Halfway thru 2025: checking in on the viral goal-setting we did in January.
In January, I made it my mission to try 10 of the internet’s most beloved goal/resolution setting methodologies-- it became my most popular post. Halfway through the year, we're checking in!
First, some housekeeping— I’m looking for an intern to work incredibly closely with me on a new Substack (not this one— my day job!) and I’d love referrals from this great community. 🤍 Click here or send folks you love here, pls!
In January, I made it my mission to try 10 of the internet’s most beloved goal/intention/resolution setting methodologies, and to share the journey with you. At first, it was a little quiet, but over time, it grew into my second most-read and most-liked post… ever?
I tried every (ok, 10!) resolution planner, goal worksheet, and viral 2025 manifestation so you don't have to.
January is the best time to set some goals, make some moodboards, and manifest some shit. Forget December! There’s simply no time. You know what I have an abundance of now?
Can you even believe we’re nearly at the halfway mark through 2025? I can’t. That said, consistent readers know that I consider the first half of the year mostly to just be… waiting for the second, better half to start. I need to find a place to live and a lifestyle that shifts that, if you have any ideas, let me know. Ha!
Speaking of goals, how cute are these “punch cards” this creator designed for the summer?
Back to today: let’s check in on some of those “viral” goal-setting tools. What stuck? What’s working? And most importantly… are we on track to meet these goals?!
First, let’s check in on the methodologies I tried in January:
Grace Clarke’s AI Prompts (at the end of 2025 Annual Planner above!)
Letter to your future self, a la Sara Foster
75 Hard (or 75 Soft!) but my own version, a la Clare Parker’s “Claire Parker 31 Hard”
Vision board party at my friend Emily’s house
This is a tricky one. I don’t even remember a lot of these (welp— it really wasn’t that long since I did this!), but it could also be that I did so many in a short period of time, and they started to blur together.
Unsurprisingly, the programming that was engineered to consistently appear in front of me is the only kind that stuck. Specifically:
The moodboard I made via
’s moodboard methodology— it’s featured as the cover image above, but it’s also the screensaver on my work computer. I see it all the time, and it does a good job of conjuring up a feeling every time I see it! There have been multiple times I’ve felt uptight or been stressing about something and I see the image and think— that’s right… let’s reframe to the kind of person I want to be/life I want to live. This moodboard really makes me want to move to Europe.
The second of the two moodboards I made using Dianna’s framework. The ChatGPT prompts I set up via the viral TikTok— since I scheduled these notes to come back to me as emails, at the beginning of every month, I get a little check in! Some are cheesy, but it does remind me that time is passing (insane that I need a reminder of this) and forces me to be a little more intentional with my time.
I’m sorry to say that the rest hasn’t made a dent in my brain. Writing this post is me forcing myself to get in touch with my goals for the year, because at this moment I honestly could not tell you them… I fear this is a really bad sign! I invested SO much time in this process and at the moment, I’m not sure I have much to show for it…
Remember that journal with prompts that I had custom made for myself? I stopped using it by March. 🫥
Checking in on those actual goals I set. I didn’t share them all with you, but they ran the gamut: fitness goals, relationship goals, income goals, and growth goals for this newsletter. I’m going to get specific, but only behind the comfort of the paywall with my paid subscriber besties!