The tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions is timeless, and I’m sure that many of us have done so before. Whether you’re striving for a perfect report card, trying to get off of social media, or picking up a new hobby, a New Year’s resolution may be the first step in reaching your goal.
So walk with me as we set our resolutions for 2026!
To best set a resolution, it’s first important to pick something that you genuinely want to do: That’s what will make resolutions more than just a goal to reach. For me, I’ll be trying to write a novel over the course of 2026! It’s important that whatever you pick is something that you’ll enjoy, but it’s also important that you said a strong resolution. To do this, let’s use the SMART acronym!
(S)MART: Specific
Specific is the first acronym in SMART, and this just means taking your broad goal and narrowing it down just a little bit. Making sure your goal is specific is something that might be hard to do, but a specific goal makes it easier to accomplish. For my own example, instead of “write a book” my specific goal might be “write an 80k word fantasy novel.” This goal is more specific, and lays the groundwork for some of the later steps! Other examples of this might be, instead of saying, “Spend less time on social media” maybe try, “Keep social media screentime under one hour a day” or something along those lines.
S(M)ART: Measurable
Measurable is an important second part of this acronym, as accomplishing a resolution means being able to celebrate milestones. Setting milestones as you tackle this year’s resolution is a great way to retain motivation. For example, if I write only 220 words a day, I’ll accomplish my goal by the end of year. Though measurable can also mean taking things one step at a time: Trying to go from six hours a day on social media to one hour is a big jump, but if you go down an hour at a time, you too can make your goal a little more measurable.Â
SM(A)RT: Achievable
Achievable in this context merely means to make sure it’s something you can actually do. If you want to invest money, trying to go from $0 to a million by the end of the year might not be achievable with the resources you have available. In my own example, trying to take on one novel is achievable, but if I wanted to do a novel a month, I might need to rethink my goal. When setting your resolutions, ensure that the goal you’ve selected is achievable.
SMA(R)T: Relevant
Ensuring your goal is relevant isn’t the first thought you might have, but just because you set a goal, doesn’t mean it’s right for you. A person spending under an hour a day on social media, might not need a goal on reducing social media time. In a similar way, a person already going to the gym every day might not need a goal to go to the gym daily. To try and keep with your good habits is amazing, though when setting a resolution, try and look for something that can be changed. In my own example, if I were already almost done with a novel, writing an entire novel might not be the most relevant goal for me. On the contrary, if that were the case, I could set an adjacent goal, like trying to publish a novel. Making sure your goal is relevant is important, if you are already accomplishing this particular goal, you can always set something adjacent alongside it!
SMAR(T): Time-Relevant
As a college student, it’s easy to say my resolution for next year would be to graduate, though having only completed one semester, this isn’t a goal I can complete in a year. Wanting to graduate is an amazing goal, but your resolution should reflect what can be done in the time span. Therefore, a goal along the lines of “stay on track to graduate” or “achieve straight As” might be better suited.Â
The importance of setting New Year’s resolutions is not long forgotten. It’s important to set resolutions so that we can achieve our goals and aspirations. Hopefully, by using the guide above, you too can set your goals for 2026!