New Year's Resolution Ideas for 2027: 100 Ideas (+ Bingo Card)

Good New Year’s resolution ideas have two things in common: you can tell when they’re done, and you can start them in the first week of January. “Read 12 books” beats “read more,” and “pick January’s book and put it on your pillow” beats waiting for inspiration. Below are 100 ideas for 2027 in 10 areas of life, each worded that way and paired with a first step, plus a free resolution bingo card for the ones you want to try without making a big promise.

A simple way to use the list: choose one to three resolutions that would change the year most, and put the smaller ideas on a bingo card.

The most common New Year’s resolutions

In a YouGov poll of 1,104 American adults in December 2025, 31% said they would make a resolution or set a goal for 2026: 43% of people under 45 and 21% of those 45 and older. The most common picks, as a share of all adults:

Resolution for 2026	Share of US adults
Exercise more	25%
Be happier	23%
Eat healthier	22%
Save more money	21%
Improve physical health	21%
Spend more time with family	15%

Pew Research Center’s January 2024 survey found much the same shape: 30% of adults had made at least one resolution, and among them 79% had a resolution about health, exercise or diet, 61% about money, 57% about relationships, 55% about hobbies and 49% about work. Health and money top the list every year. That’s fine: the ideas below just make them specific.

How to choose your resolutions

• Pick one to three big ones. Each needs a weekly slot and some attention, and past three, some get none. The rest can go on a bingo card or a “not now” list.
• Choose what you’d enjoy doing, not just what you’d enjoy having done. In a study of New Year’s resolutions by Kaitlin Woolley and Ayelet Fishbach, how much people enjoyed pursuing their resolution predicted whether they were still at it, and how much they valued its long-term benefits didn’t. If you hate running, “walk 8,000 steps a day” will last longer than “run a marathon.”
• Word it as something to start. In a study of 1,066 people by Martin Oscarsson and colleagues, 58.9% of those with approach goals, something to start, considered themselves successful a year later, compared with 47.1% of those with avoidance goals, something to stop. There’s a table for this below.
• Make it countable. “Read 12 books” tells you in March whether you’re on track; “read more” never does. For the full method, see our SMART goals template.
• Give it a first step in January. Every idea below has one.

100 New Year’s resolution ideas for 2027

Health and fitness

Resolution	Start in January with
Run a 5K by spring	Sign up for a race in April or May, then run-walk 20 minutes three times a week.
Do 100 workouts this year	Put two workouts a week in your calendar, same days, same time.
Walk 8,000 steps a day	Walk for 15 minutes after lunch on workdays.
Stretch 10 minutes a day for 30 days	Leave a mat next to the bed and stretch before you get in.
Do 20 push-ups in a row	Do as many as you can every other day and write the number down.
Hike 12 trails, one a month	Pick January’s trail tonight.
Swim 1 km without stopping	Book two lane swims a week, or a lesson if you need one.
Try a new sport	Book one trial class this month: climbing, rowing, pickleball, dance.
Get a check-up and a dental cleaning	Book both appointments this week.
Drink a glass of water with every meal	Put a glass on the table before you sit down.

Food and cooking

Resolution	Start in January with
Cook 12 new recipes, one a month	Pick January’s recipe and buy the ingredients this weekend.
Cook dinner at home four nights a week	Plan the four dinners every Sunday.
Eat a vegetable with every meal	Keep washed, cut vegetables at eye level in the fridge.
Bring lunch to work three days a week	Cook double on Sunday and box the leftovers.
Bake a loaf of bread from scratch	Try one simple no-knead recipe this month.
Keep takeout to one night a week	Pick your takeout night and cook the others.
Try one new fruit or vegetable a month	Buy one you’ve never cooked this week.
Learn five dishes by heart	Start with the one you order most often.
Host a potluck every season	Set the date for the first one in February.
Grow herbs on the windowsill	Buy a pot of basil and one of parsley this week.

Mind, rest and screen time

Resolution	Start in January with
Sleep 7 to 8 hours a night	Set a bedtime alarm for 10:30 p.m. and start winding down when it rings.
Charge your phone outside the bedroom	Buy a cheap alarm clock and put the charger in the kitchen.
Spend an hour a week outside, no phone	Pick a park and a time, and leave the phone in your pocket.
Write three lines in a journal every evening	Tonight: what happened, what worked, what to repeat.
Have one screen-free day a month	Make it the first Sunday and plan something for it.
Meditate 10 minutes a day	Do it right after your morning coffee, with a timer.
Take every vacation day you have	Put them in the calendar in January.
Keep one evening a week free of plans	Block Wednesday evenings in your calendar now.
Talk to a therapist, if you’ve been meaning to	Find two names this week and book a first session.
Read 20 pages before bed	Put tonight’s book on your pillow in the morning.

Money

Resolution	Start in January with
Save $1,000 for emergencies	Open a separate savings account and set an automatic transfer on payday.
Pay off a credit card	List every balance and rate, then pick one to clear first.
Track every expense for one month	Start on January 1 in a note or a spreadsheet.
Cancel the subscriptions you don’t use	Go through last month’s statement tonight.
Save 10% of every paycheck	Automate it so it moves on payday, before you see it.
Start investing for retirement	Open the account and set a small monthly amount; raise it later.
Do a 52-week savings challenge	Save $1 in week one, $2 in week two, and so on: $1,378 by December.
Make a budget you’ll actually use	Start with three numbers: bills, savings and everything else.
Check your credit report	Get your free reports at annualcreditreport.com this week.
Negotiate one bill down	Call your internet or phone provider this month and ask for a better plan.

Career and work

Resolution	Start in January with
Update your résumé and LinkedIn profile	Add last year’s three biggest wins this week.
Ask for a raise or a promotion	Start a weekly log of your wins now, for the conversation later.
Learn one skill that would help at work	Choose a course and put two hours a week on the calendar.
Read six books about your field	Pick the first one this week.
Have coffee with 12 people in your field	Message the first person this week.
Give a talk or presentation	Volunteer for one in the first quarter.
Get a certification	Book the exam date first, then plan the study weeks backwards from it.
Review your work week every Friday	Twenty minutes: what moved, what didn’t, what’s next.
Leave work on time four days a week	Set an end-of-day alarm and write tomorrow’s first task when it rings.
Start a side project	Give it one evening a week, starting this week.

Learning and creativity

Resolution	Start in January with
Read 12 books	Pick January’s book and keep it where your phone usually is.
Learn 100 words in a new language	Ten minutes a day with flashcards or an app.
Play one song all the way through on an instrument	Book a lesson or pick a beginner course this week.
Take a class in something new	Sign up for a spring class now: pottery, drawing, woodwork.
Write 500 words a week	Pick the day, the time and the place.
Fill a sketchbook	Buy a cheap one and draw one page this week.
Take a photo a day for a year	Set a daily reminder for the same time.
Visit a museum every month	Look up the free days at the nearest one.
Finish a project you started	Pick the one closest to done.
Learn first aid	Book a one-day course.

Friends, family and partner

Resolution	Start in January with
Call a friend or a relative every week	Pick Sunday and start with someone you’ve missed.
Host dinner once a month	Set January’s date and invite three people today.
Send birthday cards to the people who matter	Put every birthday in your calendar this week.
Plan a date night every two weeks	Book the first one now.
Visit your parents or grandparents every month	Put the next visit in the calendar.
Make one new friend	Join something that meets every week: a club, a class, a team.
Write a letter by hand to someone who helped you	Write the first one this weekend.
Eat dinner together without phones	Put a basket for phones by the table.
Reconnect with an old friend	Send one message today.
Plan one trip with friends	Start the group chat with three possible dates.

Home

Resolution	Start in January with
Declutter one room a month	Start with the room that bothers you most, one drawer a day.
Make the bed every morning	Start tomorrow. It takes two minutes.
Fix one thing a month you’ve been putting off	List them tonight and pick January’s.
Follow a simple cleaning schedule	Ten minutes a day, one area a day.
Donate one bag of things a month	Keep the bag in the hall and fill it as you go.
Grow vegetables on a balcony or in the yard	Order seeds this month.
Clear the kitchen counter every evening	Start tonight.
Learn basic repairs	Fix one dripping tap or wobbly chair with a video.
Make a reading corner	Move a chair and a lamp this weekend.
Go through paperwork once a month	First Sunday of the month, 30 minutes.

Fun, travel and experiences

Resolution	Start in January with
Visit a town you’ve never been to	Pick it and book a weekend.
Watch a sunrise	Look up the time for this Saturday and set an alarm.
See a live show every season	Buy tickets for one in February.
Go camping	Pick a summer weekend and book the site now.
Try 12 new things, one a month	List twelve, from an escape room to a cooking class, and do January’s.
Swim outdoors in a lake or the sea	Pick the place and the week in June.
Take a day trip every month	Choose somewhere within two hours.
Learn to dance	Book a beginner class.
Do one thing that scares you a little	Write three candidates and do the smallest first.
Plan a proper vacation	Choose the dates and request the time off this month.

Giving back and the planet

Resolution	Start in January with
Volunteer once a month	Find a food bank or shelter near you and sign up for one shift.
Donate blood twice a year	Book the first appointment.
Give to one cause every month	Set up a small automatic donation.
Carry your own bag and cup	Keep a tote and a cup by the door.
Walk or bike for short trips	Pick one regular trip under a mile to do on foot.
Mentor someone	Offer an hour a month to a junior colleague or a student.
Repair before you replace	Fix the next broken thing before you buy a new one.
Pick up litter on a walk once a week	Take a bag on Saturday’s walk.
Buy secondhand first	Look secondhand for the next thing you need.
Learn your neighbors’ names	Introduce yourself to one this week.

Turn “stop” resolutions into “start” ones

Many resolutions are about quitting something. Oscarsson’s study suggests rewording them: a start goal gives you something to do on the day, and every time you do it counts.

Instead of	Start
Quit sugar	Have fruit after dinner five nights a week
Stop scrolling in bed	Read 20 pages before bed
Stop ordering takeout	Cook dinner at home four nights a week
Stop wasting money	Move $50 to savings every payday
Stop being late	Leave 10 minutes before you need to
Stop procrastinating	Spend the first 25 minutes of the workday on the hardest task
Stop checking work email at night	Close the laptop at 6 p.m. and write tomorrow’s first task
Stop drinking soda	Drink a glass of water with every meal

How to make a resolution bingo card

A resolution bingo card is a five-by-five grid of things to do this year, with a free space in the middle. You cross off a square when it’s done; five in a row is a bingo. It takes the pressure off one big promise: you get 24 chances to win instead of one chance to fail. Good Morning America traces the trend to Erin Jones of Florida, who came up with a resolutions bingo card at the end of 2022; the idea spread on TikTok.

What to put on the 24 squares, roughly:

Kind of square	How many	Examples
One-off experiences	9	Watch a sunrise, host a dinner, swim outdoors
Things to count	6	Read 12 books, cook 12 new recipes, do 50 workouts
Streaks	5	Journal for 30 days in a row, walk every day for 30 days
Stretch goals	3	Run a 5K, pay off a credit card, do one thing that scares you
A reset	1	Declutter one room

A few rules that make the card work:

• Turn habits into squares you can finish. “Exercise more” never gets crossed off. “Do 50 workouts,” “a 30-day streak” or “12 of 12 months” does.
• Mix every row. Put one easy square and one stretch in each line, and spread health, people, money and fun across the card, so a bingo is possible by spring.
• Decide the rewards now. Something for each line and something bigger for the whole card. The card on our printable has a line for it.
• Use the free space well. Most people write “you made a card” or something already done, so the year starts with a square crossed off.
• Look at it once a month. Cross off what’s done and pick next month’s squares. If one stops making sense, swap it once and move on.

How to keep your resolutions past January

Resolutions do better than their reputation. In John Norcross’s 1988 study of 200 people, 77% had kept their resolution after one week and 19% after two years. In his 2002 study, 46% of people who made a resolution were still succeeding six months later, against 4% of people who wanted to make the same kind of change but hadn’t made a resolution. And in Oscarsson’s study, 55% of participants considered themselves successful after a year.

The often-quoted “only 8% of people keep their resolutions” doesn’t hold up. It traces back to a telephone survey for the consultant Stephen Shapiro, reported in January 2006, in which 8% of people said they always achieve their resolutions, which is a different question.

Most people who drop out do it in mid-January, which is when Strava’s data on workouts has shown the drop. So:

• Plan the third week of January as carefully as the first.
• Check in every evening and every week, briefly: did it move today, and what’s next week’s step?
• Restart instead of quitting. A missed week isn’t the end; the next Monday or the first of the month is a fresh start.

There’s a full, research-backed plan for this in how to stick to New Year’s resolutions.

Resolutions and a bingo card in Plannedo

Plannedo has a place for each kind of resolution. A big resolution is a goal with a deadline and a board. Something you’ll do every week is a habit with its days, linked to that goal. And the bingo card can be a goal too: add each square as a task with no date, link it to the goal, and filter Tasks by that goal to see what’s left and what’s crossed off.

When a square needs a date, give it one and it shows up on Today. Here’s the first Sunday in March:

Every evening, Log the day on Today asks about each goal, Moved, Thought or Not today, so you notice in January, not in June, when a resolution has gone quiet. More in the help centre: goal boards, connecting tasks and habits to a goal and habits.

Free 2027 resolution bingo card (PDF)

Three pages: a card filled in with 24 ideas from this post, a blank card for your own, and a page that turns your top three resolutions into a plan with a first step in January. Print it, or type straight into the fillable PDF on an iPad or a computer.

FAQ

What are good New Year’s resolutions?

Ones you can tell are done and can start in January: “read 12 books,” “cook dinner at home four nights a week,” “save $1,000 for emergencies,” “call a friend every week.” Pick ones you’d enjoy doing, and word them as something to start rather than something to stop.

What is the most common New Year’s resolution?

Exercising more. In YouGov’s December 2025 poll, 25% of American adults picked it for 2026, followed by being happier (23%), eating healthier (22%), saving money (21%) and improving physical health (21%). In Pew’s 2024 survey, 79% of people who made resolutions had one about health, exercise or diet.

How many New Year’s resolutions should I make?

One to three big ones. Each needs a regular slot in your week, and with more than three, some get none. If you have more ideas than that, put them on a bingo card: it holds 24 without asking you to promise any of them.

What percentage of people keep their New Year’s resolutions?

More than the myths say. In Norcross’s 2002 study, 46% of resolvers were still succeeding after six months, and in Oscarsson’s 2020 study, 55% considered themselves successful after a year. The popular “only 8%” figure comes from a 2006 survey question about people who always achieve their resolutions.

When do most people give up on their resolutions?

In mid-January. Strava has pointed to the middle of January as the point when workout uploads drop, and in Norcross’s 1988 study, 77% were still going after one week. Plan the third week of January with care, and restart on the next Monday rather than quitting.

What is resolution bingo?

A five-by-five card of things to do in the year, with a free space in the middle. You cross off a square when it’s done, and five in a row is a bingo. It spread on TikTok from a card Erin Jones made at the end of 2022.

What should I put on a resolution bingo card?

A mix: about nine one-off experiences, six things to count, five streaks, three stretch goals and one reset, such as decluttering a room. Write each square so you can tell when it’s done, and spread areas of life and difficulty across every row.

What goes in the free space on a bingo card?

Whatever starts the year with a win: “you made a card,” something you’ve already done, or something small you’ll do on January 1.

What if I miss January?

Start on the next fresh start: a Monday, the first of a month, your birthday. The fresh start effect is real: people search for “diet,” go to the gym and commit to goals more often after these dates. See the best day to start a new habit.

Where did New Year’s resolutions come from?

Popular histories trace New Year promises back to the Babylonians and the Romans, though the details are hard to source. The phrase “New Year’s resolution” appears in print in a Boston newspaper on January 1, 1813, according to Merriam-Webster.

Studies and surveys mentioned

• YouGov (2025). What are Americans’ New Year’s resolutions for 2026? December 23, 2025.
• Pew Research Center (2024). New Year’s resolutions: survey topline. American Trends Panel, January 16-21, 2024.
• Woolley, K., & Fishbach, A. (2017). Immediate rewards predict adherence to long-term goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(2), 151-162.
• 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.
• Norcross, J. C., & Vangarelli, D. J. (1988). The resolution solution: Longitudinal examination of New Year’s change attempts. Journal of Substance Abuse, 1(2), 127-134.
• 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.
• Dai, H., Milkman, K. L., & Riis, J. (2014). The fresh start effect: Temporal landmarks motivate aspirational behavior. Management Science, 60(10), 2563-2582.
• Honolulu Star-Bulletin (2006). Business briefs, January 2, 2006: the telephone survey behind the “8%.”
• Good Morning America (2024). Setting New Year’s resolutions? Turn them into a goal bingo board. December 31, 2024.

Photo credits

The cover photo is by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash.