Best Apps to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions
Credit: Jordan González
The new year is almost here, which means only one thing: It's time to start making your New Year's resolutions.
Yes, you're probably thinking, what's the point? We all make resolutions every year, and most of us drop our resolutions by the end of February.
After all, it's hard to make a habit stick. Sure, we all feel great when we start something new at the beginning of the year, but the excitement of a new year won't be enough to help you build a new life, at least not for many of us.
Most of us need a little more help to keep going. The good news is that we have technology on our side. There are many apps on the App Store that will guide you through a new habit and will help you become the person you want to be in 2025.
Whether you want to drink more water, lose weight, or learn a new language, read on for 10 apps that will help you stick to your new habit and crush your goals in 2025.
Trello: organize anything!
Trello is a project management app that can help you in every aspect of your life. If you want to create better habits for yourself, keeping a to-do list is a must for most of us.
Trello lets you create different boards for any project. You can create one for your personal stuff, another for work-related projects, and others for anything else you can think of.
You can fill each board with as many cards and lists as you need. You can also create schedules for each card so you know when to get things done.
If you want to be held accountable or just want to share your progress with friends and family, you can share your Trello boards with anyone you want. They'll be able to see how you progress on your projects and even add their own notes if you want to.
Streaks
Streaks is another helpful app for developing new habits and breaking bad habits you've developed over the years.
What's great about Streaks is how easy it is to use. All you need to do is create the habit you want to build — or break — and you're good to go.
You can track up to 24 different habits and set reminders so you never forget to practice your new habit during the day.
You'll also be able to keep track of your streaks — hence the name — which will motivate you to keep moving forward and never miss a day.
Amazon Kindle
Many of us want to read more as part of our New Year's resolution. Unfortunately, sometimes it's hard to keep a book with you. The good news is that you can carry thousands of books inside the Amazon Kindle app.
Amazon Kindle is an app that allows you to store and read all the books you want. The app will store all your books; you can access them from any other device. You can read from your computer, the web, your iPhone, or your Kindle e-reader.
Besides the books you can buy on Amazon, you can also upload your own books and PDF files, making this your one-stop shop for everything you want to read. Of course, you can also check some online magazines and even comic books.
Speaking of comic books, the Amazon Kindle app comes with a comic book viewer that makes it incredibly easy to read comics, even on a smaller iPhone screen.
The best part about Amazon Kindle is that it keeps track of the days and weeks you've read, giving you the boost you need to continue reading and build a new habit.
MacroFactor - Macro Tracker
Many of us are looking to lose some weight in 2025. However, that's easier said than done. Fortunately, at its core, losing weight is about consuming fewer calories than you burn during the day.
So, to help you lose weight, you need only track the calories you consume, and there's no better app for the job than MacroFactor. This powerful app will help you lose, gain, or maintain weight. You can keep track of all your foods by using the extensive library it comes with or create your own recipes.
Whatever you choose, the app will keep track of the calories you consume and the macros, like fat, carbs, and protein. At the end of every week, the app will evaluate your progress and adjust your calories so you're guaranteed to reach your goal — as long as you put in the effort.
Besides tracking food, MacroFactor can also track your weight and the steps you take and provide other helpful information like your weight trend and an estimate of the calories you spend during the day.
Calm
If you want a more relaxing 2025, you'll need an app to help you meditate, sleep better, and have a more mindful life.
There's no better app for the job than Calm. This app comes with all the tools you need to stay relaxed and live a calm life. The app comes with different sounds and bedtime stories you can listen to sleep better.
Not only that, but it also comes with meditation programs and classes to help you stay relaxed during the day.
Don't worry if you're a complete beginner at this; the app comes with articles and masterclasses created by experts. You'll learn how to have better sleep, deal with depression, and be okay with your emotions.
Duolingo - Language Lessons
Are you looking to learn a new language or improve the one you're already practicing? Then why not get help from one of the world's most popular and effective language learning apps, Duolingo?
You've probably heard of Duolingo, as it's been around for years. But it's still as popular as ever, thanks to all the new features the app has added.
You can learn over 40 languages just by taking a class daily. You can listen to different stories to learn pronunciation or take interactive short courses that will help you learn something new and have fun at the same time.
Whether you need help with pronunciation or writing skills, Duolingo offers different classes to fit any learning ability.
Moreover, it also comes with a global leaderboard so you can have friendly competitions with other Duolingo users every week. Of course, if you're not the competitive type, you can just track your progress and worry about being better than your older self.
YNAB
YNAB, or You Need A Budget, is the perfect app for those struggling with finances.
Creating a budget is hard, but sticking to it is even harder. YNAB tries to make both of these things easier than ever. With the app, all you need to do is enter the money you have right now and assign every dollar to the different categories you choose.
You can create as many categories as you want and fill them up however you want. However, the app also suggests that you focus on things that you will have to pay for in the future today.
For instance, if you have a yearly subscription that you have to pay in December 2025, you can create a goal in YNAB, and the app will remind you to add money every single month. That way, when it's time to pay for your subscription, you won't have to worry about how you'll get that money because you've been saving all year.
Besides tracking your expenses, you can also track your net worth and see your progress in real time. If you need help, the app comes with many different videos, articles, and podcasts to help you learn more about money and how to budget correctly.
Habitica: Gamified Taskmanager
Building new habits can get boring, especially if you're just getting started. Luckily, you can make things more enjoyable with an app like Habitica.
Habiitca is an app that gamifies your tasks. Instead of just creating a to-do list, you'll be playing an RPG game where you'll be the main character.
The more tasks you complete, the more experience you'll gain in the app, which will help you level up and get awesome rewards like armor or your very own pet.
One of the best parts about the app is that you don't have to do everything alone. You can join other Habitica users and go on quests together. For instance, you can face off against a monster to save the village. And how do you damage the monster? Well, by completing your tasks, of course.
This will make things more interesting and give you some accountability. You don't want to let your teammates down when battling monsters, do you?
Apple Journal
Last year, Apple introduced a brand new app called Journal. Even though it's still pretty bare bones at the time of this writing, it might be the perfect tool you need to start journaling.
As we mentioned, the app is still pretty basic compared to other, more seasoned journaling apps. However, that can be a plus as it keeps you focused — it gives you all the basics you need to build a journaling habit without any extra distractions. For instance, you can write your entries, add pictures, videos, or sounds, and organize everything with tags. You can even set reminders so you never miss a day of journaling.
Even though it might not be as complete, the Journal app is an excellent app for people who are just starting out. Plus, what makes the app shine is how well it works with the Apple operating system. You can use Siri to create an entry, set reminders, and even share your entries with other users. And when you're done writing, all your entries will be safely stored in the cloud.
The best part is that, unlike other journaling apps, Apple offers all of these features for free. Many apps charge a hefty sum to give you the extra features that Journal has available to everyone, which makes it an even better entry-level app for anyone trying to build a journaling habit.
Water Tracker by WaterMinder
WaterMinder is one of the best water-tracking apps on the App Store. It has everything you need to start drinking more water, and it's pretty versatile so that you can use it almost anywhere.
And we mean that. You can add a WaterMinder widget on your Home Screen or Lock Screen, or you can add it as a control in your Control Center. You can also add it to your Apple Watch, iPad, and even the Apple Vision Pro. It even comes with stickers you can use in iMessage.
When you first open the app, it will ask you a few personal questions, like your weight and gender, to give you a more accurate estimate of how much water you need to drink during the day. It will also sync with Apple Health and log your water intake even if you add it from a different app.
The app also comes with challenges to help you build a new habit and keep you motivated. Of course, it can also send you notifications so you never miss the right time to take a sip of water.
Crush Your Goals in 2025
Sticking to new goals can be tough but not impossible. And all of the apps on this list are meant to help you become the better version of yourself that you've always dreamed of.
Of course, downloading an app is not enough; you also need to do your part and stay focused while you start building new habits.
Be patient, stay consistent, and use technology to your advantage, and you'll crush your New Year's goals. Good luck and happy New Year!