New Year’s Resolution Ideas: 10 Areas of Life To Include

With the arrival of a new year comes the opportunity to reflect on the previous 12 months, identify areas for improvement, and set intentions for how you can be your best self in the coming year. Whether you’re looking to reset after some personal challenges or simply want to take your life to the next level, setting New Year’s resolutions is a great way to start. Resolutions are not just about diet and exercise; they can help you focus on other aspects of your life that might need some attention. With that in mind, here are some New Year’s resolution ideas if you want to make 2023 your best year yet.

Career

Many of us either absolutely love our job, or simply value it for providing the lifestyles that we lead. No matter which statement applies to you personally, a career is an important part of our lives, providing us with the finances needed to have a roof over our heads and means of buying things and experiences that bring us joy.

What is more, you likely spend the majority of your days at work, so you want to feel fulfilled, challenged, and appreciated. You don’t want to be the person worried about getting fired every day, nor do you want to be the person responsible for making others feel that way. It is no surprise then, that your career and your professional life should definitely be taken into consideration when setting your New Year’s resolutions.

Make your career one of your top priorities by reflecting on your strengths and passions, and look for ways to apply them in your current role or seek out a new opportunity that aligns with your values.

Here are some examples of career-related New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Aim to get a pay rise that’s higher than inflation by the end of the year with a skillfully crafted plan.
2. Make delegating minor jobs to people you manage your New Year’s Resolution and free up valuable time to work on more important tasks.
3. Set a goal to have an honest conversation with people in your team about how they feel about their job and improvements that could be made at least once a quarter.
4. Make a goal of having your voice heard at work: make sure to speak up when you have a good idea, take leadership of projects that fall under your expertise and schedule regular meetings with your boss to have your ideas heard.
5. Organise a team-bonding event this year for your team.
6. Complete a course (maybe an online course?) to improve your skills and become better at your job, and make your efforts to improve at what you do, known to your management team (subtly, of course – nobody likes arrogance).
7. Offer to hold a workshop or a lecture for your coworkers to teach them about your area of expertise.
8. Set a numeric goal for each set period of time: number of calls to potential clients you’re going to make each day, properties you are going to clean each week, blog posts you are going to publish each month.
9. If you do not enjoy your place of work or your line of work altogether, make it your goal to do something about it: see a career counsellor, attend a few interviews to establish if there is a place you’d rather work, and explore possibilities of self-employment and entrepreneurship.
10. Make it your goal this year to ask questions and get your curiosity satisfied at work. You will become more knowledgeable, gain the respect of your colleagues and become better at what you do, all leading to bright future career prospects.

Relationships

We spend the majority of our time outside of work with our friends, family and loved ones. But often we put our relationships on autopilot and don’t make an attempt to work on them. Long are the days when people believe that true love or true friendship should require no work or effort. Relationships do not just happen naturally, they require building up, nurturing and maintenance.

Make it a New Year’s resolution to put some effort into your relationships. Try to identify areas where you could improve and work on them. You don’t have to do everything at once, but making a conscious effort as part of your daily/ weekly/ monthly routine will go a long way.

Here are some examples of how you can become a better wife, husband, son, daughter or friend over the coming year:

1. Make a list of all the birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions at the start of the year and make it your goal not to miss an opportunity to say Happy Birthday or Congratulations to any of your family members and friends!
2. Let a monthly date night with your loved one become a new norm that nobody can get in the way of.
3. Work on a habit of setting aside an hour of your time every Sunday night to speak to your loved one about deeper things that you don’t get to talk about in everyday life: your goals, your aspirations, your internal battles and your successes.
4. Make a new habit to express gratitude to your friends, family and your other half. Give your loved ones a call, say thank you more, and leave a note to your husband or wife to let them know how much you appreciated them doing something for you.
5. Organize a surprise party for your friend or family member this year!

Fitness

New Year’s Fitness Resolutions are amongst one of the two most popular ones at the beginning of the new year. Rightly so! A regular fitness routine can reduce stress, improve sleep, increase energy, and help you manage your overall emotions; all of which can improve your productivity and performance at work. Additionally, it can improve your health and reduce your risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. The best part is that pursuing fitness doesn’t require a lot of time. You can find an activity that works with your schedule!

What is more, you do not have to spend money on a gym membership or personal trainers to get in better shape, so there is no excuse for you not to include some fitness goals in your New Year’s resolutions this year!

1. Make 12k steps every single day (that you’re not ill or injured).
2. Make a goal to not drive anywhere that’s less than 3km away: walk, jog, or cycle!
3. At least try working at a standing desk for 1 month if you have a sedentary job. If you cannot get on with it, that’s fine, but it may be a brilliant way to keep more active for 8 hours a day!
4. Make it a goal to try your hand at a new activity: find a squash or tennis club, join a beginner’s running group locally or see if a weekly Saturday hike in the local area may take your fancy! You may never know – you may find something you love to keep you fit!
5. Make a deal with yourself that you will only watch your favourite programs on Netflix if you’re on your stationary bike!
6. Set a goal to start each day with a short walk and a 15-minute yoga session!
7. Walk your dog at least 15 minutes longer each day next year!

Eating Habits

The foods you eat can have an enormous impact on your mental, emotional, and physical health. New Year’s is the ideal time to look back at your eating habits and see where you can make improvements. Make sure your diet includes plenty of whole grains and fruits while limiting processed foods and sugary treats. If you’re struggling to make healthy eating a daily habit, try partnering it with another daily routine such as brushing your teeth or taking the dog for a walk. These mini habits can help you make healthy choices a natural part of your daily routine.

Some of the worthwhile New Year’s resolutions about your eating habits may include:

1. Reduce your refined sugar intake by only having dessert after dinner twice a week.
2. Set a goal of having at least two different vegetables with your lunch and your dinner (and potato doesn’t count!)
3. Make your own snacks from scratch this year to ensure you reduce your sugar, salt and additive intake
4. Book a blood test with your doctor to make sure there are no specific vitamins or minerals that you are deprived of.
5. Make it your New Year’s Resolution to fill up a 2-litre bottle with water every morning and finish drinking it by the end of the day.
6. Set a goal to have 50% fewer takeaways this year, and cook healthier (and cheaper) versions of your favourite dishes at home.
7. If you want to lose weight, start small. Observe how many calories you consume on an ordinary day for a week. Then reduce the calories by 5% each day. This way, you won’t feel the pain and you’re much more likely to stick to your goals.

Your Environment

The state of your home and work environments can have a huge impact on your productivity and general well-being. If you struggle with being productive at home or at work, or if you feel like you need to be somewhere else to get the job done, your environment might be part of the problem. Start by purging your home of distractions. It can be tempting to keep your favourite knick-knacks and decorative items, but if they add more burden than a benefit, they need to go. Similarly, decluttering your workspace can help reduce distractions and increase focus.

1. Make a goal to tidy up your desk every day just before leaving work.
2. Fold the clothes that you are going to re-wear or put them in the laundry basket straight away.
3. Make a realistic house/ apartment cleaning schedule and work it into your daily to-do lists. Do not forget to get your family or flatmates involved!
4. Declutter your computer desktop and email inbox once a week.
5. Have monthly projects of getting rid of things you no longer use or want going room by room every month. Don’t forget the attic, garage, basement and storage unit you are paying for.
6. Separate the areas in your house to serve specific purposes: the bedroom should not be a place you ever do work, the dining room is not for watching TV whilst eating and your hall should not be a temporary recycling centre for Amazon cardboard boxes.

Travelling and Exploration

Taking time to travel can be an amazing experience, but it can also be a great way to learn more about yourself. When you remove yourself from your usual surroundings, you give yourself the opportunity to reflect on the things you want out of life and set new goals based on what you learn. Even if you don’t have the money to go on an exotic vacation, you can still make the most of New Year’s by reflecting on your goals and priorities and setting some New Year’s resolutions that help you get there. When you travel, you also have the chance to make connections with new people and see new places. This can help you grow as a person by expanding your perspective and making you more empathetic.

1. Make your ultimate travel bucket list and start ticking things off starting now!
2. If you can plan ahead, try and schedule your holidays in advance and start planning right away: you may be able to save money by planning ahead and prolonging the anticipation of the holiday!
3. If travelling is out of your budget right now, make a list of 20 things within a 50-mile radius, and make it your New Year’s resolution to have visited all of the places on the list by the end of the year.
4. If you are unable to go outside your house for longer periods of time, turn to your garden to explore the varieties of plants and animals that visit it. Alternatively, explore the world via the internet, see all the amazing places across the globe, go on virtual museum tours and watch the best operas at La Scala.
5. Make it your goal to start a travel journal, capturing your thoughts and emotions evoked by all the new places you visit!
6. Collaborate with your family and friends to have dinner parties after one of your travels somewhere exciting: cook food that’s typical in the country you visited, share newly gained knowledge about the culture and traditions of the people you met on your travels and expand your horizons together!

Finances

If you’re struggling to make ends meet or have some expensive plans for the future, now is the time to set some New Year’s resolutions that help you get your finances on track. Begin by assessing your current situation and setting concrete goals around reducing debt, increasing your savings, and improving your spending habits. You can also try improving your financial situation by pursuing side hustles or finding ways to increase your income.

Here are some examples of worthwhile New Year’s Resolutions that could help you achieve your financial goals:

1. Make it your goal to set a monthly budget on the first day of each month and stick to it!
2. Challenge yourself to reduce the number of takeouts you get by 50%.
3. Save money by only allowing yourself to buy one cup of takeaway coffee a week.
4. Make it your goal to buy birthday and Christmas presents in post-Christmas sales.
5. Invest in home manicure/ UV light and some gel nail varnish and make it your goal to save 90% of the money you spend on manicurists.
6. Unsubscribe from Netflix for 6 busiest months of the year.
7. Make it a year you only go on no-spend dates with your special someone to save on expensive restaurants and cinemas. We have many free date ideas for you!
8. Make it your goal this year to waste no food! Plan your meals carefully and find innovative uses for all your leftovers.
9. Dedicate the time to find the best savings account out there to maximise interest rates!
10. Make it your goal to shop around every time your insurance or utilities contract is about to review to get the best deal!

Mental Health & Wellness

Our mental and emotional health can have a significant impact on our physical health, so it’s important to make sure they are both maintained. One of the best ways to improve your mental health and wellness is to find a supportive community that you can be open and honest with. This could be friends, family, or members of an organization. Another great way to improve your mental health is to practice some form of mindfulness or meditation. These activities have been proven to reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep, and increase overall well-being.

Here are some examples of Mental Health-related New Year’s Resolutions for your to consider:

1. Get to know yourself! Start a journal to write down what makes you happy and what makes you anxious and apply your findings to do more of what brings you joy and avoid the stress-makers.
2. Set a goal to read 3 books on mindfulness, mental health and emotional intelligence this year.
3. Try meditation.
4. Schedule an hour each week for self-care and relaxing activities.
5. Find an (online or in-person) group of people that share your interests or struggles and whom you can lean on when you need support.

Hobbies and Fun

As children, we had all sorts of interests and hobbies that we let fall to the wayside once we became adults. Now is the time to pick them back up again: find something you enjoy, and do it whenever you can. Having hobbies and fun can help you relieve stress, find new creative outlets, and meet new people. It can also help you avoid falling into a rut and feeling like you are in a constant state of work-life balance. Having fun can also be a great way to meet new people and make new friends. This can be helpful if you’re feeling lonely, or if you’re looking for people with similar interests to connect with.

1. Have you been a keen ice skater when you were a child, but never find the time to get back to your passion for it as an adult? Schedule a couple of hours each month to dedicate to your childhood hobby.
2. Find a hobby that all your family members can enjoy and make it your goal to practice it on regular basis.
3. Try something new to expand your horizons. Are there things that you were always interested in, but never actually had a go at? Your New Year’s resolution could be to go skydiving, learn to ride a bike or attend dance classes.

Education & Further Development

Finally, if you are feeling stuck, have hit a plateau, or otherwise feel like you need to take your life to the next level, now is the time to set some New Year’s resolutions that help you do just that. Begin by reflecting on the areas of your life that need the most attention, and then research ways you can improve. You may want to pursue further education, read more, or find a mentor who can help guide you. For example:

1. Take your baking skills to a new level by attending French Patisserie classes.
2. Start learning a language that your distant relatives speak, or the language of the country that you love going on holiday to.
3. If your garden has been neglected for years, but you would love to learn more about gardening – this is the time! Set aside a couple of hours a week in winter to read books, and research landscaping or vegetable-growing tips. Then implement your newly gained knowledge in the summer months!
4. Learn to use Excel/ Google Sheets – not only it will help you in most professional settings, but it will help you budget and manage other household activities.
5. Make a deal with your husband/ wife/ sister/ flatmate to teach each other all about what you do for a living by setting aside an hour a week to exchange your knowledge.

Bottom Line

New Year’s resolutions are a great way to make sure you stay on track with your goals throughout the year. Not only do they help you keep on track and give you something to work towards, but they’re also a great way to keep your standards high and continue aiming for things that are good for you. These resolutions can be broken down into different areas – whether it’s your personal, professional or even spiritual life.

These New Year’s resolution ideas should give you some inspiration and help you get started on setting your own resolutions. Now all that’s left is to get to work. Happy New Year!

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