15 Truly Enjoyable Resolutions – by Bree Groff

Oh boy is there so much written about New Year’s Resolutions. Plenty about capturing the elevated motivation that comes from the “fresh start” impact. Plenty about debunking our means to reinvent ourselves on a whim.

Where do I fall? I like resolutions, however I like ‘em fun. I wrote last year about how resolutions can be less shame-induced transformation, and more invitation to play with some new identities. Perhaps you have already picked a word for the year, created a vision board, or set some intentions, but if not, here are a few playful resolutions to consider:

Want a more peaceful start to the day?

Read all about Grandpa Mornings here. In short, make picking up your phone the 14th thing you do in the morning. This was my resolution last year and I loved it. Did I do it all year? Of course not! But I did it and enjoyed it once in a while and that’s once-in-a-while greater than I’d have carried out it with out the decision.

Want well being however make it sensible?

Aim for well being, not well being aesthetic. Full description right here. Invite your mates to your messy home as a result of friendship is wholesome. Join the assembly with moist hair since you exercised, showered, and didn’t commerce your sleep for a blow dryer.

Want that dolce vita?

Eat as many alternative pasta shapes as attainable in 2026. Like a carby scavenger hunt. –@Songofsaraneth

Want pleasure and need it now?

“The best New Year’s resolution I ever made was to start devouring all my nicest things, and save no small pleasure for an unspecified future. Now I burn the good candles, wear the expensive perfume at home, scribble imperfectly in pretty notebooks. You can’t pin joy like a moth.” –Holly Cassells

Want to understand extra of what’s already round you?

We reside in a world that rewards taking note of the sign over the noise. It’s a great way to run a enterprise, however a nasty method to run a life. This is my 12 months to concentrate to the noise—small textures of my day: how my espresso store smoothie had extra banana than normal and what a stunning variation, or how sure songs have simply the best tempo for strolling to the beat. Could I simply drink the smoothie and stroll with no soundtrack? Sure. More environment friendly. But the feel of our days is what makes them wealthy.

Want a mini digital detox?

When you get up, attain on your accomplice or pet to say Good Morning earlier than you attain on your cellphone. No different fleshy entities in your mattress? Look out the window and greet the sky. This is one in every of mine this 12 months! A subset of a Grandpa Morning. Normally I’d be sucked into some e mail or scroll earlier than I understand Brad can also be up and I say good morning like, “Oh, you’re there.” No longer!

Want to take pleasure in your colleagues extra?

Learn the names of each one in every of your colleagues’ pets. Much tougher to assume Bob in communications is an asshole if you already know he has a fluffy cat named Plume. If you want, hold a pet identify journal. People’s pets are normally pricey and private to them, and attending to know their pets (ask for pics!) is a fast method to bypass the enterprise masks and humanize the office.

Want to understand simply how nice you already are?

What’s one thing wholesome that you simply already do? Declare that your decision! Feel nice about it. Just think about a world the place you fell off that wholesome behavior… ugh now you need to resolve to get again to it. Now simply skip the falling off half and easily not stopping your wholesome behavior is a win!

Want extra whimsy and fiber in your life?

Every time you see a fruit you could have by no means eaten, get one, eat it, after which learn the Wikipedia article about it –@Songofsaraneth

Want extra ease in your days?

A colleague as soon as stated to me, “Imagine you walk in the woods every day, and every day you have to walk around a rock. Eventually, it might be time to move that rock.” What’s a small every day annoyance you could possibly remedy for your self? For instance, at present I went on Amazon and deleted the 13 expired bank cards from my account which are at all times provided as choices. Throw out your expired spices. Pick a number of and full, say, one per week.

Want extra stomach laughs?

Skip the train sticker chart and simply play extra precise video games! This is a great one from my good friend Uri Bram. Over the vacations I made up a brand new sport that we performed with the assistance of Claude. It’s referred to as “Face it” or, my desire, “Do It With Your Face.” Same concept as Pictionary and Charades, however as an alternative of solely drawing or solely miming, in Face It, you may solely use your facial expressions. Put these directions in your favourite AI and luxuriate in: “Let’s play a facial expression guessing game. When I type ‘category’, announce a random category to the group which I’ll show everyone. After I pass my phone to someone, they’ll type ‘word’ and you’ll give them one secret word from that category to act out using only facial expressions.” There is not any successful or factors, simply hilarity. We advised Claude to make it 25% tougher after some time. It gave me “Philosophical concepts” as my class and “Existentialism” because the phrase. We obtained it!

Want to be the principle character by yourself film set?

Swap your blue fluorescent bulbs for heat glowy ones. Get a candle for beside your mattress. Get a conceit mirror on your toilet that has an “evening light” mode and use it as an alternative of the overhead once you’re winding down. There’s nothing a bit of cinematic lighting can’t make higher.

Want extra effectivity with out turning into a robotic?

It takes me eternally to jot down considerate emails. Did I exploit too many exclamations? Is that sentence bizarre? Sometimes the word-smithing is price it. Other instances, undoubtedly not. But as an alternative of writing quick & expressionless which comes off curt, I wish to go quick & awkward. Type the bizarre sentence and let it fly. Too many exclamations? Oh properly, I’m excitable. Proofreading is for the humorless. If you wish to be extra environment friendly in 2026, skip the group schemes and go for Fast & Awkward.

Want to go simpler on your self?

This morning I used to be speaking to somebody and solely after the dialog did I understand I used to be perhaps slowing down their morning. I used to be tempted to ruminate over it, however as an alternative I simply stated, “Whoops!” and advised myself that was the top of it. No “I had better reflect on this lesson for the future” or replaying the state of affairs in my head (properly, apart from penning this). This decision will not be for the egocentric jerks who might use extra self-awareness. It’s for anybody who’s already hyper self-aware and will use to let some issues fucking go. Say Whoops! and stick with it.

Want to have extra enjoyable?

Decide that is the 12 months for it! My friend, Alicia Grimes, is doing it and I believe it is best to too. Having written a ebook about enjoyable, one in every of my biggest insights is that to have extra enjoyable, you need to count on to have extra enjoyable. When we are saying “work is called work for a reason” and “work is a four-letter word” we excuse ourselves from even looking for pleasure within the expertise. If I as an alternative count on to have enjoyable at work, it makes complete sense that I’d take two minutes to DM my work bestie one thing humorous, that I’d share an concept that’s lighting me up, that I’d put effort into making my mission plan actual good lookin’.

In quick, resolutions ought to be just right for you, not the opposite approach round. They ought to make you excited to experiment. They ought to really feel like play! And bear in mind, our society is actual bizarre about insisting you do one thing eternally or it’s a failure. You can 100% attempt a decision, cease it, and nonetheless financial institution the win of getting carried out that factor 5 extra instances than you’ll have with out the decision, to not point out the attention-grabbing life experiment of getting tried it.

What would you add?? Any enjoyable resolutions so as to add to the hopper? Share with us!