Every year on January 1st, gyms fill up, Instagram gets deleted, budgets get made, and the treacherous journey towards self-improvement begins. Most years, I try to make a few resolutions, spend less time on my phone, more time with my family, try harder in school, all the generic stuff. It never really happens. I set attainable goals, I make multi-step plans, I set up reward systems, but usually, my heart just isn’t really in it. If I really want to make a change, I’m just going to do it; a January 1st restart doesn’t mean much to me. This is a problem I’ve hit many times. In general, I’m happy with my life, which makes it hard to stick to changes, especially when they seem as arbitrary and random as my New Year's resolutions tend to be. So this year, when my mom asked me, “Any resolutions this year?” I answered honestly, “I haven’t really thought about it”. And I was fine with that, but as the final days of the year crept by, I felt like I was wasting an opportunity for improvement.
Now I’m sure that’s mostly our culture, which is obsessed with self-improvement and staying on the grind, but regardless of the reason, I wanted to at least try something adjacent to a “new year, new me.” Yet, as I searched for resolutions, I couldn’t find anything I really wanted to change. I’m lucky, I have a job, a plan for the future, and I really don’t want to diet or start seriously working out, and while my nightly doomscroll definitely isn’t good, realistically, a New Year's resolution isn’t going to stop it any time soon.
If you’re in a similar situation, searching for something for this new year, but not sure what you’re looking for, I’d recommend making an Ins and Outs list for 2026. You may have seen these floating around online, and I genuinely had so much fun. I started light, making ins that were more fun and silly, things I already do, rather than getting serious in my self-reflection immediately. Things like bangs or eating tomatoes are at the top of my ins list this year. Those slowly evolved into other fun goals, such as going to farmers' markets, listening to more classics, and having craft nights with my friends. Things I’ve always wanted to do but just haven’t really gotten around to. My ins list finishes out with some more serious changes, such as reconnecting with old hobbies and finding time to be grateful. The outs are a little more serious too, things I genuinely want to change, a few include staying inside multiple days in a row, buying things I don’t use, and giving up in the middle of things. I genuinely love my ins and outs list; besides simply having fun things on it, it feels so much more accessible than making a plan for a New Year's resolution. It’s things I genuinely want to do, and it just brings them to the forefront of my mind. I feel more likely to carry out my ins than I ever have about a New Year’s resolution.
If you’re also struggling with resolutions this new year, I’d recommend trying out an ins and outs list, with no pressure to actually do anything. It’s more fun than you’d expect.
Also, for an added incentive, try DIY-ing little punch cards with your ins. Make them cute! Personally, if I visit 5 farmers' markets this year, as my punch card incentives I do, I will get myself a bonus little treat.