Design Your Year
“New year, new you” is a funny phrase. January 1 might mark the start of a new year, but you’re still you.
And that’s a good thing, because the key to starting a new habit or accomplishing an aim is to figure out an approach that works for you.
Ready to start designing your year? You’re in the right place.
How to Design Your Year
As the new year approaches, many people feel the pull to set goals or create resolutions. But while resolutions are popular, research shows that for many people, they’re not particularly effective.
Designing your year takes a different approach: instead of making sweeping promises to yourself, you’ll use three flexible (and fun) tools—a one-word theme, a yearlong shared challenge, and a list of aims for the year—to help you make consistent progress toward what makes you happy.
You can try one of these tools or use all three together, and you can start any time—January 1, your birthday, the start of the school year, or next Monday.
Design Your Year:
2026 Tools
My research and experience shows that when we set specific aims that match our personal preferences, energy levels, circumstances, and tendencies, we’re far more likely to achieve them.
These tools offer different approaches so you choose the ones that feel right. Whether you’re a New Year’s resolution person (or not), you can put these strategies to work:
- Choose a one-word theme
- Join the ’26 in ’26 Challenge
- Write a ’26 for ’26 List
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The Design Your Year Guide
Life feels richer and more memorable when each season feels distinctive. This guide is designed to help you shape your year, season by season, with reminders to stop, reflect, and consider what changes could make your life happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for happiness and good habits. The exercises in this guide, inspired by the Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast, offer many creative ways to approach building habits and accomplishing your aims for the year. You can start any time.
Inspiration for Designing Your Year
I’ve been using this Design Your Year framework for years, and while the three core tools stay the same, I create new resources each year with fresh themes, updated lists, and timely challenges. Explore previous years for inspiration on themes and goals.
