New Year’s Resolutions You Need to Make Instead

New Year's resolutions are often too big, too ambitious or too long-term—which is why they fail. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't plan to make changes. Change happens best when goals can be met.

Instead of resolving to get fit starting January 1, kick off a 30-day challenge for a specific muscle group. Try 30 days of planking, a 60-day squat challenge or 90 days of arm workouts.

A flexible daily practice that boosts your immune system, alleviates stress and helps you concentrate? Sign us up. Daily meditation is the kind of New Year's resolution that can actually change how you live. Make it.

When did we stop wanting and needing to learn in our lives? Kids learn something new every day, and so should we. With the internet, it's easy to get answers to questions you've always had. So resolve to look up something you've wondered about or don't understand every day. Make it your nightly practice to, once and for all, know which state is Vermont and which is New Hampshire, find the capital of Bangladesh or learn how soap is made.

The best kinds of resolutions add something instead of subtracting it. So, i's a perfect time to add more vegetables to your diet. It's one of the easiest and tastiest ways to get more nutrition and better health.

Instead of seeking fortune or dream jobs in the New Year—aka resolutions that often yield disappointing results—sketch out your idea. Is it a business plan? A drawing you've always wanted to try? Your next five years? An itinerary for a dream trip? This kitchen gadget thing you wish someone would invent (and maybe the next steps for inventing it)?

Instead of resolving to run a marathon or climb a mountain, especially if you're not big into exercise, make a plan to simply move more. Maybe that means parking far away from the entrance or hoofing it to the store instead of driving the half mile. Try walking during breaks and on weekends instead of binge-watching TV or firing off political missives on Facebook.

Instead of learning a new word a day or resolving to write a novel this year, make your New Year's resolution to read more. It's something you always loved (or wish you did). With a good library system, it's practically free. And you'll build imagination, vocabulary and deeper empathy for others. Or, if nonfiction is your thing, you'll get a deeper understanding of the world.

Gratitude journals are still a thing, but you don't have to write down your thank-yous in order to benefit from acknowledging what you're grateful for. Being mindful and thinking through five things that you're grateful for—either first thing in the morning or before you fall asleep—shifts your thinking of how you will go about your day and how you process it when it's over.

Being in nature is calming, centering and boosts health, even if it's only an easy stroll in a park with a few trees. Resolve to get in or near nature most days, even if it's a small patch of land with overgrown grass and bugs. Being in nature, especially if you live in a city, is crucial.

If you're not a gym-goer but you want to start exercising, planking every day is a great overall activity that takes very little time. It strengthens your core, your backside, your legs and especially your arms. Find a 30-day planking challenge online. Start with just a few seconds of planking and work your way up to minutes. You don't even have to change into workout clothes (though certain shoes will make it difficult).

If you want to learn something new, skip the "For Dummies" books and the online tutorials. Get with a bunch of other beginners by taking a class. It's a great way to meet others, it keeps you on a schedule and puts you in touch with experts who will be able to answer your questions and guide your instruction.

Resolving to give back in the New Year is noble and great, but hard to follow up on if you don't make it specific. Schedule your gifts by setting automatic payments or reminders. Sign up for emails or phone calls where volunteers send kind nudges. Make it automatic and easy so that you follow through on your commitment.

This is the year you should get your paperwork in order. If you like to travel, even just within the U.S., some states will now require you to have a passport to board the plane. Now is the time to gather up all your paperwork, organize it and follow through on updates.

Because January 1 marks a new beginning, this is a good time to line up some things you've been avoiding and then make a plan for doing them. Maybe there's a phone call you've needed to make, a health checkup you've put off, a talk you've needed to have with your kids or a friendship you've let wane. It all counts. Following through is the right thing to do.

You see the Instagram feeds of all your friends, but where are you? Still at work, still at home, feeling like you're going nowhere. Resolve this year to go somewhere. Honestly, anywhere will do. You never appreciate where you're at as much as you do when you leave. Or, the flip side of that, new places give you new ideas and maybe, just maybe, you'll decide it's time to make a move. Either way, you'll come back energized.

January 1 is a time to sit down and list out all the health checkups you've been avoiding. Then, gather up the numbers, your insurance cards and past doctors' information. The next possible day, call and make appointments for everything. This one's easy. You just have to get it in the books. And follow up on the outcomes.

Music changes your mood, your health, your day. But if you're in a tunes rut, resolve this year to listen to more and varied music. Sign up for music-listening services or use your smartphone to find the name and artist of songs you hear out in public, then download them. Be sure you're listening to something new every day—or, at least, every week. And go to music shows whenever you can.

Making changes that include seeing friends are the easiest and best resolutions to keep. Think of some friends that you miss or have lost touch with and reach out. They'll want to reconnect with you, too.

As you're thinking about how to level up in your career, consider asking someone you know to be your mentor (or to connect you with someone in your field who can be your mentor). If you're advanced in your career, consider mentoring a junior at your company. Mentorship is a great way to develop new skills, meet others for networking, get inside tips for how to rise in a company or industry and offer support for the bumps along the way.