Track your New Year’s resolutions with Microsoft 365

Hi, Microsoft 365 Insiders! The start of a new year brings with it the opportunity to set new goals and resolutions. But many of us struggle to stick to our plans once February arrives. Whether your objectives pertain to personal growth, professional development, or a blend of both, Microsoft 365 offers a suite of tools that can help you stay on track and realize your ambitions all year round.

Let’s start with a few facts and stats!

• The tradition of making New Year’s resolutions dates back over 4,000 years to the Babylonians, who made promises to their gods during the Akitu celebration.
• The most common New Year’s resolution is related to fitness and exercise, with close to 40% of resolutions involving some form of physical activity.
• However, the success rate of New Year’s resolutions is quite low: One survey found that a mere 1% of individuals keep their resolutions going an entire year, and most give up after just four months.
• A good tip to increase the chances of sticking to your resolutions is to vocalize them. Telling someone about your goals can help you stay accountable.
• It’s been shown that approach-oriented goals (lose 10 pounds) are more likely to succeed than avoidance-oriented goals (stop eating cake).

Learn more:

• Health, finances and fitness: Key themes for 2025 New Year’s Resolutions
• New Year’s resolutions often don’t last. Here’s why they fail and how to keep them, according to an expert.

Organize your goals with To Do

Microsoft To Do is an exceptional tool for setting and tracking your New Year’s resolutions. You can easily create detailed lists for each goal, set reminders when you forget or lose your progress, and prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency.

Here’s how to make the most of To Do:

• Create custom lists: Organize your resolutions into categories such as fitness, relationships, career, and personal development. This allows you to focus on specific areas and track progress more effectively.
• Set due dates and reminders: Ensure that you stay on top of your deadlines and your resolutions remain at the forefront of your mind by setting due dates and reminders for each task.
• Track progress: To Do tracks all your upcoming and completed tasks across apps, which enables you to monitor your achievements, see tangible results, and continue getting motivated to achieve your goals. 

Created in Microsoft Designer.

Get inspired with Copilot

Leveraging advanced AI capabilities, Microsoft Copilot can suggest personalized goals and goal plans based on your past activities and habits, ensuring that your resolutions are both achievable and impactful. Additionally, Copilot can offer creative ideas and inspiration to keep you engaged for months to come.

Here’s how to make Copilot work for you and your resolutions across Microsoft 365 apps and services:

• Be specific: Instruct Copilot with detailed and clear commands to generate a comprehensive plan and tracker for your goals. For example, say “Hey Copilot, please create a detailed plan to achieve my fitness goal of running a 5K by June. Include a weekly running schedule, cross-training activities, and rest days. Also, set reminders for each training session and track my progress weekly.”
• Utilize past data: Allow Copilot to review your past activities and habits. This will enable Copilot to suggest personalized goals that align with your existing routines, making them more achievable. For example, say “Hey Copilot, here are my average workout stats from the past six months on Strava. Can you suggest some personalized but ambitious goals for the new year? I’d like these goals to align with my existing routines and habits to ensure they are realistic and achievable.”
• Break goals down into smaller goals: Ask Copilot to help break down large goals into smaller, manageable tasks. This makes the overall goal less daunting and allows for easier tracking of progress. For example, say “Hey Copilot, please create a detailed plan to achieve my goal of learning Python by the end of the year. Break this goal into monthly modules covering different aspects such as basic syntax, data structures, and algorithms. Include weekly coding exercises and project ideas, and set reminders for each task. Track my progress and suggest adjustments based on my learning pace.”
• Regularly check in: Schedule regular check-in times with Copilot to review your progress and make necessary adjustments. For example, say “Hey Copilot, please help me stay on track with my New Year’s resolution to read more books. Set a goal for me to read 24 books this year and track my progress by logging each book I finish. Schedule monthly check-ins to review how many books I’ve read, identify any obstacles, and adjust my plan accordingly. Also, provide book recommendations based on my reading preferences and past logs.”
• Seek inspiration: Ask Copilot for creative ideas and inspiration to keep your motivation high. This can include new ways to approach your goals or innovative solutions to challenges. For example, say “Hey Copilot, I want to learn a new language this year. Can you help me create a comprehensive plan to achieve this goal? Please include daily vocabulary exercises, weekly practice sessions with a language partner, and monthly assessments to track my progress. Additionally, suggest some fun and engaging resources like movies, music, and books in the target language to keep me inspired. Set reminders for each task and suggest adjustments based on my learning pace.

Created in Microsoft Designer.

Build accountability with Teams

For resolutions that involve teamwork or improving workplace productivity, or just require a bit of accountability from friends, family, and colleagues, Microsoft Teams is the go-to platform. Here’s how it can help you stay connected and make your goals collaborative:

• Efficient communication: Use chat, video calls, and group channels to stay in touch with colleagues or accountability partners no matter where or from which device you’re working. For example, you could schedule a monthly meetup with friends to go over your latest creative writing assignments and how you’re tracking to your writing goals for the year.
• Task management: Integrate Planner with Teams to assign tasks to yourself or others, set deadlines, and track progress. This could come in handy if your workplace resolution is to increase company sales by 20% and you need to keep tabs on each direct report’s leads and prospect calls.
• Shared resources: Store and disperse documents, spreadsheets, and presentations within Teams. For example, if your goal is to become more organized at work, you can easily share and give access to past presentations, onboarding documents, or templated drafts to colleagues.

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Capture ideas with OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is a versatile digital notebook that can help you spark creativity and inspiration for goal setting and tracking – here’s how:

• Note-taking: Jot down ideas, plans, and thoughts as they come to you, such as an itinerary for your trip cross-country.
• Project planning: Use OneNote to outline and plan your projects in detail. Create sections and pages to break down your goals into manageable steps – in the case of writing a book, you can break it up by chapter or word count.
• Multimedia integration: Incorporate images, audio recordings, and videos into your notes. This feature is particularly useful for visual goals such as redesigning a room in your home to provide an inviting work-from-home space.

Created in Microsoft Designer.

Leverage personal data with Viva

Microsoft Viva is an employee experience platform integrated within Microsoft 365 and Teams that’s also designed to empower individuals and teams to achieve their biggest goals. Its comprehensive set of tools can provide:

• Insights and analytics: Viva provides personalized insights and actionable recommendations to improve productivity and well-being. If you want to work fewer hours (but maintain output) this year, it can identify where and on what apps you spend the most time so you can cut out unnecessary distractions or reevaluate how you leverage those apps in your workflow.
• Learning and growth: Access a wide range of learning resources and training modules to develop new skills and advance your career or personal development, such as management trainings or sessions on getting better at prompt writing. Viva Learning also integrates seamlessly with other applications, such as Teams, making it easy to stay on top of your progress.
• Connection and collaboration: Foster a sense of community within your team through Viva Connections. Share updates on your resolutions, celebrate your milestones and others’, and stay connected with goal-minded individuals so those resolutions don’t fade in the months to come – all within the familiar Teams interface.
• Purpose and alignment: Viva Goals helps you align your personal and team objectives with broader organizational goals. Set clear targets, monitor progress, and ensure everyone is working towards the same vision. For example, you can set a personal goal of revamping your startup’s website, then tag relevant stakeholders to tackle certain tasks, and update and view progress in real time.

Created in Microsoft Designer.

 

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