sleep
- Knowledge & Skills – a language, a craft, a field
- Relationships – partner, family, friends
These are the same four areas as the Wheel of Life. If you haven't scored yours yet, do it first. The area with the lowest score is usually where your best resolution is hiding.
Every idea below follows one of two shapes:
- A number you'll hit: From [where I am today] to [target] by [date].
- A moment that will happen: By [date], I'll have [moment].
Swap the numbers and dates for your own. The point is the shape, not my numbers.
Health & Fitness resolution ideas
- Get fit → From 0 to 3 workouts a week by February 28, and keep it all year.
- Start running → From 0 to running a 5K without stopping by March 31.
- Run a race → By October 15, I'll have crossed a half marathon finish line.
- Get stronger → From 0 to 10 full push-ups by May 31.
- Sleep better → From 6 to 7.5 hours a night, 5 nights a week, by March.
- Walk more → From about 4,000 to 8,000 steps a day, averaged weekly, by April.
- Drink less → From 4 drinking nights a week to 1, starting January.
- Eat better → Cook dinner at home 5 nights a week, from February on.
- Lose weight → From 90 kg to 82 kg by September 30 (and track the habits, not just the scale).
- Get flexible → By June 30, I'll be able to touch my toes, stretching 10 minutes a day.
Career resolution ideas
- Make more money → From $4K to $5K a month by December 31.
- Start a side hustle → From $0 to $1K a month from my side project by December 31.
- Launch the business → By June 30, I'll have my first 10 paying customers.
- Get promoted → By December 31, I'll have the senior title (and I've asked my manager exactly what it takes, in January).
- Change careers → By September 30, I'll have landed my first job in UX design.
- Build an audience → From 0 to 1,000 newsletter subscribers by June 30.
- Save money → From $0 to $6,000 in an emergency fund by December 31 ($500 a month).
- Pay off debt → From $8,000 to $0 on my credit card by November 30.
- Ship the project → By April 30, I'll have published the first version of my app.
- Network more → From 0 to 2 coffee chats a month with people in my field, all year.
Knowledge & Skills resolution ideas
- Learn a language → By October 31, I'll have held a 30-minute conversation in Spanish.
- Read more → From 3 to 12 books this year, one a month.
- Learn to code → By July 31, I'll have built and published one small web app.
- Learn an instrument → By December 31, I'll play three full songs on the guitar.
- Write → From 0 to 50,000 words of my novel's first draft by November 30.
- Get certified → By June 30, I'll have passed the exam for my certification.
- Learn to cook → From 2 to 20 recipes I can cook without looking them up, by December.
- Public speaking → By September 30, I'll have given a talk in front of 30+ people.
- Draw or paint → Fill one sketchbook a quarter, four by December 31.
- Less phone, more brain → From about 4 hours to under 2 hours of daily screen time by March 31.
Relationships resolution ideas
- Spend more time with family → Dinner with my parents every month, 12 this year.
- Call friends more → Call one friend every Sunday.
- Date night → From "when we can" to 2 date nights a month with my partner.
- Make new friends → By June 30, I'll have joined one club or class and gone 10 times.
- Be a better parent → 30 minutes of phone-free time with my kids, every weekday.
- Take the trip → By August 31, I'll have taken the trip with my parents we keep postponing.
- Reconnect → Message or meet one old friend a month, 12 this year.
- Host more → Host a dinner at home every month for a year.
- Volunteer → From 0 to 4 hours of volunteering a month, starting February.
- Be more present → No phone at the dinner table, every night, from January 1.
Turn your pick into a real plan
A measurable resolution is a big step up from "get fit." It's still not a plan.
Here's the shortest path from one of these ideas to something that survives February:
- Pick your Misogi. If you chose three or four ideas, circle the one that matters most: the one that gets protected when the year gets chaotic. (More on that in What is a Misogi?)
- Decide what you'll actually do, and how often. "From 0 to a 5K by March" becomes "run 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday, Saturday at 7am."
- Put it in your calendar. If it doesn't have a time, it doesn't exist.
- Plan for the bad days. Write one if-then plan for the thing most likely to stop you.
- Start before January 1. Do a test week in late December. You'll find out what doesn't fit while it's still cheap to fix it.
The whole system, step by step, is in How to have the best year of your life. Or make your free plan and Resolute walks you through it in a few minutes.
FAQ
What are good New Year's resolutions for 2027?
Good resolutions have a finish line. "Exercise more" is a wish. "From 0 to 3 workouts a week by February" is a goal. Pick one per area of your life (career, health, learning, relationships) and rewrite it with a number or a moment and a date.
How many New Year's resolutions should I have?
Fewer than you think. One per life area at most, so four, with one of them as your main goal. Ten resolutions pull you in ten directions, and by March you've done a little of everything and a lot of nothing.
How do I make a resolution measurable?
Use one of two sentences. For things you can count: "From [today] to [target] by [date]." For one-time events: "By [date], I'll have [moment]." If your resolution doesn't fit either one, keep rewriting it until it does.