Design Your Year: 2025
“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.
Your Year, Your Way
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.
This trifecta of tools offers 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.
Join the “25 in ’25” Challenge
Each year on the Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast, my sister Elizabeth and I suggest an annual challenge to give ourselves and listeners a practical, manageable way to boost happiness and build habits that year.
This year we’re bringing back one of our favorites, “Read 25 in ’25”:
Read for 25 minutes every day in 2025.
Many people want to read more, but find it hard to keep the habit.
Especially if you benefit from accountability, joining this year’s challenge can help you find tools and strategies for making the habit stick. This year I’m excited to partner with Bookshop.org to make it even easier and more fun to meet your reading goals.
Resources for the “25 in ’25” Challenge
Listen to Gretchen and Elizabeth reveal the 2025 Yearly Challenge
USE THE HAPPIER™ APP TO make progress toward your AIMS
Join the #Read25in25 challenge in the Happier™ app for free, and access a powerful habit-tracking toolkit you can personalize for your writing aims.
Choose a One-Word Theme for 2025
Picking a word or phrase to encapsulate your aims for 2025 is a fun, engaging way to focus your intentions, especially if you’re not a fan of resolutions.
Your theme can help you stay motivated and focused. And you might discover that it leads you toward new ideas or unexpected possibilities.
I like to choose a word with multiple meanings and associations (2024’s word was “Wave.”) To keep your theme uppermost in your mind, you might write it on a note card and pin it above your desk, make it the background on your phone or computer, or find a symbol to represent your theme.
Resources for Choosing a One-Word Theme
Listen to Gretchen and Elizabeth reveal their 2025 one-word themes
Get more tips and ideas for your one-word theme
We asked listeners for their one-word themes, and heard many imaginative, thought-provoking ideas. We also talk about our themes for 2024 and from previous years.
Some of My Past One-Word Themes
Write a “25 for 2025” List
When we set specific aims for ourselves, we’re far more likely to achieve them. That’s where your “25 for 2025” list comes in.
Take some time to create a list of 25 things you’d like to accomplish this year. They can be big or small, enjoyable or challenging, serious or whimsical. I like to include a mix.
The important thing is to keep them specific, concrete, and manageable. “Try 25 new recipes” works better than “Become an accomplished cook.”
Resources for the “25 for 2025” List
GRETCHEN AND ELIZABETH REVEAL THEIR 25 FOR 2025 LISTS
WRITE YOUR OWN 25 FOR 2025 LIST
[FREE PDF]
Consider making a “25 for 2025” list to identify your aims for the year. There’s no one right way to make your list—you might create different categories, follow a theme, choose all fun items—just think about what you want the year to hold.
Get the Happier™ App
What we do every day matters more than what we do once in a while. Set your aims, track your daily progress, and join the 2025 challenge in the Happier™ app.
Dive Deeper
Additional Resources
Looking for more tools to start off your year? Try these:
