Blank New Year’s resolution template PDF, US Letter

A blank one-page New Year’s resolutions worksheet to fill in by hand: room for five resolutions, each with a line for why it matters and a line for the first milestone with its date. Nothing to sign up for.

Fill it in online

Download the PDF (US Letter)

One page, 8.5 × 11 in (215.9 × 279.4 mm). Need the other size? New Year’s resolution PDF, A4.

Preview of the blank New Year’s resolution template PDF on US Letter paper

What is on the sheet

Lines for your name and the year.
One line of instructions.
Five numbered blocks, two rows each. The first row has “I will” and a short “First milestone done by” date; the second has “Why it matters to me” and “First milestone for January”.
Two lines at the bottom: the date you will review the resolutions and who you will tell.
A small credit line at the bottom. There is no logo or colour on the sheet.

On Letter the lines run the full 7.4 in width, with about a third of an inch of writing height each: one short sentence in normal handwriting.

How to print it on US Letter paper

US Letter is 8.5 × 11 in (215.9 × 279.4 mm), the standard paper size in the United States and Canada, and common in Mexico and the Philippines. The file is one portrait page with 14 mm margins, which leaves a printable area 7.4 in wide.

Open the PDF and choose Print.
Set the paper size to Letter and the scale to 100% (some print dialogs call it “Actual size”). “Fit to page” also works, but shrinks the sheet slightly.
Print in portrait. The sheet is black and white, so a mono printer or the grayscale setting is enough.

For a half-letter planner (5.5 × 8.5 in), print it at 64%. Half letter is a little taller in proportion than Letter, so the sheet fits the width and leaves a blank strip at the bottom.

If your printer holds A4 paper, use the A4 file instead. A Letter page printed on A4 paper is either scaled down or loses a strip at the side, because A4 is 6 mm narrower. Get the A4 version.

How to fill it in

Write your name and the year at the top.
You do not need all five. Two or three resolutions you keep beat five you drop; leave the other blocks empty.
Word each one so you could tell whether you kept it: “run a 10k by June”, not “get fit”.
Write the real reason under “Why it matters to me”. It is for the week in February when the novelty wears off.
Make the first milestone small enough to finish in January, and put a date on it. Then set the review date and tell the person named at the bottom.

Paper or screen

The online New Year’s resolution template has the same fields, prints or downloads as Markdown when it is filled in, and can download a file the tracker imports, with each milestone as a subgoal. Open the online New Year’s resolution template. It runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.

To check steps off day by day and keep a streak, use the free goal tracker: no account, and your goals stay on your device.

Questions

Can I type into the PDF?

No. The file is a flat page for printing and writing on, not a fillable form. To type instead, use the online New Year’s resolution template, which also downloads a Markdown file.

What if I have more than five resolutions?

Pick the five that matter most. A long list competes for the same time. If you still want more, print a second copy.

Should I print the A4 or the US Letter version?

Use the file that matches the paper in your printer. A4 (210 × 297 mm) is the standard paper size in most countries outside North America; US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) is the standard paper size in the United States and Canada, and common in Mexico and the Philippines. Both files have the same layout, and either prints at 100% without anything cut off on its own paper.

Is the New Year’s resolution template PDF free to print and share?

Yes. There is no account, email or payment. You may print as many copies as you like and share or adapt the sheet, in a classroom or workshop too, under the CC BY 4.0 licence, as long as you credit goaltracker.online. The credit line is already printed on the sheet.

Reuse

Free to copy, share and adapt, including in a classroom, a workshop or a newsletter, as long as you credit goaltracker.online. The licence is CC BY 4.0, and the credit line is already printed at the foot of the sheet.