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ADHD and...New Year's Resolutions
Why they don't work and what you can try instead.
Jolissa Skow
January 05, 2026
My relationship with New Year’s Resolutions goes something like this:
❄️ Me in January: “I feel so inspired! I’m going to [grand sweeping resolution] this year!”
♥️ Me in February: “Gah, that resolution isn’t going great…I can still do it, though! I’m going to try.”
🍀 Me in March: (Completely forgets I even made a resolution at all.)
☂️ Me in April: (Remembers that resolution I made, feels shame about failing, resolves to stop making resolutions at all.)
For the last few years, I’ve avoided making resolutions (and goals in general) like the plague. My track record for achieving them is…not great. So, naturally, I now avoid them.
Where does the idea of making resolutions even come from?
Alexis McCrossen, a history professor at Southern Methodist University whose research focuses on New Year's observances, says it was ancient Romans who first associated Jan. 1 with New Year's resolutions.
They celebrated the start of January by giving offerings to the month's namesake, Janus — the two-faced god of beginnings and endings — and auspicious gifts (like twigs from sacred trees) to their loved ones.
So people have been creating resolutions for a very, very long time. And probably not doing them and/or forgetting them for just as long.
The problem is, New Year’s resolutions were not meant for ADHD brains.
They’re generally broad, lack detail, and/or are often made based on whatever whim or special interest your ADHD brain is currently enjoying.
Even if you turn them into SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound), there are still some key aspects missing for you to actually do them…especially if you have ADHD.
New Year’s resolutions, ADHD style (how to actually make them stick)
If you search online for ADHD resolution-making tips, you’ll probably find some mention of picking a theme or creating routines rather than resolutions. That’s great advice, and it can definitely work, but the secret to actually making things stick is breaking them down into tasks and reminders that are scheduled somehow, so you don’t forget about them.
ADHDers can make SMART goals just as well as everyone else, but without breaking them down into small, focused tasks and creating reminders, they’ll most likely never get done.
Sooo what does that actually look like in practice?
In 2026, one of my goals is to create a digital garden.
I really like to consume content about my interests. Much like binge-watching shows, I tend to binge-consume content, mostly in the form of podcasts, newsletters, and YouTube videos.
The problem is, the content goes in one ear, rattles around in my brain for a very short amount of time, then exists swiftly out the other ear. I’ll remember a detail here and there about things I’ve picked up from the content, but then I’ll be unable to remember where I heard it and unable to find it again (without frustratingly clicking around the internet) so I can actually take it in.
A digital garden should help me solve this problem. It’s basically just a database of stuff I want to remember, organized into categories or folders. I’ll save a link, episode, or quote, and take a note about what resonated with me.
Okay, great idea, Joli. But how do I make this a concrete goal and actually do it?
Example ADHDer Resolution Setup
January: Set up digital garden. Don’t be a perfectionist about it, just get something going!
Add a shortcut to my digital garden to my phone’s home screen
Create automated reminders in Todoist every Monday and Thursday to nudge me and remind me to use my digital garden
Put a “Digital garden!” sticky note on my second monitor and/or on my whiteboard
February: Evaluate digital garden. How is it going? Make improvements if need be, but remember not to be perfectionistic about it.
Create automated reminder in Todoist to do said evaluation
Continue with automated reminders
March: Hopefully adding to my digital garden is getting ingrained by this point.
Continue with automated reminders anyway
My top ADHDer resolution tip:
Break it down step by step, creating automatic calendar or to-do app reminders and adding visual reminders on your phone or other places you look often.
Oh, and also:
Build in rewards to add motivation
Stack habits (do your goal habit at the same time as another one you already do)
Pick resolutions that you actually, truly desire to do
That last one’s a doozy. I’ve definitely tossed resolutions on my list before after hardly any thought or pondering over how I’d actually complete them…and if I actually really wanted to do them, or if I felt like they were what I should do instead.
There you have it! Now, on to the recs.