It’s the last day of 2025, which means it’s time to lock in those resolutions for 2026. Like many of you, I’m hoping to exercise more, eat healthier, and spend more time with friends and family. And if there are any free hours left, I wouldn’t mind dusting off my guitar for the first time in a couple decades.

Yet in the harsh light of my weekly calendar, it’s hard to realize all those ambitions, and many may end up forgotten by February. Fortunately, two Kellogg faculty members offer advice on how to pull off your plan for the new year. Read on for their insights.

Budgeting out your 168 hours

Whether your 2026 resolution is to run a marathon, get a promotion, or learn an instrument, there’s one common challenge, says Harry Kraemer, a clinical professor of management and organizations, in Forbes:

“No matter what your profession is, where you live, how productive you are, or how much you multitask, you face the same time limit as everyone else: 168—the number of hours in a week.”

So the first step in making an effective resolution is drawing up a budget, Kraemer says—not for money, but for time.

Sketch out how many hours you hope to spend each week on different activities: working, exercising, socializing, reading, sleeping, and so on. Make sure they add up to 168, and trim back if they don’t.

Then for the next few weeks, keep track of how many hours you actually spend on each activity.

“Faced with this reality of how you spend your 168, you may realize that in order to add hours to anything in the grid—for example, taking up meditation or learning a second language—you must subtract from something else,” Kraemer says.

Next, turn your wish list into an action plan. The key here is self-reflection: determining your priorities, setting realistic goals, and finding the support or motivation you need to follow through.

“Your New Year’s resolutions will only be words on paper unless you make them achievable and meaningful,” Kraemer says. “With greater self-awareness of both your priorities and how you currently spend your time, you’ll be able to set resolutions that are far more effective—and help you achieve what matters most to you.”

Leaving room for fun

As you’re filling out that weekly time budget, Kellogg Professor Ellen Taaffe suggests you hold space for an oft-neglected area: fun.

In the latest edition of her Swag-HER! newsletter, Taaffe writes about how “What do you do for fun?” can be an illuminating question when interviewing job candidates. But as the calendar flips over, it can also be a useful question to ask yourself.

“Somewhere along the line, ‘busyness’ became a badge of honor in our culture, a status symbol. The fuller the calendar, the more accomplished we must be … right?” writes Taaffe, a clinical associate professor of management and organizations. “Research tells us otherwise. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that chronic busyness is linked to increased stress, declining cognitive performance, and poorer overall health.”

Conversely, “research shows that those who schedule time for enjoyment and connection report better health and higher levels of life satisfaction—and I want that for myself (and all of you).”

In order to make more room for fun, Taaffe plans to let go of past behaviors, embrace discovery and uncertainty, and take note of what hobbies or activities energize her. And while she doesn’t set resolutions, she annually picks a meaningful word for the year ahead. This year, her word is “light.”

“It feels meaningful on many levels,” writes Taaffe. “I want to feel lighter to make space for more joy. I want to shed more light in service of others on topics that are often in the shadows. I want to lighten up on myself for more care, connection, and fun.”