Why I’ve Never Really Believed in New Year’s Resolutions (And What I’m Doing Instead)

I’ve always been a little conflicted about New Year’s resolutions, which is a polite way of saying I’ve never really bought in. Which is ironic and perhaps even hypocritical, because over the years, I’ve participated in numerous surveys about financial advisor New Year’s resolutions. I’ve used results as fodder for blogs and even been quoted in many press releases about them.  I used everyone else’s resolutions to share what advisors should focus on in the year ahead.  And yet… personally? I was never all that convinced.  Here’s why:

New Year’s resolutions are long. Like, really long. A full year is a massive time horizon, especially for someone like me, whose brain doesn’t exactly thrive on distant deadlines and vague future rewards. Add a little ADHD into the mix, and suddenly “I’m going to do this for the entire year” starts to feel less aspirational, more unrealistic, and downright daunting.

If I did write something down, it usually lasted four to six months. Best case. After that, life happened. Work got busy, priorities shifted, and momentum faded, leaving me a bit frustrated with myself.  But this year, something interesting happened on the flight home from our family holiday vacation.

A Different Kind of Urgency

We wrapped up our family trip (Costa Rica) on January 7^th. Someone said to me recently that we seem to have an appropriate sense of urgency about our family vacations. To be sure, one son is a junior in college and will be taking the MCAT this summer. His calendar and, frankly, his mental bandwidth, will only get tighter from here. Our other son starts college next fall. Once that happens, spring breaks don’t line up, fall breaks don’t line up, and even holidays become a logistical exercise. So, yeah, an appropriate sense of urgency is a good phrase, and it stuck.

Because it’s true. The urgency isn’t panic, it’s awareness. There may not be many more trips that look like this. Just the four of us with the same schedule, in the same place, and vibing at the same rhythm.

And that mindset, “appropriate urgency,” is what followed me onto the plane ride home as I started thinking about 2026, planning, and what’s next.

The Problem With “The Whole Year”

As I was jotting notes on the flight, I realized something.

• Why do we insist on making goals last an entire year?
• Why do we give ourselves so much runway that it becomes easy—almost inevitable—to procrastinate?
• No wonder why most people “fail quickly” on their personal and business resolutions.

Personally, I’ve always liked the concept of “quarterly rocks” from “Traction” by Gino Wickman. The idea that you don’t manage a business in 12-month chunks—you manage it in 90-day sprints. Focus. Execute. Revisit. Adjust. So why wouldn’t that apply to personal goals too?   Instead of New Year’s resolutions… what about quarterly resolutions?

The Case for Quarterly Resolutions (Rocks)

Here’s what I like about the idea:

• They’re real. Three months is a time frame you can actually feel.
• They’re harder to ignore. You can’t put something off for “later in the year” when later arrives in 90 days.
• They’re easily trackable. You either moved the ball or you didn’t.
• They allow for resets. Missed the mark? Fine. Adjust next quarter.
• They create momentum. Small wins stack faster.

I set three main goals for this first quarter of 2026. Some are personal. Some are professional. A few may become more public by the end of the quarter. But the key difference is this: I’m not asking myself to be perfect for 12 months. I’m asking myself to be intentional for 90 days. That feels doable.

A Question Worth Sitting With

So, as you think about your business resolutions (or business goals) I’d encourage you to pause and ask a different question:

What are the three things I’m going to do in the next three months?

And maybe more importantly:

• How will you know if you did them?
• Who will hold you accountable?
• What happens when the quarter ends?

Because urgency doesn’t have to be stressful, sometimes it’s just clarity. And clarity, in my experience, beats resolutions every time.