Bonus New Year’s Eve Prep: 3 Tips to Start 2026 The ADHD-Friendly Way

Three Ways to Start Your New Year Right (Without Burning Out by January 15th)

‘Tis the season for “new year, new you” energy everywhere you look — word-of-the-year posts, fully mapped-out calendars, goals already set before the ball even drops. If you’re feeling behind before January has even started, don’t despair. There’s still time, and these three tips should ease a lot of that anxious pressure.

Skip the resolution — build a list instead

Don’t set a resolution that starts with “every day I will” or “five times a week I will.” Those are built to break — something like 90% of people have already broken their New Year’s resolution by mid-January, and that’s not a personal failing, it’s just how those resolutions are built.

Instead, start narrowing the scope: a 26 for 26 list, or a “this month I’ll do this, next month I’ll do that” approach. (I first heard the 26 for 26 idea from Gretchen Rubin’s podcast, Happier, worth a listen if you want more detail.) The appeal of a finite list like this is that it works with a brain that needs urgency, instead of against it — you could do all 26 things in December if that’s how it shakes out, and nothing about that is a failure. For now, just start brainstorming: what are some finite, specific things you’d like to do this year? Sort them into rough categories — home, health, kids, whatever fits — so you’ve got ideas ready when it’s time to dig in.

Give yourself a runway

There’s a knee-jerk urge to feel like the new year starts tomorrow and you’d better be ready — but taking off with a new plan and no runway built underneath it is exactly how these things crash. Let yourself enjoy New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day fully: watch the show, eat the leftover snacks, do the football-and-fun-dip thing, whatever your version of a good holiday looks like. You do not have to start on January 1st.

Give yourself the whole first week of January to build the runway before takeoff — figuring out where you want to add friction to stop something, and where you want to smooth the path to start something. That first week is for setup, not performance.

Trade all-or-nothing thinking for experiments

All-or-nothing thinking runs strong in ADHD brains, so let’s swap it out. Consider this the year of experiments and data collection instead of the year you finally “get it right.” Try something for a week or a month, then just observe: what made you stumble, what helped you succeed, what worked great until it suddenly didn’t and you’re not sure why. That’s not failure — that’s data, and knowing more about how you actually operate is genuinely powerful.

Your practical, actionable step

Nothing to do right now except relax and let a few ideas simmer. Start a running brainstorm of finite things you’d like to accomplish this year, sorted loosely by category, so you’re ready when it’s time to build them into a real list. Save the actual planning for the runway week ahead.

One quick note: memberships are being paused while I rework how the program runs — no charges will come through in January, and the free community will be open to everyone working through this with me. If you want in, join at bit.ly/joylovinghomecommunity.

Until then, continue to choose joy.